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Message from the Author - Dr. Ricki Birnbaum, Ed.D
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Focus on Kindergarten
To all of you who have been working so hard to improve literacy in our schools my message is: Focus on kindergarten. By exposing kindergarten children to well-designed instruction teaching the foundational skills and knowledge that underlie literacy we can improve literacy outcomes. My research over the past ten years has repeatedly shown this to be the case. Kindergarten children from diverse backgrounds and ability levels have been highly responsive to the NewPhonics-Kindergarten program. What makes NewPhonics-Kindergarten so effective? The program accelerates the development of phonemic awareness and in so doing begins the process of literacy development earlier. NewPhonics-Kindergarten teaches the prerequisites necessary for success in the early stages of literacy acquisition, and incorporates effective instructional features every step of the way. The results of the NewPhonics-Kindergarten program are truly exciting. Not only can we help all children acquire the necessary skills, knowledge, and insights to move into literacy, but we can get tomany children before they fall behind, and thus head off the many negative consequences, both cognitive and affective, that accompany reading failure.
Furthermore we can reduce the tremendous amount of time, energy and money now being spent to remediate these children. At this time it is with great pleasure that I offer the early literacy community NewPhonics-Kindergarten.
 Ricki Korey Birnbaum, Ed.D. |
