Past Issues

In Focus

The ABCs of LD

Nearly three million school-age children in the U.S. (about 5% of our kids) are diagnosed with learning disabilities. What is a learning disability, what are the different types, and how do you effectively teach kids with LD? Get the basics in this LD primer.
Go to learning disabilities overview >
Go to all our articles on learning disabilities >

Smart IEPs

Every public school child who receives special education services must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP), created collaboratively by teachers, parents, and school support staff. Discover what makes a strong IEP and how to avoid common pitfalls, in this series of articles from Wrightslaw developed especially for parents.
Go to IEP articles >

Q&a from Reading Rockets Parents

How can I get my child with LD motivated to read more?
Go to answer >

Making and Keeping Friends

Children with LD often lack the social skills to develop strong and enduring friendships. Listen in as Rick Lavoie describes in detail how to plan a successful playdate for your child, in this excerpt from the PBS program It's So Much Work to Be Your Friend.
Watch video >
Purchase DVD >

A Guide to Collaboration for IEP Teams

With so many complex, challenging, and emotionally charged decisions involved, participating in an IEP meeting can seem like navigating through a minefield. Here's a practical guide to managing these meetings with a high level of awareness, safety, and confidence. For administrators, teachers, resource professionals, and parents.
Go to LearningStore >

Books & Authors

Wit and Wisdom in the White House

Did you know that George Washington's famous dentures were made from hippopotamus tusks? Or that Woodrow Wilson had a pet sheep who chewed tobacco? Or what a typical day in the life of the President is really like? Learn more about the White House, its fascinating history, and the families that lived there in this collection of fiction and non-fiction books voted "best of" by our children's literature expert.
Go to booklist >

Magical Imagination: Our Interview with Mary Pope Osborne

Mary Pope Osborne, author of the immensely popular Magic Treehouse chapter books for young readers, spent her childhood in a perpetual state of make-believe. "Always leave a quiet space for your imagination," she says. That, and a sense of wonder about the world keep the time-traveling adventures of Jack and Annie fresh and intriguing.
Watch Mary Pope Osborne video interview >

The Teacher Who Changed Everything

Children's author Patricia Polacco vividly recalls the day when her teacher discovered her dyslexia.
Watch Patricia Polacco video clip >

In Search of Free Books

Where can your school, library, or community group find free or low-cost books for kids? Reading Rockets offers a comprehensive list of national organizations and programs that can help you put books into the hands and homes of young readers.
Find sources for free books >

Daily Children's Literature Quiz

Where do Pooh and his friends live? Enter today's children's literature quiz for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com! Congratulations to last month's winner, Mary, a retired reading teacher in Iowa.
Go to quiz >

For Teachers

Successful Conferences with Your Bilingual Families

You may wonder how to hold an effective parent-teacher conference with the parents of your English language learners. Here are tips that can help you bridge the language gap, better understand cultural differences, and provide parents with the information they need about their child's progress in school.
Go to article >

From Silence to Engagement: Encouraging ELLs to Talk in the Classroom

English language learners (ELLs) are often quiet during classroom discussions. Your students may have a great deal of knowledge, but need the expectation of participation and skillful, reinforcing prompts in order to participate more fully. Learn how to engage your ELL students, especially during Q&A sessions, using the "response protocol."
Go to article >

Developing and Assessing Fluency

Review why it is essential that all students become fluent readers, how to assess the components of fluency (prosody, accuracy, and rate), how to help students build their fluency skills, and why silent reading may not be the best use of classroom time.
Go to article >

Behavior Problems in Your Classroom?

Every teacher, at one time or another, is faced with behavior problems in their classroom. A new report is out that describes specific recommendations for reducing these problems. Most importantly, the recommendations have scientific evidence that they work. The number one recommendation? Modify the classroom learning environment. Find out how, and much more, in the report.
Go to IES report on behavior in the classroom >

Gangbusters for Grammar and Vocabulary!

