• Give children guidance and suggestions for choosing appropriate reading materials that appeal to their interests and reading ability. Give them a chance to choose their own books in their class library, their school library, and their local public library. Help them to develop familiarity with a number of books and authors. For example, if they like a certain book, suggest that they look for another by the same author, or on a similar theme.

• Help children develop familiarity with a number of types or genres of texts. Stock your class library center with a variety of materials, including storybooks, nonfiction, poems, newspapers, and magazines.

• Other activity centers can include print from everyday life, such as take-out menus, this week’s cafeteria menu, seasonal toy catalogs, and class rosters that are kept current.

“At the beginning of the school year, one of the first things I do is send applications for library cards home with my students. Each child is issued a card, and I take the children to the library. I give parents a list of approved books. Many parents tell me they don’t know how to read well. If they can’t read to the child, I tell them to find someone who can.”

—Ethelyn Hamilton-Frezel

Kindergarten teacher

Dr. Ronald E. McNair Elementary School

New Orleans, Louisiana