Shared book reading: How you can help close the word gap
At-a-glance
Topics
At-risk children & families, Child development, Communication & language, Family engagement, Learning disabilities & delays, Literacy & reading
Resource Types
Newsletter articles
Author
Sharolyn Pollard-Durodola Ed.D., Jorge Gonzalez Ph.D., Deborah C. Simmons Ph.D., Leslie Simmons M.Ed.
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You can’t turn around these days without seeing some reference to the “word gap”—the astonishing difference between the number and quality of words heard by young children in mostly low-income households versus those in higher incomes. There are plenty of wonderful resources to encourage parents to talk, read, and sing with their children, but how about some tips for teachers? If you integrate these steps into your shared book reading time, you will expand children’s word and world knowledge, and help them develop the critical comprehension skills they’ll need to achieve.
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