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Guides from Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets is pleased to offer free print guides created for parents, teachers, and many others who want to improve the reading achievement of children. The following print guides were originally created as companion pieces to our PBS television programs. The guides are also very beneficial, however, as stand-alone publications that explain how to help kids learn at home and school.

Click below for:

Launching Young Readers Guides

Several print guides are available that accompany Reading Rockets' PBS television series Launching Young Readers.

Viewers' Guide

The Viewers' Guide is a companion print guide to our PBS five-part television series, Launching Young Readers. The Viewers' Guide provides descriptions and approximate lengths for each program segment as well as information on helping children who are struggling with reading.

Download guide (228K PDF)*
Download bonus sequence handout (11K PDF)*

Family Guide

The colorful bilingual Family Guide includes tips for helping children get the most out of reading as well as pointers on working with schools and teachers, ideas for using the public library, and more. Available in Spanish, Hmong, and Somali.

Download Spanish/English guide (1.2MB PDF)*
Download Somali/English guide (1.2MB PDF)*
Download Hmong/English guide (1.2MB PDF)*

Teachers' Guide

Created for preschool through second grade teachers, the Teachers' Guide lists typical reading achievements by grade level and suggests how teachers can foster the development of phonemic awareness, fluency, spelling, writing, and comprehension skills.

Download guide (846K PDF)*

Reading Rocks! Talking With Your Struggling Reader

This one-page discussion guide is a companion to Reading Rocks!, an empowering and upbeat show for kids ages 7-12 years old. The guide includes suggestions for parents and teachers of a struggling reader.

Download guide (790K PDF)*

Empowering Parents: Reading Rockets Parents' Guide

From the moment your child is born, there are simple things you can do to help him or her become a good reader. This guide helps parents build a child's early reading skills at home, recognize signs of trouble, support the child as he or she enters school, understand options for extra support, and recognize when parents need to go outside the school for help.

Download guide (550K PDF)*

Reading Rockets Parent Tip Sheets

A child's success as a reader begins much earlier than the first day of school. Reading, and a love for reading, begins at home. Our one-page Parent Tips offer easy ways for parents to help kids become successful readers. Although we've divided these tips by age, many of them can be used with children at various ages and stages — we encourage you to choose the ones that work best for your child.

See these tips on Reading Rockets, or download them as a PDF, available in English and 10 other languages.

Go to parent tip sheets

A Tale of Two Schools Guides

Several print guides are available that accompany Reading Rockets' PBS documentary A Tale of Two Schools.

Parents' Discussion Guide

What happens before a child enters kindergarten is vital to reading success. And research shows that when parents play a role in their child's academic career, students have better attendance, make greater achievement gains, and have fewer behavior problems. This one-page guide includes five thought-provoking questions to discuss with parents.

Download guide (572K PDF)*

Teachers' Discussion Guide

Teachers are charged with discovering the proper balance of instructional methods that work for each individual student in learning to read. They are responsible for the enormously challenging task of finding the magical mix that works for each child. This one-page guide includes seven thought-provoking questions to discuss with teachers.

Download guide (365K PDF)*

Community Discussion Guide

All over the country, across all ethnic lines and socioeconomic levels, schools are struggling with their most basic job – teaching kids to read. This one-page guide includes seven thought-provoking questions to discuss among those concerned about reading achievement in local schools.