The Effects of Parents Reading to
and with their Children on Reading
Levels, Academic Achievement and
Development.
Alissa Collins
Education 702.22
Seminar in Applied
Theory and Research 1
Final Presentation
Table of Contents
Abstract
Introduction
-Statement of the Problem
-Review of Related Literature
-Statement of Hypothesis
Method
-Participants
-Instruments
-Experimental Design
-Procedure
Results
Discussion
Implications
References
Appendices
Statement of the Problem
Many parents do not get to spend adequate
amounts of time reading to and with their
children at home. These parents are
missing out on a bonding and teaching
experience and the children are not given
the added opportunity to further their
reading achievement and development in
many different areas as some of their
classmates may be doing.
Review of Related Literature
Positive Effect on Reading Ability
Reading achievement in school could be predicted by
home literacy activities and how frequently these activities
occurred.
(Scheffner-Hammer, Farkas & Maczuga, 2010)
Students who read harder books in a positive atmosphere
at home had higher reading achievement than those who
did not.
(Baker, Macklet, Sonnenschein & Serpell, 2001)
Children have the opportunity to be prepared for
school at
home. Taking texts read in class home helped to
improve
reading levels and fluency
(Hindin &Paratore, 2007)
Review of Related Literature
Additional Benefits or “PROS”
Shared reading between a parent and a child increases the
motivation level and interest in reading for early
elementary students.
(Otto,1990)
Shared reading between a child and parent can positively
effect vocabulary and morphological and syntax
comprehension.
(Senechal, Pagan, Lever & Quellette, 2008)
Reading with your child in a positive atmosphere can lead to
Higher social and academic achievement later on.
(Vandermaas-Peeler, Bumpass & Sassine, 2009)
Review of Related Literature
“PROS”- The type of Shared Reading can
make a difference
Reading storybooks paired with manipulatives lead to
longer sentences and more complicated speech in young
children.
(Kaderavek & Justice, 2005)
Students with pre-established basic reading skills who
engaged in powerful dialogue after reading with a
parent
showed an improvement in verbal expression and
higher
listening comprehension.
(Lonigan, Anthony, Bloomfield, Dryer & Samuel, 1999)
Effects on students with Special Needs
(High Risk, Low SES, ESL & ELL)
Children with low pre-literacy skills improve reading behaviors but not
comprehension after reading with a parent.
(Curenton, 2008)
In a comparision of high risk and low risk students only low risk students
advanced in letter/sound recognition after reading with a parent.
(Laasko, Poikkeus, Eklund, Lyytinen, 2004)
Children with reading disabilities are not affected by home literacy practices.
(Fontina, Morris & Sevcik, 2005)
Low-Level students who participated in the Fast Start Reading Program
showed more improvement in reading than low-level students in their grade
who did not participate.
(Rasinski, 2005)
Reading at home in your native language can improve vocabulary acquisition in English.
(Roberts, 2008)
Mothers in disadvantaged communities want information and can have positive reading
behaviors
and attitudes.
What if it doesn’t make a difference?
CONS
Students who have more books at home do have higher reading
levels
and scores than students with less books but this is because their
parents have higher levels of education and stronger work ethics.
(Dubner & Levitt, 2005)
United States Department of Education
Junior High School students benefit more from reading at school
than
they do from reading at home.
(Taylor, Frye, & Maruyama, 1990)
Statement of Hypothesis
HR1:This research intends to establish a
positive effect of parental reading to and
with a child at home on reading levels in
school and academic and social achievement
and development as a whole.
HR2: Teachers can fill the role of a parent. By
reading to a small group of students at PS X
in Brooklyn over a 6 week period of time,
the students will improve one reading level
or more.
Participants
(draft)

A small group of parents of
students grades K-2 from PS X in
Bensonhurst Brooklyn.

A small group of students grades
K-2 from PS X in Bensonhurst
Brooklyn.
Instruments
(draft)

Parent Survey
Parents will be asked to answer
questions about the frequency,
atmosphere, and actions during at home
reading with their children.

