Get Ready to Read! Kicks Off Back to School Season with New, Free Resources

Get Ready to Read! program launches new Online Training Center, free Webinars and online tools to build early literacy skills and help pre-k children transition to kindergarten.

New York, NY - October 3, 2006 - As children across the country head back to school this year, pre-school educators, caregivers and parents have a host of new, free resources at their fingertips. Get Ready to Read! (GRTR!), a program of the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) is launching a variety of tools on their Web site that will make helping children develop vital early literacy skills easier than ever. The new resources complement the GRTR! screening tool and activities, all of which are available at www.GetReadyToRead.org.

Three New Webinars on Building Pre-Literacy Skills

The cornerstone of the back-to-school initiative is a series of three Webinars for teachers and child care providers on building the literacy skills of pre-K children. These Webinars will allow participants to connect with a live online presentation on their computer while listening to presenters over the phone. Registration will be filled on a first come, first served basis. These Webinars have been developed in partnership with the Stern Center for Language and Learning in Williston, VT.

   Shared Book Reading (September 27, 2006)  Participants learned how to maximize language growth through shared book reading.  They also found out how to increase children's understanding of concepts of print, how books work, and the wonders of letters and words on a page.

   Sound Awareness (October 25, 2006 1:30-2:30 p.m. EST)  Phonological awareness (sound awareness) is one of the strongest indicators of future reading success. Viewers will learn how to use books, songs and conversation to increase youngsters' ability to learn important pre-literacy concepts through play with sounds and syllables.

   The Speech to Print Connection (November 29, 2006 1:30-2:30 p.m. EST)  Participants will learn how to assist children in matching speech with print, establishing sound-symbol relationships and word recognition.

Get Ready to Read! Screening Tool Now Available in Spanish

To make the screening effort easier for Spanish-speaking children, GRTR! is also unveiling the online version of the GRTR! screening tool in Spanish. The foundation of the GRTR! program is the screening tool, which screens children the year before kindergarten for essential early literacy skills. It has been available in both English and Spanish in print, but the new online Spanish version now makes it possible to screen children in Spanish for no cost. In pilot work conducted in Arizona, California and Georgia, the Spanish tool proved to be just as effective for children whose first language is Spanish as it is for children whose first language is English.

Transitioning to Kindergarten: A Toolkit for Early Childhood Educators

The Transitioning to Kindergarten Toolkit is a new, easy-to-use resource to help educators and child care providers prepare their children for the first year of school. Too often, preparation for the transition to kindergarten begins in the few months leading up to the beginning of kindergarten. Research shows the most effective transition strategies begin in the pre-kindergarten year. With the toolkit, caregivers and teachers can create a plan for skill-building and information exchange throughout the pre-kindergarten school year. In addition to highlighting age-appropriate skills that are an important precursor to learning to read and write -- like emergent writing, print knowledge and linguistic awareness -- the toolkit also contains a section with skill-building activities, checklists and worksheets to engage parents in their child’s learning and transition to kindergarten.

"Fostering partnerships with parents is a critical part of ensuring that a child's early learning needs are being met effectively," explains NCLD Executive Director James H. Wendorf.  Kindergarten teachers spend the beginning of each school year assessing skill levels of incoming children. If they have clear information about a child's history and a constructive relationship with parents, kindergarten teachers can put their own observations into better context. If a child is having difficulty, the community of adults has an established record to help develop strategies for additional help. The Transitioning to Kindergarten Toolkit is funded by the Oak Foundation.

Additional resources like an area online training center for downloading key GRTR! training materials and enhancements for the GRTR! skill-building activity cards have also been added to the Web site.

Get Ready to Read! is a program of the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Funding for the program is made possible by Cisco Systems Foundation, Ford Motor Company Fund, The Goizueta Foundation, J.C. Kellogg Foundation and the Oak Foundation, and the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.

The online versions of the Get Ready to Read! screening tool are made possible through a partnership with the Family Education Network.

For more information, contact , Assistant Director, Programs National Center for Learning Disabilities, Inc. at 212-545-7510 ext. 217.