A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Activity Sheet B: How Teachers Can Improve Children's Reading Achievement

Look at the following sample list of commitments that teachers can make to form a strong Compact for Reading. Rank in order of importance each of the following commitments that you want to add to your Compact for Reading. You may add new commitments to this sample list as desired.

Student Learning	Communication	Capacity Building
Expect students to learn basic and advanced literacy skills and do challenging work.	Provide ongoing communication with families about the literacy skills their children are learning.	Guide parents to help their children with home learning activities.
Teach to challenging school standards.	Inform students, families, and the community about the school's high literacy standards, and ways they can help children reach these standards.	Ask for and attend workshops to learn about research-based methods for teaching literacy skills.
Provide meaningful learning activities, with clear directions for parents to use at home, that reinforce school standards and classroom learning.	Encourage parents to read with their children at least 30 minutes per day and to get a library card for their child.	Ask for and attend workshops to learn how to work effectively in partnership with families.
Offer special assistance and provide more time to accommodate students' individual learning needs.	Give families timely reports of their children's progress in reading and the school's overall performance.	Meet frequently with other teachers to discuss effective teaching strategies in reading, writing, listening, and speaking; students' needs; and school resources.
Meet with the student and the family to discuss the student's progress.	Develop a system of continuing communication with families such as regular phone calls or notes on progress.	Hold frequent parent training workshops to improve the help parents can give their children at home in reading.
Link teacher instruction with after school and summer reading programs.	Communicate with tutors about individual students' needs for extended learning.	Hold workshops for tutors on effective methods for helping students with literacy activities.

[Activity Sheet 2B] [Activity Sheet 2C]