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As someone who has not yet had the chance to teach in a classroom outside of my internship, it's surprising to hear just how many students do their homework by themselves. My parents were always helping me with my homework, even if they didn't quite understand it themselves, they at least tried.

I guess it is understandable, since parents might not be home or just not have the time, but it is unfortunate.
-Ashlie

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I really like the connection you were able to make between experiences growing up and family literacy, which seemed to have created great memories for you. You also made a great point regarding the fact that some students only get practice with reading and writing in the classroom, which I believe creates an unique challenge for us as teachers to figure out an effective way to incorporate these skills within their home life as well. Thanks for sharing!
Verneisha Smith

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I like that family literacy is already a big part of your classroom and that you have had much success with the theory! I really like that you extend the invite to other people outside of your students' families so that different personnel can see the great things you are doing within your classroom. Thanks for sharing!

Verneisha Smith

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Definition(s):
The Family Literacy Theory is defined by Tracey and Morrow as "the ways families, children, and extended family members use literacy at home and in their community" (Tracey and Morrow, 2017). My personal definition closely relates to the text's definition of the theory as I view the theory as an enrichment of a student's home environment to which all family members becoming active members within the student's education.
Full Citation:
Tracey, D. H., & Morrow, L. M. (2017). Lenses on Reading: An Introduction to Theories and Models. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Personal Connection:
As I was growing up, my parents read at least one book to me just about every night. Once I grew old enough to read books on my own, I continued to read about every night and often read to my parents and grandparents. Both of my parents are avid newspaper readers and news watchers, so they often took the exciting information they heard or read about and shared it with me to start a dialogue of me asking questions and learning more about the particular topic. In addition, my mother also enrolled me in literacy programs such as Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, Scholastic's Book Club, and our bank's birthday club where I received free books and magazines every month and for my birthday until I reached a certain age.

Connection to the World:
When I used to volunteer with elementary school students, I was surprised by how many of them shared with me that they do their homework and/or class projects by themselves or with little to no help from their families. Being that my parents were very involved in all of homework assignments and projects and ensured that I understood the material that I was learning, I was taken aback by the reality that not all students share a similar experience with their own families. Now that I have a better understanding of different factors that can contribute to a lack of parental involvement, I believe incorporating this theory within the classroom is a great start in encouraging that necessary connection between school and home to further promote academic improvement.

Additional Websites With Family Literacy Information:
http://www.readingrockets.org/resources_new/c593
https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-daily/2017/11/02/resources-to-support-family-literacy
http://www.getreadytoread.org/early-learning-childhood-basics/early-literacy/promoting-family-literacy-raising-ready-readers

*Youtube Video: 3 tips families can incorporate into their daily lives to promote literacy*

Verneisha Smith

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As a child, my family and I read with each other all of the time. Every night before bed my brother and I would meet my parents in the living room and we would all read a short story together. This made reading relaxing because it was our time to "wind down" for the day and enjoy a story. My grandmother and I would ALWAYS play scrabble and I would always try to pay close attention in school to think of new words so I could beat her on our next game. My fun experiences with literature at home gave me a positive outlook on reading and writing for school. Because I enjoyed reading and perceived it as relaxing, I was more willing to do my homework, etc. This continuous reading at home also helped in developing my reading and writing skills. Sometimes the only practice students get in reading and writing is in the classroom. This could be a disadvantage to students that fear failing in front of others. They may not be able to focus on learning the words in a classroom as much as they would at home where they are comfortable and not afraid to fail.

- Kristen Grubb

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I also really like your idea of a mystery reader! This is excellent and shows students that they are supported by those that they love most and this is extremely important! In this situation, how would you handle a situation in which a child has no family that are able or willing to visit so that they do not feel left out?

- Kristen

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One thing that stood out when reading the chapter was Holdaway's suggestion for teachers to use BIG BOOKS when reading to their students. I would have never thought that using these books would create and illusion for the students and make them feel as if they were on their parents lap. Attached is a video of what this "BIG BOOK" reading looks like in the classroom. 

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One thing that stood out when reading the chapter was Holdaway's suggestion for teachers to use BIG BOOKS when reading to their students. I would have never thought that using these books would create and illusion for the students and make them feel as if they were on their parents lap. Attached is a video of what this "BIG BOOK" reading looks like in the classroom. 

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- Kristen Grubb

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Hey guys! I made a powerpoint with information from the book that I feel is most important!

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I really like your idea of having a "mystery reader" visit your classroom once a week.  That is a great way to promote family literacy!  I'd like to do this in my classroom this year!
-Heather

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I LOVE the reading resource, EPIC.  My students use it in the classroom.  Some parents have it on their iPads at home for their family to use. There are so many books on there. It is a great resources for all ages!
-Heather

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Heather,
You are so right parents are a children first and most important teacher. Even though my mother didn't read to me, she gave me a dictionary to help me with my home work and learn how to pronounce hard words. I learned then that my education was very important to my mom.
Mary

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*You Read to Me, I'll Read to You books
*Scholastic Family Night at school
*Scholastic.com
*ABC Mouse
*Epic!

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by: Mary Little
Family Literacy Theory

Family literacy is defined as ‘the ways families use literacy at home and in their community (Tracey and Morrow, 2012).  I, myself, wasn’t raised in a literacy rich family. My mother had to drop out of school for family reasons after the sixth grade. I had two sisters, one a year older and my other sister is a year younger and I can’t recall them reading books other than the ones needed for their homework. However, my mother did enroll me into the Head Start program (text-to-world).

