Using Family Literacy Bags to Enhance Family Involvement

Home , Family literacy

Hoto (1111 Mrly childhood programs encourage families to enhance children S (flrly [itcracy development? Find 0/11 about some of the !lIt/IIY possibilities toith Family Literacy Bags.

Martha T. Dever and Diane C. Burts

Many kindergarten children enter school without the at horne to young children and in revealing the strong f:lInily support and experiences with books and other lit- relationship of lower levels of literacy achievement asso- eracy materials they need to succeed in school (Berger, ciated with infrequent or limited reading of story books 1995; Boyer. 1991; Lonigan & Whitehurst, 1998; Neu- in the home (Robinson, Larsen, & Haupt, 1996): High mall, 1997; Neuman & Roskos, 1993). Educational frequency of home picture book reading is related: to environments that support the literacy learning of young children's: --:. , children, particularly culturally and linguistically diverse • ability to benefi~ from formal literacy instruction, learners. arc therefore a high priority Gimenez, 1997; • greater ability to attend to text and school-type learning; • increased print-related knowledge, and Koskinen ct al., 2000). • increased motivation and desire to interact with books The Family Literacy and learn to read (Dickinson & Smith, 1994; Robin~ Bags (FLB) project Book reading son, La~son, & Haupt, 1995). . " described here IS develops knowledge Book reading is essential to develop the knowledge grounded in the for success. necessary for eventual success in reading acquisition and research and profes- is "as strong a predictor of, reading achievement as is sional literature on phonemic awareness" (Bus et al., p. 17). Neuman (1997) f:Hllily involvement and literacy development. Prelirni- argues thatj'engaging parents and children in mutual n:uy research fmdings arc also shared. activities that include,book reading, but are notlimited to it, may constitute the richest potential for supporting Parent Involvement children's early literacy development" CR. 119). '.. Even in 10w~literacy fam- and Literacy Development ...•. Native'language ilies and those for whbm Family involvement, interest, and support playa crit- literacy provides English is not the na~ive ical role ill children's school achievement and education- a firm foundation language, frequent book al SllCCCSS. Schools that stress the importance of parents for learning. reading positively affects as educators and of homes as learning environments can '" children's literacy skills positively influence children's learning (Barbour, 1998; Berger, 1995; Dever, 2001). One aspect of parent involvement that has been studied extensively is the role of the family in children's literacy development (Bus, Martha T. Dever; Ed.D.,is As~odate Piofessor,'D~p~~tm~nt Ijscndoorn, & Pellegrini, 1995; Koskinen et al., 2000). of Elementary ~duc~tio,n! Utah State University, Logan. ·i Data from longitudinal and correlational studies are .....;:;.~..."-" 1_ ,';,..1 .;._.~ compelling with regard to the benefits of reading books Diane C. Burts,Ed~D.:ris Profess~-~,'D'~p'artment of Human Ecology, Louisiana State University, Baton' Rouge.

