Abstract of

Issues in Urban Literacy
When Mama Can't Read: Counteracting Intergenerational Illiteracy

Kathleen S. Cooter

Almost 50 million American adults do not have adequate reading skills to fill out a job application, read a food label, or read a story to a child. These individuals often lack the literacy skills needed to find and keep decent jobs, support their children's education, or participate actively in civic life. In this column, the author offers some research-proven answers to a very basic question facing many urban reading teachers: What can a mother with limited literacy skills do to support and enhance the literacy development of her children? The author reviews recent research on the causes of intergenerational illiteracy and explores several promising evidence-based practices.

Abstract from Cooter, K.S. (2006, April). When Mama Can't Read: Counteracting Intergenerational Illiteracy. The Reading Teacher, 59(7), 698–702. doi: 10.1598/RT.59.7.9