TeacherRead
Research shows that shared group reading in pre-K settings helps prepare children for kindergarten and that shared reading is most effective when highly interactive. TeacherRead was developed to support teachers in conducting interactive shared book reading to support children’s learning of foundational early language and literacy skills.
The TeacherRead Intervention and Evaluation
I continued using these lessons the next year with my class (even after we went virtual).
– 2018-2019
Participating teacher
The TeacherRead intervention consists of instructional strategies from shared book reading interventions that have been shown to be the most effective for improving the language and literacy skills of pre-K children.
The idea behind these approaches is that teachers can make simple adjustments to their book reading practices to promote children’s development of these foundational skills.
AIR, along with its partner Notre Dame University, is currently testing TeacherRead in a randomized control trial funded by the U.S. Department of Education in New York City’s Pre-K for All program.
TeacherRead-MaestrosLeer: An Intervention Focused on Dual Language Learners
While working in NYC we saw a need for a version of TeacherRead focusing specifically on children who are dual language learners (DLLs).
Research describes many advantages to multilingualism, including enhanced metalinguistic awareness and cognitive processing. Early childhood interventions that promote the language and literacy skills of children who are DLLs can meaningfully improve their long-term academic outcomes. They can also realize savings in supplemental and remedial education.
It is important that interventions specifically take into account DLLs' multilingualism, supporting cross-linguistic transfer and promotion of both languages. For this reason, the U.S. Department of Education and the California Department of Education have made improving the academic quality of early care and education programs a priority, especially for DLLs.
AIR, in collaboration with Notre Dame, will evaluate TeacherRead-MaestrosLeer (TRML), an intervention for DLLs in Fresno and Orange counties in California. TRML combines TeacherRead with evidence-based practices that to help young DLLs prepare for the transition into kindergarten.