16 WINTER 2002 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD (Koskinen et al., 2000). For stu- families to assess the impact of tak- Project Description ,. dents learning a second language, ing home high-quality picture oral and print literacy proficiency in books. Teachers indicated a notice- As one effort to design a project their native language provides a firm able increase in children's interest in to. address children's early learning foundation for learning (Au, 1993). books in the classroom, the number opportunities, 30 different Family Having more books available is also of books read at home, and the Literacy Bags (FLB) were developed helpful to second-language learners amount of time spent with books at the Emma Eccles jonesCenrer for (Koskinen et al.). for both middle- and low-SES Early Childhood Education at Utah Children have differing degrees kindergarten children (Robinson et Stare University. Several of the bags of support for literacy development aI., 1995, 1996). The researchers contain books and: guid,ebooks in at home, and eco- both.Spanish andEnglish. After the nomic and social class project was piloted, all T: Figure 1. A Family Literacy Bagwith,EngJish and ....kiindergarten teachers difirerences in access Spanish books and materials." . to print resources are in four school districts widely documented " " in. northern.., Utah (Snow, Burns, & received· 20, different Griffin, 1999). Ways"FLB. Th~, objectives to increase parents' I 1l ~ for providing kinder- nm vpec.taI . reading to their young 0•• + rv; garten classrooms with children, especially FLB are to: ." for those from low ; ~ Enhanc~ commu- socioeconornic.istatus. 5C'J;j (Spe.c.ial' ni~atiori':betwe~n (SES) and non-native P'i:n.~ Pa,t. .! kindergarten teach- '- ... - k 'ers and parents rep- English-speaking il, ~.. ' resenting' diverse families, are needed. .,;.~;o..ri populations' and -a Most parents want ..,..._'~\ " range of reading to support their chil- -.> levels.;"': dren's literacy develop- ~~~~;,.::." '. ,Increase c-: parents" ment, but theymay',and:.other family not know how. Par:" '. -..._~ . 'members' involve- ems may be"" u~'f~~il-';,'~ , menr in promoting iar with ,_,,,,....rhe va.ri.ety'::' ,.the.early,; Photo courtesy of the"authors' . reading of good _~ooks avail- Educatio;''arenvir~nmentS thats"pportthe literacy learning of' . .-', skills' .of' kinder- ., r . .' ..• : g~rten children. able, 'so' it- is: helpful YO,ungchildren, particularly culturally and li,:~istlcflily l-iverse co make, high-qiial!rY~·-':Ueanle.rs,~r.e". high priority. ...' ,-:.,',.. ..' • Enhance parents' books,available-inth~ir',:'~ ..-: _." ~.;..-: . ;i .. ' ., ~::er::an~~~g ano: hom.e,'~ ~~. a,".~'.r.egu.l.a...r,.~.' ....- ....., ._~-.,--. .', ....."' ..,. _.~' "~. ,~ ". discuss books with basis. Several earl}t"childhood edu-:., c?~clud~~, tha~..;'giveii~he 'pot~l}tialc: .:~ their ~hildren. carafS have impletE~Ilted~ strategies benefits ofh~~,epic~~re b?o~,fead- " .-Children, ar~ given a FLB to take for involving p'ar(;,iits'and iot~ering, p~9gram. Innovatlons that ;,~~" '" home f~r~~eek toshare and enjoy family me.rn,~hs::in book_;eadi~'~4 ,s_u5c~~~fu~ly_supportand .encourage.,;, with their families. They take an wi~h presch.;.?~l::~~d, !ci,nderga~.~5~c'-:,'pa,re?i:al.participation:-.(){ n,o.t',?nly:: FLB home approximately every children:,_ ,'':." -. '," .'.<-~ lo,,:-mcome, but alsomlddle~class third week. Each FLB contains Robi~,s?n': arid his c-olleagu~s' families, in home literacy, events are three high-quality children's books (Robins'on, Larsen, &. Haup~; :worthy of' further exploration" - ~ guidebook for parents, and mate~ 1995; 1996; 1997) conducted sever-.. (Robinson et aI., 1995, p. 243; Bar- rials for exrension activities. The al . studies with pfe-kin~ergarten bour, 1998). three books reflect a general theme children from low- and mlddle-SES or topic such as .friendship, change,

DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD WINTER 2002 17 ------

or buttons. Some of the bags contain for kindergarten children to learn to they did/did not like about the FLB culturally relevant books for Latino be responsible for the bag's contents. and specific things they learned families and materials in both' Eng- They discuss appropriate ways to from using the FLB. IIS· IdS1 an parusn.. h S'ee F'·Igures. '1 an d handle ..the bag and generate ideas Additional data are being collect- 2 for information abour the contents for how to avoid losing the contents. ed with two instruments. First, of F1.B and a selected book list.' " Children enjoy role playing these teachers completed a Pre-Parental Each guidebook contains general. strategies; . . Involvement Questionnaire where- information for parenrs on effective by they recalled parental involve- ways to read with their children. For ProjectEvaluation , merit activities from the prior school example. families are encouraged to year. At the end of the school year, have their children sit next to or on Regular feedback fro~ parents is they again complete the survey with their laps to enable them to see the .. rec~i~ed. via . evaluation forms regard to the current school year. text. This bchavior' supports chil-" " included' in each- FLB: The J~r~ Survey questions query the kinds drcn's development of print aware-· asks parents to indicate the deg~e~ to and number of contacts they initiate ness and letter recognition. which they: "i.~: . with parents, contacts with minority Guidebooks al;o contain suggest-, 1) enjoyed the books in . the ..> :.~parents, and the strategies they use cd questions for discussing specific ··,bag,·,. .:~~~r·;{()involveparenrs. books with children. A parent might 2) read the books .more tha~': .. ,· ••': Parerits complete the Parent be encouraged to ask child~en' to: arice,::, -~ '~':>~HomeLiteracy Questionnaire prior identify a [avoritc character or, 3) enjoyed the activities, and. 'to distribution of the FLB and again encourage children to' talk about 4) found the information i~.·,,,,"i,:at the end! of the project. The mea- how it might feel to be that charac- the guidebook was helpful: .~"(::','sure is designed to ascertain parents' tcr, This is followed by suggested ..t\dditio~al open-ended questions' ~.:.current frequency of reading with activities that connect to the theme.' elicit responses,:concerning·;~~t\~,!,(heir kindergarten child, the amount The Buttons bag. ,,~/>" !; it -".:.

for example, has Figure 2. Selected FamilY,Literacy Bag Book·Li~t. :.:. ".>~ ~:n;~~r~:;~~ail;~~, Name ~f Bag' " B'o~k' Title '>"> ,~.:f'~<'·, \.':Author children to use Change It Looked Like Spilt Milk Charles G. Shaw . , Little House, The .Virginia Lee Burton for a variety of,;;. . Mouse Paint Ellen Stoll Walsh nctivirics." After Dr. Seuss Soaks .' Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? Dr. Seuss.: reading Cor- Horton Hatches the Egg.,." Dr. Seussc ,Iuro)'. children Sneetches and Other Stories; The DrBeuss.,

ca n sea rc h.' the .. .=:E.;..;.ri.=..c-::"C:-:;a::..:,r.;.:le.;..;.S::.o::.o;:.:k,,;,::s:....._"_--:..- __ -=:F-:-ro:::;m:..:..:....:H:-=-e:::;a:;:.:d~to=-:-:..To:::.e=__=..=· .. -<-;' .;.• .;.._.--_. ;_,'._. __ ~E='r~ic::....:::C~a~r1~e:-· _ house for a hut~ ~.. ,.. ... Grouchy Ladybug, The,-;:·.;;;:- Eric Carle " . '. ". -~.'~...." ".~.~.'::.Secret Birthday Mes5age~·The._>; .c ...•-." Eric Carle. ton to replacc .... Exploring Our World. Grandfather Tang's Story'''' .". ':Ann Tompert t he one. Cor- =-:~..:..:..:..:.oz....::...:::.;...... :...:...::o.:..:-=-----::I=:-:W~e:':":n':::t:"::W=:::-::a7Clk-:-in':'::g=.L-=--:=-:.:.L ..•-.\'-'-..-._-.:-;---.-:::::...... ;.~, S,;:.u~e~W::::.i~lI.:.tia~m~s~---- duroylost on his.' "·This Is the Way We Go to School' Edith Baer ovcralls~' Finally: ..::.G-"-ac....rd:...e'-':~;-'-'in-'-'.~"-:-':-' ~ __ -:G=r:..::o~w:=in..:.;g"--;-V=:eg~e::..:t=a:::.bl:..:::e~S::..:o::..:u::.tP~.....:....:.__ --'-~L~o~js~E~lh~e::.:.rt~::.:::..'. _ ..,<.. liny Seed,The Eric Carle ", the guidehook .; ',"; '.. .Tops and Bottoms . v " Janet Stevens contains .~.list of. Mem Fox Books .. Hattie and the Fox Mem Fox. thc bag's"con~...... Possum Magic.' . ,.' Mem Fox" tentS and an FLB,: .,..; Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge "Mem Fox .:. {' '., "Mistakes ,., . .. ,. ,Curious George,· ~...... '-. .. .H A' Rey' cvaluation /Orm. .. -' . . : .'.. " .;.. ,,' "':, :. ". No, David! ...... ", .. David Shannon Teachers ..arc .:: , .. '. ,':, ".;~' . ;Too Many Tamales ...... ".;. ""~.: Gary Soto encouraged to use· .• Tales From Around the World "Abuela's Weave, "~'. :-,~'-'\.; Omar S. Castaneda the FLB project" "Sabushka Saba Yaga" '..'~·jt:i Patricia Polacco ..as an opportunity· "'" .. :;. ....,Tale of Rabbit and Coyote. The Tony Johnston

