PBS Series - Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers

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PBS Series on reading for parents, educators & all who have children in their lives.

Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers is an engaging nine-part public television series on reading. It was created for parents, grandparents, teachers, caregivers, and anyone else who touches children’s lives. Based on the latest research findings, each half-hour program examines a stage young children go through in developing their reading skills. http://www.pbs.org/launchingreaders/

(Check your local PBS station’s listings for dates and times when these programs air.)

 Program 1: "The Roots of Reading" looks at the earliest stages of literacy in such locations as a baby speech lab and a Head Start center. The program examines how parents, childcare providers, and kindergarten teachers can get children started on the road to literacy.
 Program 2: "Sounds and Symbols" focuses on how children learn the relationship between sounds, letters, and words as an initial step before being able to decode the printed word.
 Program 3: "Fluent Reading" explores the ability to decode quickly and achieve fluency. The program also demonstrates how early testing and intervention can help struggling readers.
 Program 4: "Writing and Spelling" examines the connection between reading, writing, and spelling. The program features successful methods for encouraging children to write and build their vocabularies.
 Program 5: "Reading for Meaning" highlights effective strategies to help kids understand — and care about — what they read, which is the ultimate goal of learning how to read. A special just for kids: "Reading Rocks!" uses wacky humor and stories of hope to encourage struggling readers to keep trying. The program also helps parents and teachers understand the emotional impact of reading troubles and offers ways to motivate struggling readers at home and school.
 Program 6: "Empowering Parents" visits schoolsin Huntingtown, Maryland, and Portland, Oregon, to help families identify early signs of reading problems and find ideas for getting their kids the help and support they need.
 Program 7: "Becoming Bilingual" examines the challenges of teaching children to read in a new language. This show visits schools and programs in six cities across the country to learn about the different ways schools are working to create bilingual readers.
 Program 8: "Reading and the Brain" explores how brain scientists are working to solve the puzzle of why some children struggle to read and others don't. Startling new research shows the answer may lie in how a child's brain is wired from birth.
 Program 9: "A Chance to Read" looks at the reading challenges facing kids with disabilities and what schools across the country are doing to help them find success.
 Program 10: "Toddling Toward Reading" examines what it takes to give our preschoolers the early literacy skills they need to become successful readers