Upper Saddle River, NJ - April 27, 2006 -- Children who are identified as struggling readers in 1st grade have about 15,000 fewer words in their vocabulary than those who are not, and it has been shown that the vocabulary of children entering 1st grade predicts their 11th grade reading comprehension.*

Introducing My Sidewalks on Scott Foresman Reading Street, Scott Foresman's reading intervention program designed to provide explicit and intensive instruction to meet the individual needs of struggling readers in grades K-5. My Sidewalks on Scott Foresman Reading Street will be presented at the International Reading Association's annual convention, being held in Chicago, IL, April 30-May 4.

Developed by leading experts, My Sidewalks on Scott Foresman Reading Street is intended for students who need Tier III - intensive - intervention that is provided outside of their core reading program. Research-based, and aligned with No Child Left Behind, My Sidewalks on Scott Foresman Reading Street accelerates learning through sustained instruction; intensive language and concept development; and critical comprehension skills.

The program delivers systematic and explicit instruction in the five core elements of reading: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension, and is intended for small groups of students, 30-45 minutes per day, five days a week, for 30 weeks, in addition to core reading instruction.

My Sidewalks on Scott Foresman Reading Street can be used with any core reading program, and provides parallel concepts and vocabulary instruction to Scott Foresman's Reading Street. Its intensive instruction includes increased time on task, explicit teacher modeling, multiple opportunities for response, and tasks broken down into smaller steps.

Student readers include fiction and non-fiction selections. Components include student readers and audio CDs; teaching guides; practice books; Assessment; and Manipulatives.

My Sidewalks on Scott Foresman Reading Street's authors are nationally recognized reading education experts, practitioners, and researchers, each of whom brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the program:

• Dr. Connie Juel (oral vocabulary; phonics instruction), Professor of Education, School of Education, Stanford University
• Dr. Deborah Simmons (early reading intervention; early literacy), Professor, College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University
• Dr. Jeanne Paratore (comprehension skill and strategies; literacy), Associate Professor of Education, Department of Leracy and Language Development, Boston University;
• Dr. Sharon Vaughn (early literacy intervention; the three tier model), H.E. Hartfelder/Southland Corporation Regents Professor, University of Texas.

About Pearson Scott Foresman

The world's leading elementary educational publisher of scientifically research-based instructional materials, assessment tools, digital media, and professional development. Pearson Scott Foresman is part of Pearson Education, the world's leading educational publisher and a business of Pearson, the international media company (NYSE: PSO).

Contact:
Rod Granger
Pearson Education
212-782-3486
rod.granger@pearsoned.com

*Dr. Connie Juel, "Keys To Early Reading Success: Word Recognition and Meaning Vocabulary"