18 WINTER 2002 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD of time spent reading, the kinds of We loved the literacy bag! An books read, other literacy-related especially [sic]favoritewas Mouse Figure 3. One Family's FLB Experience activities parents engage in with their Paint along with the paints to children, and which family members emphasize the concept. Reading Barb is married and a part- are engaged in book reading and has always been a favorite activi- time university undergraduate. ty. Thanks for providing such a other literacy-related activities. She picks up her son Kale from positive experience. kindergarten at noon every day, The meaningful stories were and after lunch, they tackle his Preliminary Findings fun to share with my children. "small amount" of homework. On The data source for preliminary It sparked questions about our the weeks they have a Family findings is the FLB evaluation form own ancestors. Ienjoyed expos- Literacy Bag at home, they end contained in each bag and completed ing my children to different cul- homework time enjoying books by parents during the pilot phase of tures and time periods. It was and activities found in the bags. fun just reading together. Barb suggested that "it reminds the project (N=262). Pilot schools Because we are Hispanics, we me to read with him and [transi- included kindergarten classrooms in would like our heritage and tions] homework time into play a Title I city school, a middle SES Latin-American culture to be time." semi-rural school, and a university handed down to our future gen- Barb characterized Kale as laboratory school. Data that erations. This is absolutely a "on the immature side." As a par- addresses goal one of the project is wonderful idea. ent who values reading, she not yet available. However, the Lik- New books-Great activi- continues, "I always let him ert scale responses and the qualita- ties-New ways to approach select the books we will read. tive responses to the open-ended reading. More than just "reading." Sometimes we read all of them The stories especially, and the and other times, we just read questions on the FLB evaluation helps for activities. Our whole some of them. like, last time [we form provide preliminary data relat- family liked the stories. had a Family Literacy Bag] it ed to goals two and three of the ~~o- My husband spend [sic] was the Dr. Seuss books. Kale Jec. t. The data suggest pOSItIVe more time reading to my kids was enthralled with the book results related to these goals. just for the reason that the Horton Hatches the Egg and we Responses to the items on the books were in Spanish. read that one over and over and Likert scale have implications for We loved Roxaboxen and pre- over, and we didn't get to any of goal two-Increase parental invol~e- tended to create our own imagi- the other books!" nary town. Our pre-schooler Kale and Barb often complet. ment in promoting the early readmg couldn't get enough of The ed .some of the activities in the skills of kindergarten children as w:" Knight and the Dragon and had various bags. Completion f . olvemen with other [amily as tnV t . . as much fun as the kindergarten activities was determined ~ Findings IndICate that mem ben. h student telling the story. Kale's interest in them and h y hf ow 820/0 of families enjoyed all of t e I'vealwaysread to our children muc ime they had. (Barb had a hile 18% enjoyed some of boo ks WId (ages 16-12-8-5), but the draw- 1:30 class on many days.) Bar b When asked if they rea ing activities were new to me and shared, "I just knew that some f ilie b00ks . 