Raising Confident Readers: How to Teach Your Child to Read and Write -- from Baby to Age 7

by J. Richard Gentry

Overview

Raise a Child Who Loves to Read

How do kids really learn to read? And how can you encourage interest in reading and writing from the start? In Raising Confident Readers, based on the five phases of literacy development, Dr. J. Richard Gentry provides fun and easy ways to teach your child to read and write successfully.

When it comes to language, the most critical brain growth happens in early childhood. Raising Confident Readers shows you how to activate and accelerate this capacity for learning: The key is to introduce the right activities at the right time. Whether your child is a baby or toddler, in preschool or kindergarten, or first or second grade, Dr. Gentry helps you identify your child's literacy phase and take the next steps to build writing, reading, and spelling skills. You'll discover:

• How your child's brain learns to read—and why encouraging drawing and scribbling is as essential as reading aloud
• The best at-home activities to develop literacy early, naturally, and joyfully
• Recommended children's books for each phase
• Strategies for overcoming dyslexia, delayed reading, and other challenges
• Checklists and a milestones diary to celebrate your child's progress

As your child moves through the five phases, they'll soon be sounding out and spelling words correctly, reading chapter books independently, and writing creative stories on their own. Complete with samples of children's writing throughout, Raising Confident Readers is an essential resource to foster your child's lifelong love of reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738213972
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	07/13/2010
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

J. Richard Gentry, PhD is a nationally acclaimed expert on childhood literacy, reading, and spelling development, with more than thirty years experience working with beginning readers. A former university professor and elementary school teacher, he is currently an educational consultant living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 Start Early: Nurture Your Child's Brain as It Grows into Reading 15

2 The Brain-Based Formula: Repetition-Enthusiasm-Attention-Drawing 28

3 Find Your Child's Phase: Determine Where to Go and What to Do Next to Raise YOUR Confident Reader 43

4 Teaching Reading in Phase 0: Building Foundations-From Reading Aloud at Birth to Teaching Your Child to Write His Own Name 65

5 Teaching Reading in Phase 1: It's Time for the ABC's 100

6 Teaching Reading in Phase 2: Mapping Letters to Sounds-It's EZ For U to Read! 125

7 Teaching Reading in Phase 3: Spelling with a Letter for Each Sound-"The Cat Sat on the Mat" + Phonics = Reading Up a Storm! 152

8 Teaching Reading in Phase 4: From Chunking to Chapter Books-The Final Climb to Confident Reading 181

9 Is Everything on Track?: Awakening Literacy with Confidence 207

Appendix: Special Memories and Keepsakes 219

Notes 225

References 231

Credits 235

Index 237

Editorial Reviews

MomDivas.com, 8/2/10
“The information you’ll glean from Raising Confident Readers is invaluable and will have you hooked on the book, whether you choose to follow his system or not.”
 
Reading2008.com, 8/3/10
“If you want to help your toddler, preschooler, or kindergartner learn to read—in fun and satisfying ways—Raising Confident Readers is the book for you.”
 

Plymouth, August 2010
“Offers a phenomenal look into the phases of reading development, and offers quick and simple exercises for parents to use to get their children to an appropriate reading level…A must read for any parent looking to improve or enhance their child’s ability.”
 

January, August 2010
“Gentry’s book is clear, loving, lucid and simple to use. If you have a very young child at home or are expecting one in the future, read Raising Confident Readers: How to Teach Your Child to Read and Write — from Baby to Age 7. Anyone could follow Gentry's gentle program. And everyone should.”
 

Bookviews, September 2010
“If you have a youngster returning to school with poor reading skills you need to step in and help. This book will show you how.”
 

Library Journal, 7/8/10
“Gentry provides concrete teaching examples that are easy to implement; his user-friendly lessons offer opportunities for parents to have fun with children while they learn.”

Booklist, August 2010
“Gentry offers sound advice on how parents can develop strong reading and writing skills in children starting at birth through age seven…An abundance of graphics add to the value of this useful resource for parents.”

Blogcritics, 7/17/10
“An excellent handbook for caregivers of young children to prepare them for a lifetime of reading…In addition to a thorough explanation of what to teach and how to teach, this book lists a variety of fun materials that can be adapted for in-home use…As an educator for over 30 years who spent much time each day attempting to teach slow learners how to read, I must recommend Raising Confident Readers to anyone with a small baby or toddler at home. Why? Because of the emphasis the book places on what can be done from birth until the child enters school that will foster good reading skills.”
 

Tucson Citizen 7/29/10
“In his book, Dr. Gentry offers a user-friendly plan so that parents can help their children form a solid foundation for developing reading and writing skills.”
 

From the Publisher

This is the first of Gentry's activity-based books (e.g., Breaking the Code: The New Science of Beginning Reading and Writing; Breakthrough in Beginning Reading and Writing) that puts teaching tools in the hands of parents. He focuses on five developmental phases to help prekindergarten learners toward independent reading and writing. After providing data to support his assertion that literacy initiatives should be started as early as possible, Gentry offers sample activities to help parents determine which phase best fits their child. Chapters devoted to each phase cover recommended materials, lessons, activities, charts, illustrations, and checklists to help measure progress. The final chapter covers answers to frequently asked questions; parents whose children have fallen behind in their literary development will find this section most useful.Verdict Gentry provides concrete teaching examples that are easy to implement; his user-friendly lessons offer opportunities for parents to have fun with children while they learn. Cross-references to appropriate chapters allow parents to customize activities to best fit their children's needs. Recommended for public and school libraries.—Karen McCoy, Farmington P.L., NM

Library Journal