For most teachers, grammar isn't a very exciting thing to teach. Maybe introducing one or two of the books described here will create just the magic you need! Find out what books about grammar and vocabulary that Parents' Choice recommends, for kids young and old. We promise you a rollicking good time!
Find fun books about grammar >

Bring Books Alive

Are you looking for ways to bring books alive in your classroom? Jane Oh from Education.com describes 16 ways, including ideas for writing, arts & crafts, drama, and discussion. We're sure you'll find a great new idea or two!
Go to article >

Ideas for Parents

Prepping for Your Parent-Teacher Conference

For many parents, this is your first chance to sit down one-on-one with your child's teacher to talk about how your child is doing in school. Here are suggestions for questions that can jumpstart a positive, productive discussion. If you found this article helpful, you might want to sign up for our monthly Ed Extras newsletter, created especially for parents.
Go to article >

Help Me Find a Book

Does your child have trouble finding a book to read? We found a wonderful site designed to help kids find new titles to check out. With Book Adventure, students identify their grade level and up to five types of books they like to read. The site returns a list of titles! A good resource for kids stuck in a reading rut.
Go to Book Adventure website >

What's for Supper?

The dinner table is a great time to catch up with your kids and ask them about their day. Lingering over chicken and rice, you might be surprised to learn what your child considers the "high point" and "low point" of their day. Family Day offers a family dinner kit to download and use that includes a menu planner, conversation starters, and recipes.
Go to Family Dinner website >

Calendar Cut Ups

It's a challenge to find ways to provide practice in math without resorting to worksheets or flashcards. Here's a terrific idea for using a page from an old calendar to practice place value and numeration. In addition to the ideas described, we here at Reading Rockets want to encourage kids to write down the discoveries they make while doing these fun activities. They can make their own Math Madness journal!
Go to math activity page >

Research & News

Universal Design for Learning: An IDEA that Works!

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is getting lots of attention as a way to design educational environments to help all students learn. In the classroom, UDL means finding ways to make curriculum and learning available for all students. Books on tape, interactive software, magnifiers and more are just a few examples of this big idea. To find out more, browse a new toolkit on UDL from the USDOE.
Go to UDL website >

Lasting Effects of Preschool

All children benefit from preschool, and increasing the public's investment in effective preschool can have lasting educational, social, and economic benefits. Those are two of the conclusions of a September 2008 report published by the National Institute for Early Education Research. Recommendations for capitalizing on these conclusions include using proven models, training preschool teachers, and working to increase the number of disadvantaged kids attending preschool. Find out more by reading the full report!
Go to preschool report >

What Do the Candidates Think?

Are you wondering how McCain and Obama compare in their philosophy toward early childhood education? Follow these links to learn more about each candidate's plans should he be making the move to Pennsylvania Avenue in January.
Go to Obama website >
Go to McCain website >

Introducing Our New Sister Site: Brainline.org

If you teach, know, or live with someone who has a traumatic brain injury (TBI), we have good news for you. We have just launched BrainLine, a comprehensive website for anyone whose life has been affected by TBI. You can find authoritative, useful, and timely information and resources here. BrainLine has specific sections for people with TBI, their families and friends, and professionals.
Go to Brainline.org >

Featured Partner

National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)

NCLD's mission is to ensure that the 15 million children, adolescents, and adults in the U.S. with learning disabilities have every opportunity to succeed in school, work, and life. Browse the website for LD resources, publications, teaching strategies, research news, and advocacy activities.
Go to NCLD website >

Memorable Quote

There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island.
— Walt Disney

A Sneak Peek at What's Coming Up

Did you know our website is always updated on the first of each month? Stop by on November 3 and you'll discover resources for parents and teachers about reading in the content areas, comprehension, family literacy activities — and much more.
Go to home page >

About Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets is a national educational service of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital. The Reading Rockets project is comprised of PBS television programs, available on videotape and DVD; online services, including the websites ReadingRockets.org, ColorinColorado.org, LDOnLine.org, and AdLit.org; and professional development opportunities such as teleconferences and webcasts.

Reading Rockets is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. The goal of the project is to provide information on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help. Learn about easy ways you can link to us to let others know about the many free resources available from Reading Rockets.

All the best from Reading Rockets:

• Noel Gunther, Executive Director
• Christian Lindstrom, Director, Learning Media
• Shalini Anand, Technical Web Manager
• Kelly Andrews, Project Coordinator
• Lydia Breiseth, Project Associate
• Katie Chase, Associate Editor
• Tina Chovanec, Director, Reading Rockets
• Kevin Coonce, Intern
• Kelly Deckert, Associate Manager, Online Media
• Laurie Fry, Publicist
• Ashley Gilleland, Producer
• Sun Kim, Web Associate
• Alan Lundy-Ponce, Director, Learning Media Websites
• Joanne Meier, Ph.D., Research Consultant
• Laura Schreiber, Project Associate
• Rachael Walker, Outreach Consultant

Newsletter editors: Joanne Meier and Tina Chovanec