READING CHECKUP GUIDE

HELPING YOUR CHILDREN BECOME BETTER READERS

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Dear Parents and Caregivers:

America needs every child to read. Yet as we step forward into a new century, millions of our children are falling behind.

• More than 40% of fourth-graders read below their grade level.*
• An alarming 6.4 million children between kindergarten and third grade now face an illiterate future.**

That’s why Reading Is Fundamental® (RIF®) is taking action to ensure that every child has a literate future. RIF is the nation’s oldest and largest children’s literacy organization and the leader in motivating children to read. Last year alone, more than 240,000 RIF volunteers brought new books to 3.5 million children utilizing a national network of community-based programs.

RIF developed this Reading Checkup Guide in consultation with some of America’s leading educators and researchers. The guide is packed with practical advice about what you can do to nurture your children’s emerging literacy skills and interest in reading.

A special thanks to Visa U.S.A. for reissuing this guide and continuing the “Read Me a Story” program—focusing national attention on the critical state of reading in America and helping to ensure that all our children become readers.

In the past two years, Visa’s “Read Me a Story” national donation program has benefited Reading Is Fundamental (RIF). Dedicated to inspiring children to read, the program has raised more than $2 million—through Visa® card usage—to support children’s literacy programs nationwide. And with the additional help of RIF volunteers, more than 4 million stories have been read to children as part of this worthy cause.

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