Teachers College Reading and Writing Project
Family Videos for Reading / Videos Familiares para Leer

Many parents have asked how they can support students at home with reading and writing work. This series of short videos, produced by Teachers College staff developers, hopefully provides some answers. We have assembled videos on a number of different topics, most of which are approximately 3-5 minutes in length. Many of the videos are meant to give families a vision of how conversations with children could go. We hope you find them helpful.

Reading Videos

Jumpstart Your At-Home Reading Life (with Pablo Wolf)
Parents often ask for ideas of how to lift the level of the reading they do at home with their children. In this video, Pablo provides seven quick tips to assist you in creating a sense of excitement around home reading while tucking in some critical reading skills at the same time.

Quick Tips for Supporting Literacy at Home (with Emily Smith): Part 1
Quick Tips for Supporting Literacy at Home (with Emily Smith): Part 2
As a working mom, Emily knows that time is a valuable commodity. In this video, she shares some replicable tips for using the time you have to support your children’s literacy development in powerful ways.

Read Aloud With Your Child At Home (Enemy Pie)
Research shows that reading aloud with your child is the number one activity that supports early reading. Reading together boosts literacy, vocabulary and a strong social bond (with an opportunities for kids to learn a life lesson or two along the way!). In this video you’ll see how Amanda invites Noah to think alongside her as she reads aloud to him.

What You Need to Know About Reading Levels and Benchmarks
What does my child’s reading level mean? What reading level should my child be at right now? What should I do to help my child move up levels? How do I find books at my child’s reading level? In this video Mary Ehrenworth gives a detailed and easy to understand overview of reading levels, from the purpose behind them to the differences between the different levels of books.

Help Your Child Get Ready to Read a Book (with Amanda Hartman)
Often times parents ask, “How can I support my child in the books they bring home from school?” In this video clip below, you’ll see how Amanda helps Sophie get started in reading her book.

Finding Magical Moments When Reading At Home (with Cornelius Minor and Hilary Andaya)
In this video, Cornelius and Hilary contemplate how we can lift the reading work we do at home with our children. Cornelius shares how powerful it is when he follows his own daughters’ wonderings and questions when reading, allowing their interests and curiosities to drive the conversation.

Word Games That Support Vocabulary Acquisition (with Katy Wischow and Hilary Andaya)
Learning new words does not have to be boring! Watch as Katy shares some fun games that allow your child to play with words and build their vocabulary across the day.

Building Your Child's Vocabulary (with Mike Ochs)
In this video Mike will provide you with simple and concrete ways to help your child build their vocabulary. Make sure to watch all the way to the end to learn the #1 way to help your child acquire new vocabulary!

Adding Talking and Thinking to a Book (with Amanda Hartman)
Get to know what your child is reading in school by asking them to read to you. Make it a fun and engaging experience by having them read a bit of their book to you and then together talk more about the characters. In the video below you’ll watch as Amanda and Tenzin read a little bit of Tenzin’s book and then stop to imagine what the characters might say or think.

Partner Reading and Talking About Books (with Amanda Hartman)
Share in the journey of reading with your child by taking turns reading some of the books they bring home from school. In the video below you’ll see Amanda support Tenzin by inviting her to share the book by taking turns reading.

Using Tools with Your Reader (Readers TALK About Books) (with Amanda Hartman)
A peek inside your child’s book baggie or reading folder might reveal some charts and tools they are learning to use in school to support their reading. In the video below you’ll see how Amanda holds Sally’s chart that helps them work together to think about the book.

Reigniting Your Child's Enthusiasm For Reading (with Casey Maxwell)
Has your child’s enthusiasm for reading suddenly stalled? Are they hiding their book baggies or avoiding reading at all costs? In this video, Casey will help you figure out some potential reasons behind your child’s reluctance to read and provide insight for helping them fall back in love with their books.

Ways to Extend Social Studies Learning At Home Part 1 (with Emily Smith)
Ways to Extend Social Studies Learning At Home Part 2 (with Emily Smith)
Ways to Extend Social Studies Learning At Home Part 3 (with Emily Smith)
Your children learn important new content in social studies and history every year. There are many ways you can extend your child’s learning by studying topics together at home and incorporating key teaching methods that your child’s teacher uses in the classroom. In this series of videos, Emily highlights a few ways you can bring content learning to life in your home.

Learn About the World Together (with Amanda Hartman)
Young readers love to learn about the world and become experts on animals, machines, space, etc. In this video, you’ll see before they read how Amanda encourages Atifa to read the table of contents and think about what she might learn in each chapter.

Screen Time: Yes? No? Sometimes? (with Emily Strang Campbell and Hilary Andaya)
Screen time is a controversial topic. Is it bad? Is it good? How much screen time is ok? In this video, Hilary and Emily discuss the benefits of watching movies with your children and talk through ways to incorporate critical thinking and talking skills into your next movie night.

Videos in Spanish / Videos en Español

¿Qué es un taller de lectura? Parte Uno

¿Qué es un taller de lectura? Parte Dos

Cosas que puede hacer en casa para ayudar a su hijo/a a aprender Inglés.