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1. Teachers can effectively communicate with families through regular updates, newsletters, emails, and conferences. Offering resources like at-home reading strategies or book recommendations empowers families to support their child’s reading development. Encouraging open dialogue and providing specific, actionable feedback can further engage families in the process.

2. Collaboration with colleagues, such as reading specialists or special education teachers, can be achieved through regular meetings, shared planning, and discussion of student progress. Teachers should align strategies, share insights, and tailor instruction to meet the diverse needs of students. Using data-driven approaches ensures a cohesive, personalized reading plan that addresses individual needs.

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One of the strategies that teachers can use to effectively communicate with families and involve them in supporting the child's development is to call the parents. Many times a parent is not aware of the deficits their child has. nor do they know how to help their child in their reading development. Teachers can meet with parents and show the parent how to help their child review and practice basic reading skills to help solidify the child’s reading. Teachers can also post videos of the lessons that they have done with their students so parents can access them on Schoology. I find that parents want to be involved. Especially when they know and are aware that their child is not making the progress that their peers are making or that an older child has made in the past. If parents knew what to do and how to do it, I believe that they would help their children practice their reading skills.

Teachers can collaborate with their colleagues through dialogue and conversation about their focus students. Many times a special education teacher has access to special programs or access to instructional materials that the general education teachers do not have. a lot of times the special education teachers have more training, because they do most of the intervention. Talking with your colleagues and asking for ideas is one way to access new strategies to help our students develop as readers.

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Gavriela Trujillo

1. There are several strategies teachers can use to communicate effectively with parents. I must be clear with parents. I really enjoy communicating with parents face to face, because this way I am able to show them physically student work samples and certain ways to work with them. I also send letters/notes home if I need to send an update or if I have been trying to reach out and I haven’t been successful. Another form of communication I have been using these last years has been classdojo. Classdojo has been a great way of communication. There I send parents messages and pictures of the student or pictures of the student’s work.

2.     Collaborating with colleagues sometimes can be a challenge due to conflicting schedules. However, at the moment I am a UTK-CC teacher and I have the opportunity to collaborate with my co-teacher daily. She and I meat daily before class and after class to discuss our plans and plan. This week we have parent conferences and we have been planning the rest of the year. We have been discussing we need to do more blending with our students. Since our school is a Tier 3 school. We also meet once a week with the kinder teacher to discuss strategies and expectations for the students.

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To support children's reading development, teachers can keep families engaged through regular updates via newsletters, emails, or class apps, sharing tips, book recommendations, and progress updates. Hosting family reading nights or virtual workshops helps parents learn effective strategies, while take-home book bags and reading logs encourage practice at home. Providing resources in different languages and celebrating reading milestones makes literacy more accessible and motivating. Encouraging simple reading moments like bedtime stories or reading grocery lists helps families integrate literacy into daily life.

Collaboration with colleagues, like reading specialists and special education teachers, ensures a strong, unified approach to reading instruction. Regular planning meetings, shared assessments, and coordinated small-group support help target students’ needs effectively. Attending professional development together keeps everyone aligned on best practices, while sharing resources and using consistent strategies across classrooms reinforces learning. When teachers work together and support each other, students benefit from a more cohesive and impactful reading experience.

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Technology has offered us many different ways to communicate with families and our communities while supporting their reading development. But the most effective tool is always a reading log with comprehension questions when they return to the class. Reading logs sound simple but they can be quite effective especially when paired with an activity for afterwards. Technology enhances this pairing by utilizing communicative tools such as class dojo, flipgrid, video logs, pictures, etc. Many parents want and need to be involved with their child's reading development especially during the pivotal years. Being able to create communication among families has proven to significantly increase reading skills, enthusiasm, and collaboration.

In the research we have studied I believe one of the most effective ways to build cohesion in reading development is to have a common goal and/or annual plan. For example, using a pre-determined text and/or units to collaborate with teachers and other specialized personal will create cohesion and familiarity with young readers. When a young reader is already familiar with a text and/or exposure then facilitators and instructors have an easier time to implement explicit instruction for a targeted goal. In other words using the same resources can be highly effective across instructors and students.

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Some strategies teachers can use effectively to communicate with families and involve them in supporting their child's reading development are to create a consistent flow of communication and participate and/or host workshops for families by involving families in classroom activities. I believe these are some of the few strategies that, if followed consistently and with a purpose, can help families feel engaged and excited about participating in their child's educational journey. In my years of teaching experience, I have learned that many parents want to be involved but lack the time due to work or the knowledge about how to make this happen. Therefore, establishing positive relationships and communication with the parents of our students is key from day 1.

Teachers can collaborate with colleagues, such as reading specialists or special education teachers, by planning together, reviewing student data, and setting goals for students. Networking is important when it comes to improving our students' reading instruction.