44~ more than once, 70 exciting for our 5-year old. the activities would be too diffic~t ilie b00ks c . ' d All 46% indicated Jome, The preliminary data suggest that for Kare so we didn't even t lOdlcate, Th' them Samet' ,. ry d 10% indicated None. irty- goal three-Enhance parents' under- " rmes we d Just talk a an ten)' oyed All of the standing of how to read and discuss long time about the books." nine percen d . . . 55% enjoyed Some, an books with their children is also being . Barb SUmmarized their expe- actiVItIeS, positively addressed. On the Liken nence when she said, "I just love 0A njoyed None. the concept! It gives me 6 o ~ 3 briefly chronicles the items, 48% of the families found All ld new FIgure .' h h I eas for talking about book . f one famIly WIt t e the information in the guidebook :"'ith him and reminds me to Sbe enence 0 dd' exp . These are some a 1- helpful, while 46% found Some B proJect. Interactive When I read to him FL tative comments information helpful, and 6% found . al represe n . He seems to really enjoy the t: non: family engagement with None of the information helpful. we spend doing it." Ime regardlOg the FLB: - DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD WINTER 2002 19 Following arc representative com- effective way teach parents how to 119-129. Neuman, S.B., & Roskos. K. (1993). ments related to goal three: read interactively with their children Access to print for children in poverty: Talk more. Don't just read and and to engage children and parents Differential effects of adult mediation get the hook done-talk about it! in regular book reading at home. and literacy-enriched play settings on Relate it to ourselves. Thanks! environmental and functional print II learned] 10 ask better ques- References tasks. American Educational Research rions :lfter reading the hook. 30(1), 95-122. Au, K.H. (1993). Literacy instruction in Journal, They remember more. Robinson, e.e., Larsen, J.M., & Haupt, multicultural settings. New York: Har- We a of things J.H. (1995), Picture book reading at learned lot court Brace Jovanovich. about snakes together. Barbour, A.e. (1998). Home literacy bags home: A comparison of Head Start and middle-class preschoolers. Early Educa- II learned] [0 ask more ques- promote family involvement. Child- tion and Development. 6, 241-252 .. tinns, (0 not just give a mono- hood Education, 75(2): 71-75, Robinson, e.e. , Larsen, J.M., & Haupt, logue. hut make reading more Berger, E.H. (1995). Reaching for the stars: J.M. (1996). The influence of selecting interactive. Families and schools working together, and taking picture books home on the [I learned] how to make Early Childhood Journal, 23,.119-123. at-home reading behaviors of kinder- activities that focus on a book Boyer. E.L. (1991). Ready tolearn: A man- datr fOr the nation. Lawrenceville, NJ: garten children. Reading Research and you read lOget her, Princeton University Press.:' " .__ Instruction, 35, 249-259. I learned how to select some Rus, A.G., Ijsendoorn, M.H.v., &. Pelle- Robinson, e.e., Larsen, J.M., & Haupt, questions to discuss the story grini. A.D. (1995): Joint b'ook reading c, J.M. (1997). Picture book selection (0 do activities. • and some makes for success in learning to read: A behaviors of emergent readers: Influ- I learned to ask more ques- meta-analysis on intergenerational ence of genre, familiarity, and book rions when I am reading to transmission of literacy. Review 'of Edu- c attributes. Reading Research & Instruc- them :llld to have them respond rational Research, 65(1). 