United Way of Rhode Island and Rhode Island KIDS COUNT are pleased to coordinate Rhode Island Reads: The Campaign for 3rd Grade Reading, in collaboration with a growing number of partners. Rhode Island Reads connects people, organizations, state agencies, businesses, and communities around the shared goal of doubling the number of third graders reading on grade-level by 2025. 

We now have over 60 partners joining us in this work, and more are signing on every day. If your organization would like to come aboard as a partner of Rhode Island Reads, please fill out the partner form and send back to us. 

As we look ahead to another year of working together to increase reading proficiency across Rhode Island, we wanted to take a moment to look back at 2017 and preview 2018 activities.

• Increase access to early language and literacy opportunities for Rhode Island children birth through Grade 3
• Improve school readiness by increasing access to high-quality early learning programs (child care, State Pre-K, Head Start, and family home visiting) and promoting timely screenings to identify developmental delays with referrals to interventions designed to help children catch up
• Reduce chronic school absence in the early grades 
• Expand access to high-quality summer learning programs

Key Rhode Island Reads Activities

• 2018 Rhode Island Reads Advocacy Agenda highlighting key state budget items and pending legislation related to 3rd Grade Reading
• Reading with Young Children Week: Focus on Infants and Toddlers in 2018
• Summer Learning Opportunities 
• Attendance Matters! 
• Annual Rhode Island Reads Partner Meeting

Did you know that reading books without words is a great way to build a young child's vocabulary and have literacy-rich conversations? Reading a wordless book (a picture book that tells a story through illustrations alone or with very few words) opens up new worlds to children. These books can be shared with children in multiple languages. Here are some tips for sharing wordless picture books.

• Mr. Wuffles by David Weisner, Ages 4 to 7 
  A cat named Mr. Wuffles doesn't care about toy mice or toy goldfish. He's much more interested in playing with a little spaceship full of actual aliens! David Weisner has created several Caldecott-winning books with amazing illustrations and no words. 
• Who Made This Cake? by Chihiro Nakagawa, Ages 3 to 7
  What if the people you order your next birthday cake from are tiny, and what if they build cakes the way we build buildings? Who Made this Cake? is great for kids who like trucks and construction equipment and birthday cakes! 
• Journey by Aaron Becker, Ages 4 to Adult
  The first book in a trilogy and a Caldecott Honor book, Journey is about a lonely girl who draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. If you like this book, read the rest in the series! 
• Inside Outside by Lizi Boyd, Ages 2 to 4
  Peek through the window to find out what is happening outside and inside today. There are surprises on every page and the book is filled with fun details. Can you find the two mice playing throughout?

Across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, we saw more than 650 posts about your favorite books, along with so many special memories of the role that reading has played in the lives of Rhode Island families. Your participation in this social media effort brought attention to early literacy, and got people excited about our shared goal of helping all children to become fluent, joyful readers. Please see the 'Share Your Favorites' activity on Storify!

Learn more about Rhode Island's efforts to improve third-grade reading through the Children's Cabinet Action Plan, and on the Rhode Island Reads website. 

On Thursday, November 2, 2017, United Way of Rhode Island and Rhode Island KIDS COUNT welcomed state leaders and community partners to Rhode Island College to discuss strategies to improve 3rd grade reading success. 

• Please see the Partner Meeting presentation, with information and data on school readiness, chronic absence, summer learning, and learning to read.
• Please also see the following city/town level data: Third Graders Meeting Expectation in English Language Arts, By District, 2015-2017

• Please see the Rhode Island Reads Data Dashboard with indicators that contribute to improved 3rd grade reading proficiency. The data dashboard will continue to evolve over time and be updated periodically.