Small guided reading groups
students ranging from grades K-2
during extended day period at school.

Formal Pre And Post Assessments to
determine student reading levels.
References
Aram, D., & Aviram, S. (2009). Mothers’ Storybook Reading and Kindergarteners’
Socioemotional and Literacy Literacy Development. Reading Psychology,
30. doi: 10.1080/102702710802275348
Baker, L., Macklet, K., Sonnenschein, S., & Serpell, R. (2001). Parent Interaction with
Their First Grade Children During Storybook Reading and Relations With
Subsequent Home Reading Activity and Reading Achievement. Journal of
School Psychology, 39(5). doi:10:1016/S0022-4405(01)00082-6
Curenton, S. M., Justice, L.M. (2008). Children’s Preliteracy Skills: Influence of
Mothers’ Education And Beliefs About Shared-Reading Interactions. Early Education and Development, 19.
doi: 10.1080/10409280801963939
Dubner, S.J., & Levitt, S,D. Do Parents Matter? USA Today. Retrieved from
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-05-03-parents-edit_x.htm
U.S Department of Education. (2001). Parental Coaching in Child-to-Parent Book
Reading: Associations with Parent Values and Child Reading Skill. Minneapolis:
Evans, M.A., Bell, M., Mansell, J., & Shaw, D.
Fontina, R.L., Morris, R.D., & Sevcik, R.A. (2005). Relationship Between Home
Doi: 10.1177/00222194050380010101
Literacy Environment and Reading Achievement in Children with Reading
Disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38.
References
Hindin, A., & Paratore, J. R. (2007). Supporting Young Children’s Literary Learning
Through Home- School Partnerships: The Effectiveness of a Home Repeated-Reading Intervention. Journal of
Literacy Research, 39(3).
doi: 1080/10862960701613102
Kaderavek, J. N., & Justice, L.M. (2005). The effect of book genre in the repeated
readings of mothers and their children with language impairment: a pilot
investigation. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 21.
Doi: 10.1191/0265659005ct282oa
Laasko, M.L., Poikkeus, A.M., Eklund, K., & Lyytinen, P. (2004). Interest in early
Shared reading: It’s relation to later language and letter knowledge in children
with and without risk for reading difficulties. First Language, 24, 323-344.
Lachner, W., & Zevenbergen, A. (2008). Parent and Child References to Letters During
Alphabet Book Readings: Relations to Child Age and Letter Name Knowledge.
Early Education and Development, 19. doi: 10.1080/104092802230981
Lonigan, C.J., Anthony, J.L., Bloomfield, B.G., Dyer, S.M., & Samuel, C.S. (1999).
Effects of Two Shared-Reading Interventions on Emergent Literacy Skills of At Risk Preschoolers. Journal of Early
Intervention, 22. doi:10.1177/1053815119902200406
McNeill, J.H., & Flower, S.A. (1999) Let’s Talk: Encouraging Mother- Child
Conversations During Story Reading. Journal of Early Intervention, 22.
Doi: 10.1177/105381519902200106
References
Mooney, M. (1994). Reading to Children: A Positive Step on the Road to Literacy
[Electronic version]. Teaching Pre K-8, 25, 90-92.
Morgan, A. (2005). Shared reading interactions between mothers and pre-school
Children: Case studies of three dyads from a disadvantaged community.
Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 5. doi: 10.1177//1468798405058689
Norris, C. (1976). Renewed Interest in Piaget and Montessori: Implications for the Teaching of Beginning Reading. Retrieved
from ERIC database.
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (n.d.) Piaget and Vygotsky. Retrieved
from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li1lk21.htm
Otis Hurst, C. (1996). Reading with your child at home [Electronic version].
Teaching Pre K-8, 26, 52-54.
Otto, B. W. (1990). Development of Innter-City Kindergarteners’ Emergent Literacy In a Read-at-home Program.
Resources in Education, 26. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED323527&si
te=ehost-live
Partridge, H. A. (2004). Helping Parents Make the Most of Shared Book Reading. Early
Childhood Education Journal, 32(1), 25-30
Doi:10.1023/B:ECEJ.0000039640.63118.d4
Raban, B., & Nolan, A. (2005). Reading practices experienced by preschool children in
areas of disadvantage. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 3. 289-298.
Doi: 10.1177/1476718x05056528
