Parents and early childhood teachers know that reading aloud to children is important, but the specific things that adults do while reading with children that make reading a powerful way to improve childrens language, vocabulary, and early literacy skills can remain a mystery.Read with Me makes those behaviors clear and easy to implement for parents and teachers by outlining the ABCs of Active Reading (Ask Questions, Build Vocabulary, and Connect to the Childs World). Active Reading is an approach to reading aloud with young children that is supported by decades of research.Read With Me provides parents and teachers with the knowledge and skills to engage young children (age 2 to 5) in Active Reading with examples, clear explanations, and ideas for making one-on-one or small group read aloud sessions a powerful way to build childrens early literacy and language skills, all while creating a lifelong love of reading.

Samantha Cleaver led the initial design and startup of Active Reading work for Read Charlotte, a community-wide initiative to double the number of students reading on grade level by 3rd grade in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. She earned a doctorate in special education with a focus on literacy interventions from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.Munro Richardson is the executive director of Read Charlotte, a community-wide initiative to double the percent of students reading on grade level by 3rd grade in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Richardson earned a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in political science.

Introduction: The Power of Active ReadingChapter 1: Reading With versus Reading ToActive Reading: Raising Readers Using Decades of ResearchThe ABCs of Active ReadingWhen to do Active Reading: Taking Advantage of Child DevelopmentLearning to Love BooksChapter 2: Learning to Read: Joint Attention, Print Concepts, and Print KnowledgeLearning to Read vs. Reading to LearnHow Children Learn to ReadLearning to Read: The Early YearsSharing a Story: Joint AttentionTeaching the Basics of BooksLearning to ReadChapter 3: How to Read a Book: Repeated Reading, Fill-in-the-Blank, Picture Walks, and Talk MoreEarly Language and Active ReadingHow Children Develop LanguageRepeated ReadingPicture WalksFill-in-the-Blank PromptsTalk MoreReading TogetherChapter 4: How to Talk about a Book: Asking QuestionsAsk QuestionsSetting the Foundation for Reading Comprehension: How Children Learn to Understand what they ReadAsking and Answering Questions: The Foundation for Reading ComprehensionTalk about a BookChapter 5: Building Vocabulary: How to Teach Words in BooksBuilding Vocabulary: A Powerful ToolFinding Rare Words in BooksBuilding Vocabulary from Books: Repeated Reading and ConversationBuilding Vocabulary through Active ReadingBuilding Vocabulary after Reading: Talking Beyond BooksBuilding Vocabulary as Children GrowChapter 6: Make Books Bigger: Connect to the Childs WorldMake Connections to Build MeaningConnect to ExperiencesConnect to StoriesBuild Background KnowledgeConnect to your Childs WorldChapter 7: How to Talk about Sounds: Building Phonemic Awareness and Letter Knowledge through Active ReadingWhat is Phonemic Awareness?Active Reading to Build Phonemic AwarenessTeaching Letters through Active ReadingHow do Kids Learn to Read Words?From Singing to ReadingChapter 8: The Active Reading Bookshelf: Building a Library for Active ReadingAccess to BooksHow to Build an Active Reading LibraryActive Reading and Informational TextThe Active Reading BookshelfChapter 9: Time to Read: Doing Active ReadingOne book at a Time: Answering Questions about Active ReadingIs e-Reading Active Reading?Raising Kids who Love to ReadRead with MeAppendix A: Books for Active ReadingGreat for Pointing and LabelingGreat for Letting your Child take over Story TellingGreat for Asking QuestionsGreat for Building VocabularyGreat for Connecting to Everyday ExperiencesGreat Fiction Picture Books for Building Background KnowledgeGreat Nonfiction Picture Books for Building Background KnowledgeGreat for Picture WalksGreat for Fill-in-the-BlankGreat for Rhyming and AlliterationGreat for Learning Letters and ABCsWordless Picture BooksDiverse Books for Active ReadingAppendix B: Active Reading GuidesLlama Llama Red PajamaMaisy Goes to PreschoolNoisy NoraThe Gruffalos ChildA Seed is SleepyOwl BabiesWhere the Wild Things AreRosies HatBunny MoneyRumble in the JungleBeekle: The Unimaginary FriendLittle Blue Truck Leads the Way10 Minutes til BedtimeAppendix C: Building a Coordinated System of Active Reading in Your CommunityGlossary