How to Promote Family Literacy

1. How to Promote Family Literacy By: Melissa Morrison, Vicky Johnson

2. What is Family Literacy? • Family literacy encompasses the ways families, children, and extended family members use literacy at home and in their community. • It occurs naturally during daily routines.

3. Home Literacy • Literacy starts at the home!! • Children should learn the function, purpose, and use of reading and writing before they enter school. • This early literacy is learned through active engagement with their environment.

4. 3 Important Influences • Physical Environment • Interpersonal Interaction • Emotional/Motivational Climate

5. Positive Home Literacy Environment • 24/7 access to a variety of reading material • Siblings who model • Parents who show interest in the child • Positive adult to child interaction • Trips to the library • Read-alouds • Opportunities to write or scribble

6. 6 Stages of Writing • It is important for parents to understand that writing begins long before the child learns more formal writing. • Drawing • Scribbling • Making letter-like forms • Reproducing letter strings • Invented spelling • Conventional spelling

7. Literacy and Play • Encourage children to use books, magazines, paper and pencils, etc. during play to make lists, label objects, or “read” to dolls • Children with high levels of symbolic play do better when it comes to reading • During play, parents should ask questions and make suggestions while staying in character. (ex. “Why don’t you make a list before you go shopping?” )

8. Using Environmental Print at Home • Use real objects during play: • Cereal box puzzles or cereal box books • Memory games using logos or coupons • Sorting game using food labels • Food folder

9. Ideas for Literacy Activities at Home • Reading and drawing • Reading logs • Frequent dinner conversations • Go for a walk • Create stories together • Tongue twisters and nursery rhymes • Write letters to family • Alphabet games • “I spy” • Journaling

10. How Teachers can Keep Parents Involved in Literacy • Send home a set of goals for their child at the beginning of the year. • Send home updates of what is being taught during literacy time at school • Host family nights and provide additional information there • Send home fun literacy activities for families to complete with their child. • Send home reading lists. • Parent/child projects at school. • Encourage parent volunteers in the classroom

11. Literacy Night • It is important to hold literacy nights every year in order to provide parents with all of the information presented here and also provide them with resources (books, writing utensils, lists of literacy activities, etc.) • According to the Executive Office of Education (Consodine 2012), some officials are trying to turn November into Family Literacy Month and it would be mandatory to have a literacy night during this month.

12. Parent Quote • “I started leaving notes for my children in surprise places before they could read. Somehow they managed to find out what the notes said, even at the pre-reading stage. Now I put messages in their lunch boxes. The notes often just say “hello.” Sometimes I’ll write a riddle or a joke, and sometimes the note may require an answer. This has become a family tradition, and lately I find surprise notes addressed to me left in the most unusual places.” ~Diane Tracey

13. Resources • Prior, J. and Gerard, M. R. (2007) Family Involvement in Early Childhood Education. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning. • Makofsky, N. (2010). Ideas for Promoting Family Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/237727-ideas-for-promoting-family-literacy • Consodine, J. C. (2012) Patrick-Murray Administration Proclaims November to be Family Literacy Month. Retrieved from http://www.mass.gov/edu/government/departments-and-boards/department-of-early-education-and-care/november-is-family-literacy-month.html • Unknown. Family Literacy Partnerships: Home and School Working Together.