At elementary schools in Norwich and Stamford educators are innovating with reading programs that put the accent on togetherness.

In Norwich, the Mohegan Elementary School started a “Raising Readers Parent and Student Club” that trained parents to read effectively to their children and nurture a mutual love for reading.

About half the 30 families who took part had children in the bilingual program for Chinese speakers, a consequence of the area’s work force.

The weekly sessions ran from late January to early March and were judged successful enough to warrant repeating, according to a Norwich Bulletin report.

Topics covered included how stories can help children grow, literacy in the digital age, and services offered by libraries.

At four elementary schools in Stamford, classroom lessons were rearranged to emphasize what teachers called “active reading.”

Instead of reading silently to themselves, or listening to a teacher read, students read together in pairs or small groups, often taking turns to read aloud.

The technique is believed to promote fluency. Another goal was to achieve more consistency in the way reading is taught.

According to a Stamford Advocate report, a 2008 study found more than 150 different language arts programs were being used in the city’s elementary schools. Children also often switched classrooms, depending on reading level.

The active reading approach was tried out with kindergarteners through second graders and was a first phase in a district-wide revamping of elementary literacy instruction.