All students in first, second and third grades who are behind in reading get special instruction and practice. Papers are corrected and returned. By the end of second grade, students write final copies of corrected papers. Corrected papers are sent home for parents to see. All students are read to each day from different kinds of books.
Students learn to blend letters and sounds to form new words.
There's more on the Web site, including the Bushes' rationale for literacy activities among the youngest children. The first lady says that's what parents should be looking for in their kids' kindergartens. It will be fascinating to see whether Laura Bush will act as a public relations agent for her husband's education initiatives, or whether she will wade in and confront some of the issues head-on. The guide for parents is a promising start. In the same week that Laura Bush spoke out for phonics and 60 minutes of daily reading instruction in kindergarten, a report issued in Annapolis said only two in five Maryland children are fully prepared for the rigors of that first year of formal schooling.