Family Literacy

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Family Literacy

• Hewlett Elementary
• October 4, 2011

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The Conditions of Learning
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Charting a New Mission

• Todays information age requires that young
  people develop literacy skills that are
  significantly higher than those that have ever
  been required of them. It is urgent for schools
  to chart a new mission.
• The world has changed, however whereas twenty
  years ago 95 of jobs were low-skilled, today
  those jobs constitute only 10 of our entire
  economy (Darling-Hammond et. al., 2008).
• During the four years between 1997-2002, the
  amount of new information produced in the world
  was equal to the amount produced over the entire
  previous history of the world (Darling-Hammond
  et. al., 2008).
• The amount of technical information is being
  produced at such a high rate that it is predicted
  soon to double every seventy-two hours (Jukes and
  McCain, 2002).

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Whats New in Literacy

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vx4BK_2VULCU
• Intergenerational Struggle Over Literacy Norms
• New Technology and New Ethos
• Multi-modal Texts Everywhere
• Blogs, Digital Storytelling, Wikis, Voice Thread
• http//www.pbs.org/programs/digital-media/
• http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnat
  ion/

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Common Core StandardsSix Shifts in ELA/Literacy

• Balancing Informational and Literary Text
• Building Knowledge in the Disciplines
• Staircase of Complexity
• Text-Based Answers
• Writing From Sources
• Academic Vocabulary

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What the Research Says

• We have forty years of research showing that
  packaged reading reforms simply do not seem
  reliable to improve student achievement
  (Allington).
• The single biggest influence on student academic
  growth is the quality of the teacher in the
  classroom.
• Long stretches of time to read high-interest
  books of their own choosing.
• Match between reader and text level.
• Explicit instruction in skills and strategies.
• Opportunities to talk in response to texts.

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Essential Comprehension Skills

• Monitoring for Meaning
• Inferring
• Asking questions (and searching for answers)
• Making connections
• Envisioning
• Predicting
• Determining importance
• Synthesizing

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Supporting Reading at HomeLets teach our
children that learning to read is a lifelong
process and something that all of us can be
engaged in alongside each other.

• Make reading and writing a habit.
• Read-aloud to your child (any and every age).
• Encourage your children to story tell stories
  they have read.
• Ask your child, What do you think about...?
  What makes you think that?
• Take regular trips to the library or book store.
  Give books as gifts just because...
• Make everyday activities literacy activities.

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Authors Families Love

• Eric Carle
• Mem Fox
• Mo Willems
• Kevin Henkes
• Judith Viorst
• Patricia Polacco
• Cynthia Rylant

• Roald Dahl
• Jan Brett
• Robert Munsch
• Tomie DePaola
• Gail Gibbons
• Jon Scieszka
• Shel Silverstein

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Magazines

• Ordering magazine subscriptions are a great way
  to increase the volume of non-fiction and
  informational text children are reading.
• Some recommendations
• Sports Illustrated for Kids www.sikids.com
• National Geographic Kids www.nationalgeographic
  .com/magazines
• Scholastic Magazines www.scholastic.com/news

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Books for Parents

• How to Talk So Kids Can Learn at Home and In
  School What Every Parent and Teacher Needs to
  Know, by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlich
• Raising Lifelong Learners A Parents Guide, by
  Lucy Calkins, with Lydia Bellino
• 7 Keys to Comprehension How to Help your Kids
  Read it and Get it!, by Susan Zimmerman and
  Chryse Hutchins
• The Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease
• Read to me Raising Kids Who Love to Read, by
  Bernice E. Cullinan
• Games for Learning, by Peggy Kaye
• Even Hockey Players Read, by David Booth
• The Knowledge Deficit, by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.