A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

READ*WRITE*NOW!
THE SUMMER READING AND WRITING CHALLENGE

• What Is the 1996 READ*WRITE*NOW! Summer Challenge? The READ*WRITE*NOW! summer challenge is an activity to improve children's reading and writing skills, sponsored by the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education and launched by U.S. Secretary of Education Riley in Springfield, Illinois and other sites on April 26, 1996.

  READ*WRITE*NOW! links children with a reading partner. Children agree to read and write 30 minutes a day and learn a new vocabulary word, five days a week. Once or twice a week, children meet with their reading partner for extra help. While this reading partnership is important year-round, it is especially important in the summer when many children lose reading skills.

  Last summer's READ*WRITE*NOW! was so successful, it is being expanded. Our goal this year is a million kids (this year's summer reading challenge partners are listed on the trim).

• How Do I Get Involved In READ*WRITE*NOW!? All you need is a child, a reading partner -- a teenager, senior citizen, relative, or friend -- and a book. Find reading partners and link them with children in your community. READ*WRITE*NOW! wraps around any existing reading program. Find a sponsor to reprint materials and highlight successful readers and tutors.

• What Materials Are Available? The READ*WRITE*NOW! Basic Kit (for children preschool-grade 6 and reading partners) includes how-to materials, an activities book, two bookmarks, and two certificates. Local sponsors are encouraged to develop their own incentives to reward children who complete their reading goals. With the help of the American Library Association and the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, the U.S. Department of Education will distribute the kit to 16,000 libraries in May. Many Reading Is Fundamental sites will receive kits, too.

• How Can I Get These Free Kits? Access the Internet (http://www.ed.gov), or call 1-800-USA-LEARN for color and black and white kits (while supplies last). Get a black-and-white copy to duplicate for your school or community group. Starting in June, go to your public library.

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