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Q: Who can participate in the Read to Me Project?
A: Children in 4th, 5th and 6th grades. The full class of students participate and those with young siblings to read to at home are coached on Read to Me Project’s “9 Best Ways to Read to Young Children.”
Q: What about the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders without young siblings?
A: These children, many reading up to two grade levels behind, receive the same training on reading to young children and are encouraged to practice the skills and read to a younger child as often as possible. If the school has a “reading buddy” type program, the training is applicable to any reading situation.
Q: Who benefits from the Read to Me Project?
- Children 6 months to 5 years, particularly from low-literacy families, acquire crucial kindergarten readiness skills.
- Teachers report, and a third-party impact evaluation confirms, improved reading fluency among students participating in Read to Me Project.
- Siblings develop positive family bonds with siblings.
- Families will have children who are likely to grow up to be literate and successful adults and parents.
- Teachers see students who are ready to learn and excited about reading.
- Communities and businesses will benefit socially and economically from a literate population.
Q: How is the Read to Me Project different from other reading programs?
A: Read to Me Project empowers thousands of elementary-age students each year to help their infant, toddler, and pre-k aged family members to develop early literacy skills. The program uniquely reaches the little ones in the home. It is simple, accessible, low cost, and child led – sibling-to-sibling. It builds nurturing family relationships, and provides literacy enrichment to children as young as 6 months old.
Q: What kind of books do the children take home to read?
A: Read to Me Project has an inventory of thousands of books, curated for each age of early development: baby, 2 yrs. old, 3 yrs. old, and preschool. The books are very carefully selected for readability by an emerging reader attending school. Most books do not exceed a 2nd grade reading level. Whenever possible, multi-lingual books are included.
Q: Does the Read to Me Project involve the parents in the home?
A: Read to Me Project is focused on the children in the home helping each other. That said, we recognize the importance of the parent’s role in enabling a culture of literacy and learning in the home which is why we also conduct Parent Education Sessions. The multi-session series are presented through schools and collaborations with other organizations with built-in access to low literacy families. Parents learn about early brain development and how easy it is to incorporate learning and literacy development experiences with their children during day-to-day activities and interactions with and without a book.