This website is based on the premise that the ability to read fluently is one of those essential skills that help determine young people's future success in both their personal lives and careers. It also believes this reading fluency can be encouraged best while using interesting "real life" information about the community in which they live.
The website is a collaboration between A. Edward Heins, a former journalism professor and professional journalist, and Richard W. Burnett, a former professor of literacy education and director of a university reading clinic. Both believe that reading is an educational essential for all young people.
Young Saint Louis.com gives young St. Louisans up-to-date information about their community while the timely, interesting material provides a basis for adults to assist children achieve greater fluency in reading. The lesson plans accompanying most of the news and feature stories will be valuable help to adults who are helping children with reading problems catch up with their classmates in fluent reading.
Content of this website will be changed completely each month, thus creating a special electronic "local newspaper for St. Louisans" specifically targeted to local children. The website is available via the Internet for pickup on computers in schools, individual homes or in tutoring locations.
The website not only includes 10 different sections of the "newspaper" but each section has four different layers. The first layer is the newsstory or feature for each section. A second layer strips out the photos, illustration and color from the first layer to make it easier and quicker to print out the material, regardless of the age of your computer.
A third layer includes a specially designed reading lesson plan for that news material. It also may include a home experiment or exercise that adults can do with their children to stimulate interaction of parents and their children. The fourth layer again strips out color, photos and illustrations from the third layer to facilitate printouts for future use.
When appropriate, each section will have additional highlights--either on the Internet or elsewhere--that can provide more information and/or learning opportunities for both young people and adults.
We have included various elements on the website to encourage our audience to talk with the editors of Young Saint Louis.com to ask questions, suggest stories, write letters to the editor and even submit classified ads for future editions.
We plan to keep Young Saint Louis.com lively and informative as well as valuable as a new reading experience. We look forward to having you--the readers--help us with ideas of different ways to look at our community and different ways to learn for the future.
