Literacy Matters Vol. 23 Winter 2023

programs to all ages and providing literacy-rich opportunities to children who lack access (Bohrer, 2005; McGill, 2003). Helpful Tips for Educators to Support Families Educators can demonstrate the importance of reading and writing in the classroom, but it is often a student’s home life that shows them how relevant literacy will be in other ways. Families can demonstrate how reading and writing are relevant and used in daily life, and educators can support families by helping them support their home literacy environments at home. “The bridges of home, school, and community are inevitably interconnected” (Tichnor-Wagner et al., 2015, p. 16). Educators are essential to collaborating with families to help foster literacy skills among children with the goal of creating a lifelong love of books and reading. Educators should help families and community members by providing resources and practices to help their children grow their literacy skills. Below are a few ideas to get started: • Invite students’ parents and family members into the classroom to read their favorite childhood book aloud. • Provide a collection of books for students to take home to read with their families. • Introduce students and their families to websites such as ReadWriteThink and Reading Rockets and encourage them to engage in these learning games and activities together at home. • Assign interactive literacy homework such as group vocabulary exercises or discussion prompts. • Create “reading kits” for students to take home. The kits can contain worksheets, vocabulary words, and comprehension questions for families to go over together (Stinchcomb, 2017). Additional Literacy Resources Over the years, it has become more evident how reading is a skill that affects multiple content areas. Several organizations are working with schools and families to help improve a young child’s reading. Below are helpful online websites and television programs that encompass helpful literacy resources and practices: Online Resources 1) Project Appleseed is a current organization that is a national campaign for public school improvement. This organization provides useful tools and resources to help parents become more involved with their child’s growth and education. Speci cally this organization has a resource that explains ways a parent can help with reading. Project Appleseed also includes a PowerPoint on the topic of raising strong readers. https://www.projectappleseed.org/ 2) Read Aloud is a site that highlights the importance of reading. Dr. John S. Hutton provides facts and information about why reading aloud is so important. It suggests that families read aloud for 15 minutes a day, and it will increase their child’s vocabulary, knowledge, and love for books and learning. The site also provides information that is parent and family-friendly and provides quick web

manner, promotes emerging literacy and language development and supports the relationship between child and parent” (Read Aloud, 2022). Read alouds expose children to essential reading concepts such as letter sounds, and those words are read from left to right. Additionally, read alouds helps children to develop vocabulary and background knowledge and understand story structure and other important story elements (Burgess, 2011). Handwriting Development Much research on home literacy practices has focused on shared reading and children’s oral language or reading skills (Gerde et al., 2011; Rowe &Wilson, 2015). However, more recent research aims to expand HLE by examining home practices specifically related to writing and how these practices impact children’s development of letter-writing, spelling, and spontaneous writing skills. Reading Rockets (2009) outlines helpful tips for writing development in the HLE: • Make a place for writing at home. Have a stable chair and a surface at the level of your child’s belly button. If your kitchen table is too high, you could use a cushion or tall chair to raise your child higher, with a footstool to support your child’s feet. • To help your child learn to form a letter, write it lightly and correctly yourself and get your child to trace over your letter. Show your child where to start drawing the letter by putting a green dot at the starting point and a red one at the finishing point. • Say the letter’s name and practice saying the letter sound with your child as they draw or trace the letter. • Use everyday opportunities to practice writing. For example, get your child to add items to the family shopping • Ask your child’s teacher for a sample sheet with the starting points for each letter clearly marked. This can help children practice at home. list, write notes to grandparents, help with birthday and other cards, or make labels with post-it notes. Additionally, word- and language-focused board games are a great way for children to build literacy skills in a fun and engaging manner. Options like Scrabble, Boggle, Scattergories, Catchphrase, Bananagrams, and numerous others subtly teach important lessons about word structure and vocabulary on the website, Create Press, for example. Library Visits Visits to the library play a critical role in home literacy environments (Hill-Clark, 2005). Since libraries serve as community space that provides access to books, programs, and more, families should take advantage of this literacy resource. Although children have the freedom to choose their own books or other media, they also have access to a knowledgeable professional, the media specialist or librarian, who can help them find materials on various topics. Research highlights the benefits of public libraries in addressing the literacy needs of the entire family (American Library Association, 2012; Martinez, 2007). Public libraries also serve as economic equalizers in the community, offering access to literacy resources, workshops, and

Literacy Matters General Articles

| 24 | Literacy Matters | Volume 22 • Winter 2023

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS