Family LiteracyFocus on PreschoolersYoung Children

1
Family Literacy-Focus on Preschoolers/Young
Children

• Jim Anderson
• Language and Literacy Education, UBC
• CLLRNet Conference
• Charlottetown, PEI
• June 20, 2006

2
(No Transcript)
3
Examples of programs

• Mother Goose
• Books for Babies
• HIPPY
• LAPS and Aboriginal LAPS
• PRINTS
• Even Start

4
Impact of family literacy programs

• Brooks, G., Gorman, T., Harman, J., Hutchison,
  D., Wilkin, A. (1996). Family literacy works
  The NFER evaluation of the Basic Skills Agencys
  demonstration programmes. London Basic Skills
  Agency.

5
Engaging families Our experiences

• Accessibility
• Logistical considerations (location, time
  frequency)
• Language/communication
• Social considerations (food, relationships,
  presentation format)

6

• Content (substantive and concrete)
• Resources
• Word of mouth is important for recruitment

7

• Family should be broadly construed
• Families vote with their feet (Hayden, 2002,
  personal communication)
• Family life is complex

8
Parents as Literacy Supporters (PALS)(Anderson
Morrison, 1999)

• Jim Anderson
• Language and Literacy Education
• UBC

9
Overview

• What is PALS?
• How did PALS come to be?
• Goals of PALS
• Assumptions/ Theoretical Framework
• How does PALS work?

10
What is PALS?

• PALS
• is a program for preschool and kindergarten aged
  children and their parents
• 10 or more half day sessions
• has a take home component from each session
• is in its 7th year in Langley in 12 schools
  reaching 350 families
• is being implemented in 14 school districts in
  British Columbia, in the Northwest Territories
  and in Toronto
• is making a difference for families
• values and builds upon family strengths
• is no cost to families
• is a joyful, respectful program

11
How did PALS come to be?

• The developers (Anderson Morrison) were invited
  by the mayor of a small city in B.C. to
  participate in developing a program that would
  assist parents in supporting their childrens
  literacy development.
• The program was part of a larger inter-agency
  community development initiative.
• Focus groups of parents, early childhood
  educators and administrators were established to
  provide advice in the design and implementation
  of the program.

12
What is PALS?

• PALS
• is a program for preschool and kindergarten aged
  children and their parents
• 10 or more half day sessions
• has a take home component from each session
• is in its 7th year in Langley in 12 schools
  reaching 350 families
• is being implemented in 14 school districts in
  British Columbia, in the Northwest Territories
  and in Toronto
• is making a difference for families
• values and builds upon family strengths
• is no cost to families
• is a joyful, respectful program

13
Goal of PALS

• To work with parents in supporting their
• childrens early literacy development.

14
Assumptions/Theoretical Framework

• That the parents are committed to and interested
  in their childrens literacy development.
• That most parents provide opportunities for their
  children to learn literacy at home (e.g.,
  Purcell-Gates, 1996 Taylor Dorsey-Gaines,
  1998).
• That the kinds of literacy experiences which are
  being provided in the homes might be (and
  probably are) different from school literacy
  (e.g., Heath, 1983).

15

• That some parents need and want knowledge and
  specific suggestions about how they can support
  their childrens literacy development (e.g.,
  Kagan, 1992).
• That the program should reflect a social
  contextual orientation (e.g., Cairney, 2005)

16

• That children learn literacy by participating in
  a wide variety of literacy activities and events
  and that there is no single (e.g., storybook
  reading) or indeed best way for children to
  learn literacy (e.g., Pellegrini, 1991
  Taylor,1983).
• childrens literacy development is best
  understood from an ecological perspective (e.g.
  Bronfenbrenner, 1995).

17
How does PALS work?

• Overview of a PALS Session
• Sample Timeline
• 830 - 900 Eating Together
• 30 minutes
• 900 - 930 Adults together, children together
• 30 minutes
• 930 - 1015 In the Classroom
• Center Activities- adults and children
  together
• 45 minutes
• 1015 - 1030 Break/Playtime
• 15 minutes
• 1030 - 1100 Debrief- adults only
• 1100 - 1130 Story time/ Make and take
• 30 minutes
• 1130 Home time

18
Sample PALS Topics

• ABCs and Learning
• Print in Our Community
• Shared Book Reading
• Open session
• Linking Literacy and Play
• Learning to Read
• Early Math
• Early Writing
• Riddles, Raps and Rhymes
• Tiny Techies
• Open session
• Celebration/Graduation

19
Variations of PALS

• County Line School-First Nations Component
• Abbotsford-Program for Indo-Canadian families
• Parkview School-Program for Vietnamese Families

20

• Why I didnt do the homework
• Because the phone is ringing
• the door is noking
• the kid is yumping
• the food is burning
• time runs fast.
• Rosa

21

• What are the challenges in engaging families in
  your community (or context)?
• What might be some ways to meet or overcome
  these challenges?