1~21': tion, 36,287-304. more about what we arc reading Dever, M.T. (2001). Family literacy bags: A Sno~,e.E., 'Burns, S.M., & Griffin, P. ...(1999, january). Language aitd literacy instc.ul of hurrying through (0 parent vehicle for parent education and .,':: environrnenrsin preschools, ERIC gl·t to t he next hook. involvement, Tl»Journal of Early Edll~ • Digest [on line]. Available: [Children] learn more about cation and Family Review, 8(4), '17-26. Dickinson, O.K.. & Smith, M.W (1994). . www.ericeece.org/pubs/digests/1999/sn the stories when they get (0 Long-term effects of preschool teachers' . ow99:html interact with the S(O[\' when hook reading on low-inco~e children's they do their activities .. vocabulary and storycomp'rehensi~n. ,: Authors' note: The guidebookS for 30 , Rmdillg Research QIIArterly, 29/ 104~122. ;" FLB appropriate for children ages 4· to 7 Conclusion JlIl1~nCZ,~:~ (1997). The strategic read- ..c , _" .a:st:~ailable for thecost of printing and mg abilities and p t ti I f f '·1 . p gc. Contact Dr, Martha T. Dever, , . • La·~. 0 en ia 0 rve ow'· ..' .~"'." Emma Eccles -Jones Center for Early The Family Literacy Bags project IIteracy tina/o readers in middle .;. .. 'Ch I I I ' "-,,' i dhood Education, Utah State Univer- has successfully engaged kinder- se 100 , Rei/dillg ResearclJQUfJrte;Iy,'32,' , siry, Logan, UT, 84322-2805. 224-243. .., ,. . " . gartl'n children and their families in interactive book reading. Prelimi- KOS;~;~~p'P.SS.~~luCm.I.H:. TBiSsson,S.A., NEW, _ :,..<," S, .JH.. reamer, .. , Bakei-· . .. " , ,'- ".. nar), findings suggest that families T.K. (2000). Book access, shared re~d- POSITION' STATEMENT did enjo)' the FLB. the)' engaged in ing, an~ audio ~odels: The~~eets.of· , .. AVAILABLE 'NOW! n:ading. and the)' elaborated the su~p~rrlllg the hter.acy Jearlllrig of lin~':: '" . ,.' "._"" '. rl'ading experience with discussion glllstlcally diverse students in school' ,::.- On November- fa, 2001"" the and activities that focused on the and at home. Joumal ofEtfucational .:~- SECA Board'o(Olrectors ad6p'ted P~)'cllolog)~92(1). 23-36.' _ .... , . "', .'.'. .:.. .. "". ew books, Parents also acquired new Lonigan C J & WrL 'It h ' .. ·'G''J." (. . "a .posltl()n·statement entitled , • ..• wile urst 1998) . Eo n.I L' ' ., learning about how to read and ~e1ativc efficacy of par~'rit'a~d :t~acher .. . arw ...,Iter~,~Y;'and.BefJinninfJ.to imeract more efTectively with their Ill\'o~vement in a shared-reading inter- Read. Co.ple~, of "the pOSitIOn children during and after book read- venuon for preschool children fro statement may' be~accessed by low-income backgrounds. Ear& C:Id- .. ing. This is particularly true with g~}n.gto t~e S~CAWeb site after hood RrsMrch Q/lartrrly. J3,263-290.' Ja~uary 15; 2002;at-'·" ':, regard to posing open-ended discus- Neuman, S.B. (997) Guidin -, :." , ,;,., ...·C'·f. . .", sion questions as parents and chil- children's parricip;tion in ~;loul,ng ~.~outhemEarlyChildhoocl:org d y Iteracy .. "; -. dren talked about the stories. c\'e\opmem: A famil)' literacy pro- or ~nnted copies may,:. be The results of the pilot project gram for adolescent mothers. Earl obtamed by contacting the SECA arc encouraging, FLB seem to be an Child Drt'e!opmmt a/ld Care. J2/'128. office at aOO-305-SECA.

20 WINTER 2002 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

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