References
Rasinski, T., & Stevenson, B. (2005). The Effects of Fast Start Reading: A Fluency
Based Home Involvement Reading Program on the Reading Achievement of
Beginning Readers. Reading Psychology An International Quarterly, 26(2).
doi: 10.1080/02702710590930483
Roberts, T.A. (2008). Home Storybook Reading in Primary or Second Language
With Pre School Children. Evidence of Equal Effectiveness for Second
Language Vocabulary Acquisition.[Electronic Verson] Reading Reseach Quarterly, 43(2), 103-130.
Saint-Laurent, L., & Giasson, J. (2005). Effects of a family literacy program adapting
Parental intervention to first graders’ evolution of reading and writing abilities.
Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 5. doi: 10.1177/146879840508688
Scheffner Hammer, C., Farkas, G., & Maczuga, S. (2010). The Language and Literacy
Development of Head Start Children: A Study Using the Family and Child
Experiences Survey Databases [Electronic version]. Journal of Language, Speech & Hearing Services In Schools, 41, 70-83.
Senechal, M., Pagan, S., Lever, R., & Quellette, G.P.. (2008). Relations Among the
Frequency of Shared Reading and 4-year old Children’s Vocabulary,
Morphological and Syntax Comprehension, and Narrative Skills. Early
Education and Development, 19. doi: 10.1080/10409280701838710
Taylor, B.M., Frye, B.J., & Maruyama, G.M. (1990). Time spent Reading and
Reading Growth. American Educational Research Journal, 27
Doi: 10:3102/00028312027002351
Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Nelson, J., Bumpass, C., & Sassine, B. (2009). Social contexts
of development: Parent-child interactions during reading and play. Journal of
Early Childhood Literacy, 9, 295-317.
Doi: 10.1177/1468798409345112
Appendix A
Consent Forms
(draft)
Dear Principal X,
As a graduate student at Brooklyn College earning a Masters of Science in Childhood Education I am required to develop
and run an Action Research Project I would like to investigate the effects that reading between a parent and a child has
on the child’s academic achievement, development and most importantly reading level.
I am asking for permission to survey the parents of the students in my “Extended Day” or AIS group about their at home
reading routines with their children, as well as to run small guided reading groups and activities during this period three
times a week. I intend to conduct these groups for approximately 6-8 weeks from October through early December.
Thank you for your cooperation and I look forward to having your insight and assistance as this research project
develops.
Sincerely
Alissa Collins
Dear Parents,
As a graduate student at Brooklyn College I will be completing an Action Research Project in my final semester. I am
looking at the effects of parental involvement in regards to reading at home on a child’s reading level at school as well as
other areas of academic achievement and all around development. To assist me in finding the effects that reading at home
has on your child in school I am asking that you fill out a simple survey about how much time you and your child spend
reading together and other literacy activities in the home. I thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely
Miss Collins
Appendix B
Parent Survey
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
(draft)
Do you read with your child at home?
If so how much time on average per week is spent reading to or with your
child in the home?
Do you do a majority of the reading or does your child? Or is it shared
reading?
Does your child tend to enjoy the time spent reading with you?
What steps are taken to ensure this reading experience is as enjoyable for
both you and your child as possible?
What types of books does your son or daughter enjoy the most?
Is reading at night a daily occurrence that your child looks forward to?
Do you read to your child in any languages other than English?
Do you ask any types of questions during the reading of a book or is just for
pure entertainment?
Do you make any corrections to mistakes your child may make while
reading?
If asked to do so would you be willing to log the amount of time and the
book read with your child each week for a 6-8 week period?