ABSTRACT
Chapter 2, The At-Home Model for Young Writers and Readers: Questions and Answers, explains the At-Home Model for both writing and reading through Questions and Answers by distinguishing between School writing and reading and At-Home writing and reading. It details the features of the At-Home Model and shows it to be a focused way to support writing development through customizing and personalizing the activities based on each child's strengths and interests. Links to school writing are highlighted. Further, the chapter shows how writing impacts specific areas of child development, including cognitive development, language development, communication skills, and thinking skills. In the area of reading, parents will learn about an approach for beginning reading instruction called the Language Experience Approach (LEA), which fits well with the At-Home Model and can be the source of customized reading activities using children's dictated stories (LEA is further explored in Chapters 8 and 9. The chapter concludes with Signs of Growth to watch for in the dictated stories, and a section on Benefits to Parents from At-Home activities.
