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A Teacher's perspective about Family Literacy 

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A Teacher's perspective about Family Literacy 

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Look at what other educators are saying about Family literacy in their classrooms.

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Each year at parent-teacher conferences I repeatedly hear two questions: "How can I help my child become a better reader?" and, "How can I work with my child to improve in mathematics?" These two academic areas are vital for learning development at any age, so it is important as a teacher to have practical resources and ideas ready for inquiring parents. Since math and reading are two huge topics, this is going to be a two-part blog post. This week let's look into ways to help parents become more comfortable with literacy skills and strategies, and next time we will talk all about math.

In school we read not just in language arts and literature, but across all academic areas. Especially with the Common Core State Standards focusing so heavily on nonfiction reading comprehension, literacy is at the forefront of study in math, science, and social studies. For this reason requests for resources to help children improve their reading skills has become common during parent conferences. During these conversations parents share that they are reading with their children at home, but they just don't know what they can do to help improve literacy skills beyond the bedtime read aloud. I think that as teachers we need to recognize first, that not everyone has had extensive university training in the components of reading.

This sounds silly, but we often take for granted the fact that we have been taught all about phonics, fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. For many parents, hearing a teacher tell them that they need to work on fluency with their children just brings up more questions. What does fluency really mean? How do you teach fluency? Without first giving parents the resources to understand how and why reading develops we really are not helping them at all. I believe that parents are not just their child's first teacher, but the most important members of the child's learning team. As teachers it is our job to come alongside parents and help them teach their children how to be strong, successful, and avid readers.

To empower my students' parents I have developed and taught parent literacy classes for the past five years. I've done everything from a one-night games workshop to a five-week class on literacy, but no matter how you choose to partner with parents, here's some things to share:

What Parents Need to Know About Literacy

Early reading begins with an understanding of phonics and syllables. Children first learn the letters and sounds of the written language and then combine the sounds to make syllables. Memorizing common syllables like word families, prefixes, and suffixes can help children become more efficient readers. To help children understand the relationship between letter sounds and symbols, download this guide to building essential phonics skills.

Decoding refers to one's ability to look at a word and sound it out or break it down to decipher its meaning. When children are learning to read, and even as they are practicing as they get older, decoding is an important skill to help make sense of written language. Here are some helpful hints for you and your child to use as you decode.

1. Ask yourself if what you read makes sense. If it doesn't, try reading the word again.

2. Use picture clues to help you figure out an unknown word.

3. Look for sounds within the word that you already know.

4. Reread the word.

5. Skip the word and read on for context clues.

Fluency is the word teachers use when talking about how quickly and accurately a child can read. A fluent reader recognizes high frequency words by sight, uses decoding strategies efficiently for new words, and reads smoothly, heeding all punctuation. A fluent reader also reads accurately. This means that your child should not just rush through reading, but instead should make sure that they are self-correcting any errors and reading with expression in their voice. In kindergarten through second grade fluency is a big focus in reading instruction.

As children learn to read they are also learning new words. As parents it is important to work with your children to make sure that they understand the meaning of the new vocabulary they encounter as they read. Beyond the words on the page, students also need to know academic vocabulary, such as the characters, setting, or plot of a text.

Being fast and accurate are not the only important characteristics of a good reader. Students must be able to understand what they are reading. As teachers and parents it is our job to stop and check that children are making sense of what they read. We should ask them questions about their reading and engage in frequent conversations about the stories we enjoy. Here is a helpful printable with some discussion questions you can ask your children while you read.

How to Create an Environment for Reading at Home

Create a quiet and comfortable reading space.

Listen to your child read aloud. By listening to their reading you can help them learn to self-correct errors and use decoding strategies to sound out unfamiliar words. It is also great practice for your children to hear themselves read in order to work on their fluency.

Reading Activities and Resources for Teachers and Parents

In addition to practicing reading, it is also important for children to practice writing every day. Try thiswriting activity after reading a good book.

Play with words. Children need to see that words can be fun! Whether it means playing with the letters in your child's name using refrigerator magnets or reading street signs and store names when you are out and about, make sure to take time to enjoy exploring reading in the real world. You can also use games like Scrabble or Boggle to help young readers practice while they play. If your child is more motivated by technology, try downloading free apps like Wordament (a digital version of Boggle) or visit the Scholastic Kids site for phonics fun with Clifford. is an addictive vocabulary game that, as an altruistic aside, donates 10 grains of rice for every correct answer.

The Oops Game

Make your own reading game at home in just a few simple steps:

1. Use Scholastic's Word Workshop tool to make cards with your child's spelling words or high frequency words. You can even download pre-made cards to get you started. Cut your cards apart and place them in a box.

2. Have players take turns choosing a card from the box and reading it aloud. If the player reads the card correctly they get to keep the card. If they are unable to decode the word they must say "Oops" and return it to the box, giving the next player a turn.

3. Play until all of the cards are read. The person with the most cards at the end wins.

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Partnering With Parents: Literacy Activities and Resources | Scholastic

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Each year at parent-teacher conferences I repeatedly hear two questions: "How can I help my child become a better reader?" and, "How can I work with my child to improve in mathematics?" These two academic areas are vital for learning development at any age, so it is important as a teacher to have practical resources and ideas ready for inquiring parents.

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Have Theme make it a fun event!

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What can we learn about Family Literacy?

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What can we learn about Family Literacy?

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Explain the Why to Families!

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As mentioned by the Urban Child Institute, a child's brain develops at a rapid rate during their early life. By age 3, the brain has reached 80% of its adult size. Developmental experiences in these years determine the organizational and functional status of the mature brain. This is an important time in a child's life to talk to them, look at pictures, and read books with them so they get as much exposure as they can before they begin formalized school. Parents teach their child how to navigate the world, and when parents take time to do these things, they are teaching them healthy reading habits for life.

In the earliest stages of a child's life, the parents don't need high literacy to teach their kids a love of books. Just asking the child to use their imagination and create a storyline for the book themselves, teaching them various sounds, and asking them questions can help develop important habits surrounding literacy. When the families make this a routine and enjoy these activities together, the building blocks of early reading success are being set up.

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The Importance of Family Literacy - Words Alive

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By Jennifer van Pelt What is Family Literacy? Family Literacy is a type of literacy education that emphasizes bringing reading and writing into the home and making it a family activity. According to a study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, children with a "richer home l

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Easy to read handouts!

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Start Planning by finding great ideas for the  Family Literacy Night 

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Start Planning by finding great ideas for the  Family Literacy Night 

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Based in Pittsburgh, Erica Loop has been writing education, child development and parenting articles since 2009. Her articles have appeared in "Pittsburgh Parent Magazine" and the website PBS Parents. She has a Master of Science in applied developmental psychology from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education.

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How to Plan a Family Literacy Night at School | Synonym

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Based in Pittsburgh, Erica Loop has been writing education, child development and parenting articles since 2009. Her articles have appeared in "Pittsburgh Parent Magazine" and the website PBS Parents. She has a Master of Science in applied developmental psychology from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education.

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Encouraging everyone to come out make memories and learn about the joy of reading!