Parents as Primary Sources

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Parents as Primary Sources

• Parents, teachers and principals as collaborators
  to support childrens learning

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Cornerstone Parent/Community Engagement Principles

• Parents and community have important roles to
  play in children attaining high levels of
  literacy by grade three.
• Schools are more effective at ensuring high
  levels of literacy when they draw on the
  resources, knowledge and expertise of parents and
  the community

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Paula Rogovins classroom
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Topics Paulas children selected for their
community study this year

• Restaurants
• Buildings
• Vehicles and transportation

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Inquiry is based on childrens questionsWho
grows our food?
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Some of the childrens questions about restaurants

• Why do they have menus?
• Where do they get the food from?
• Why do they have waiters and waitresses?
• How do waiters and waitresses learn their jobs?
• Who cuts the food?
• How do they make the food?
• Who clears and cleans the tables?
• Who cleans the dishes?
• Why are there sometimes flowers at the tables?
• Why do some people stick bubblegum under the
  tables?

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Interviewing Gabriellas mother, Damaris, to find
out some answers
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Making a mural after interviewing Tommy from H
H Bagels
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Researching vehicles and transportation

• Looking for answers to student questions by
  visiting the United Auto Repair Shop, two blocks
  from the Manhattan New School.

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United Auto Repair Shop
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the lift
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A mural about the lift
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Inquiry Curriculum

• Areas of investigation are determined by the
  curriculum.
• What are the big, essential questions?
• Standards guide selection of topics
• Children ask questions to be researched in an
  inquiry classroom.
• Answers to the questions are sought in both
  primary and secondary sources.

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Primary Sources

• People
• Places
• Things

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Kindergarten study at Stemley Road Life on the
Farm

• Objectives The children will understand the
  workings of a farm and what will be produced,
  describe offspring of farm animals, harvesting of
  food.
• Parents share their farming expertise,
  establishing parental and community involvement
  from the very beginning of Stemley students
  school career.
• Student learning is enhanced by the curriculum
  being derived from the here and now experiences
  of the students.
• Experiences support oral language development.

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The kindergarten teacher introduces a local goat
farmer to the class.
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Mr. Gaither, the Maintenance Supervisor, shares
his expertise with the Kindergarten Students.
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6th grade mural with Talladega College professor
Dr. Bacon.
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More Photos
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Other Primary Sources

• Places
• Historical sites
• Workplaces
• Community
• Things
• Documents (Newspapers, diaries, letters)
• Artifacts (Objects, music, cultural items)
• Visuals (Photographs, artwork, media)

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How do you find primary sources?

• Put out the word widely about the topics being
  researched.
• Get to know families and make specific requests
  of the less active parents for information they
  are comfortable sharing (eg. related to their
  jobs, country of origin, areas of expertise).
• Let everyone in the School Building know what is
  being researched
• Teachers,
• Administrators,
• Cafeteria workers
• Maintenance workers
• Security guards
• Students
• Former students
• Inform families and ask for objects, photographs,
  documents, books, people to interview
• Parents
• Extended families Grandparents, Cousins, Aunts
  and Uncles
• Siblings,
• Family friends
• Explore leads in the community
• Community Agencies
• Museums
• Churches

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Follow any and all leads

• Identify experts who can answer childrens
  question
• Internet
• Library research
• Phone book
• Write letters asking for assistance with the
  research to
• Community leaders
• People found on the internet, phone book, etc.
• Family members
• Famous people
• Conduct surveys to discover peoples knowledge,
  activities, experience connected to the research
  topic.
• Students in other classes
• School staff
• Family members
• Local businesses
• Community organizations

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Bibliographic resources

• Paula Rogovin Classroom Interviews A World of
  Learning Heinemann, 1998
• Paula Rogovin The Research Workshop Bringing
  the World into the Classroom Heinemann, 2001
• Steven Zemelman et. al History Comes Home Using
  Family Stories in the Curriculum Stenhouse, 2000

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Principals set the tone

• By making it clear that parents are welcome and
  their involvement is wanted.
• By setting the expectation that teachers regard
  families and community as resources.

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Rigor

• Engagement
• Active
• Depth
• Inquiry into student questions using primary
  sources leads to Rigor!