Tips for Improving Literacy

The America SCORES mission seeks to combat illiteracy with a unique and comprehensive creative writing curricula that focuses on poetry in the fall and service learning in the spring. But beyond what our program does there are many simple things one can do to help improve our childrens' literacy. Here are some ideas and tactics you can use:

• Plant books in high traffic areas and make book-shelves accessible to short legs.*
• Don't force a child to finish a book. It's okay to discard, in the time it takes to plod through something they've lost interest in they could have read two others that they like.*
• Don't force a taking turns policy where readers alternate reading different paragraphs. This can cause anxiety and break up the text's meaning for new readers. Let them decide how much they want to read and then follow along when you are reading.*
• Don't be concerned if your child is hung up on one book or one series. Subsequent readings are usually beneficial for deeper understanding.*
  
• Don't quit reading out loud once your child can read alone. They joy of a shared experience can be found at any age. *
• Let your children see YOU enjoying reading. Children imitate what they see.**
• Allow your children to see that reading is something that everybody does everyday (shopping lists, road signs, maps, emails, internet, recipes, newspapers, instructions, newsletters...).**
• Take books on day trips and holidays. They keep children entertained for hours and are easier to carry than most toys.**

These great ideas are simple to implement in our daily life and can produce long-lasting positive results. To view more complete lists of tips and tools follow the two links below.

*http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2007/03/more-tips-for-improving-your-childs.html
**http://schoolreadiness.suite101.com/article.cfm/books_reading_and_literacy