Program Description

Head Start is a Federal program that promotes the school readiness of children from birth to age five from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development. Head Start programs provide a learning environment that supports children's growth in many areas such as language, literacy, and social and emotional development. Head Start emphasizes the role of parents as their child's first and most important teacher. These programs help build relationships with families that support family well-being and many other important areas.

There are no sources in the current document. (North Caroline Head Start|Benefits.gov, 2017).

I could not connect this theory to childhood but I can connect it to my current family. My house is full of books. I encourage my children to read. At Christmas time, they knew that one of their gift will be a book or two. My children are readers and I try to make sure that my grandchildren have books in their hands to either look at or read. My husband accuses us of have school at home because there are so many books.

Also, the district in which I work partner with the LENA Home organization to help promote “Talk to Me” program. Parents of our students were invited to come and learn about child development and what they can do to help their child with school work.  Parents received books to take home and read with their child. One of the goal is to build up their child vocabulary.

Another program that is available for children is sponsored by Cleveland County School of Readiness (the area where I live) and Dolly Parton is the Imagination Station. It’s a program where families can receive a free book a month for their child from birth to age 5 to encourage literacy in the home.

(

http://usa.imaginationlibrary.com)

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Lindsay Ledbetter

Family Literacy & Mystery Reader
I have a ‘Mystery Reader’ visit my classroom once a week.  I invite any parents, guardians, grandparents, relatives, or other special people to surprise their child by being a ‘Mystery Reader’ in my classroom.  Readers are asked to bring a favorite book to read (or I give the option to provide a book if one is needed).

Students LOVE having their family, friends, and relatives visit our classroom to share in our learning by reading a favorite story aloud to our class.  I ask that our Mystery Readers send me five facts about themselves that will be used as clues for the students to help them guess who will be reading to the class on their selected week.  It's interesting what I learn about the family from the facts they send. I provide instructions and examples for how to decide on the facts to use.  I ask them NOT to tell their child when they are coming.

I turn the 5 facts into a ‘BOOK OF CLUES’. It is so fun when students realize that their parent or relative is the one who has written the clues and will soon be reading to our class!
The process we go through to solve the mystery also helps with understanding what a ‘mystery’ is, how to use multiple pieces of information to make predictions, recognizing and identifying key words in sentences, using text-evidence to support our thinking and making inferences.

I learn so much about my students’ family literacy through this.   I have had family members bring in books they loved reading as a kid, ‘special’ bedtime books that are read nightly together, traditions, favorite authors and series, etc. My students love hearing WHY the guest reader selected the book to read to us.

After I send out a link to invite my families, I know right away who is involved in their child’s academic success and who is going to need some extra time and support from myself.  The families that are involved and comfortable with reading are usually the first to sign up or contact me about a different time/date that works with their schedules.

Last year, at the end of the school year my kids were able to recall the Mystery Readers and the books they read.  I was amazed!  (Personally, I had to look back at photos to see if they were right or not).  I knew that this made an everlasting impact, and that it is going to be something that I will continue doing for years to come.

I also extend the invite to administration, other teachers, & District Office Personnel.  We get to learn a little about the people that are making important decisions for our education as well as people within our school and community.

READING ROCKS

I also use this to promote reading at home. (See Heather's post for a detailed description above for what we do.)  During my third year of teaching (2014), I realized that requiring students to read for 20 minutes each night was not effective.  I started to question my intentions and who it was benefiting.  Forcing a beginning reader to sit and read for 20 minutes is only putting stress on most parents and students.  I realized I did not want my students to feel the same way I did about reading when I was their age.  So, I decided to change it up and ‘require’ one book to be read and logged each night for homework.

However, I have two libraries and students take home books that are ‘just-right’ for them to reread at home after reading for a week in class. Turning reading homework into an exciting time instead of a challenging decoding task has contributed to my students wanting to read instead of avoiding it all together.  Now, what kid does not like earning rewards for their hard work?  That’s where the beads and bracelet idea came in. Earning beads for reading and logging encourages and motivates students to want to read at home and go above and beyond the teacher expectation.  It makes it more of a choice for them.

PARENT FEEDBACK
November, 2016:
“Dear Ms. Ledbetter,  On behalf of my wife and I just wanted to send you a thank you. I know you receive a lot of emails complaining and asking questions that you probably have gone over many many times. _____ is coming home and reading at what I think is an amazing level. Since starting school and starting at a level C and now he is reading confidently at a level G. I know he might not be the best in the class, but we get excited to read and that a lot of the time is all you can ask for as a parent. Thanks again for all you are doing in class!!!”

This same student ended up reading the most books last school year.  He was close to earning his 3rd bracelet, almost 600 books!

May 2017:
One mother’s response when asked how she felt about the Reading Rocks Folder,
“I really wanted to talk to the family about this because we all participated in this challenge.

I loved it and it was a perfect fit for my child and his reading struggle (mom).

Dad thought it helped keep him as a parent on task and seeing how proud {child’s name} was with his accomplishments in this.

{Child’s name} said he liked it!!

{3 rd grade daughter} said it was great for {child} but she didn't think it would have been fair for her because she was further along in reading at that point therefore her books were longer and she would not have finished as many books and been rewarded.”

Resources for Prek-2: