Improving literacy skills with urban children in U.S.A.: Seeing themselves in literature books

Early childhood education teacher candidates enrolled in a special topics class conducted a reading support project for the children in a low-income, urban setting, who were reading at least two grade levels below their assigned grade. The purpose of the project was to examine if the children can improve their reading and writing skills through pre-instructional assessment and individualized reading strategies incorporating with diverse reading materials and technology. The preservice teachers engaged in activities using grade level vocabulary words, individualized reading strategies, children's literature books, and informational technology to support the development of reading and writing skills. The strategies to improve children's literacy skills included 1) one-on-one preassessment of their reading levels, 2) individualized instructional plan based on# 1, 3) read-alouds using diverse children's literature books, and 4) autobiography book using pictures and writing using computer desktop software. The result of the study showed that the participating children read at a higher grade level than they started with. In addition, the preservice teachers reflected that they developed their own skills in conducting reading assessments, developing reading materials to meet the individual needs of children and using technology to support the development of teacher-made materials.