Supporting
Language and
Early Literacy:
at Home
and in
Early Childhood
Settings
Session 7:
Family Engagement
Our Mission:
To engage in a collaborative process to develop and disseminate cross-systems early literacy professional
development that is evidence-based and culturally responsive to address the needs of all children, birth through five
Early Literacy Advisory Group
Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council
For more information, please contact: Gaye Tylka, Project Coordinator, gtylka@cesa4.k12.wi.us; 608.786.4844
Your
• (insert your name/title here)
• Insert your co-presenter’s name/title here)
for this Session …
• Explain how the 6 vital components of early
literacy are interrelated and provide the
foundation for later reading ability
• Demonstrate and disseminate shared reading
and other evidence-based strategies to engage
families in promoting language and literacy
development
for Today’s Session
•
•
•
•
•
•
Definition of Family Engagement
Rationale/Research
Points to Ponder
How To Engage Families
Powerful Interactions
Tools and Resources
Check-in activity
Discussion in pairs or small groups:
• What do you hope to achieve by participating
in this session?
• What was your favorite book from childhood
and who read the book to you?
WISCONSIN MODEL EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS
Teaching Cycle
Assessment
Gathering information to determine what the child
can do and what the child is ready to learn
• Data Collection
• Data Analysis
Implementation
Providing meaningful,
experiential activities that
support individual and group
goals guided by supportive
interaction and relationships
Planning and Curriculum Goals
Deciding what should be done to
promote development and what we
want children to learn
• Needs Identification & Prioritization
• Planning (Strategy/Indicators)
•
http://www.collaboratingpartners.com/wmels-family-training.php
Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards
(WMELS)
Domain III. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
AND COMMUNICATION
A. Listening & Understanding
A.EL.1 - Derives meaning through listening to
communications of others and sounds in the
environment
A.EL.2 - Listens and responds to
communication with others
A.EL.3 - Follows directions of increasing
complexity
Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards
(WMELS)
Domain III. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND
COMMUNICATION
B. Speaking & Communicating
B.EL.1 - Uses gestures and movements (nonverbal) to communicate
B.EL.2 (a, b & c) Uses vocalizations and spoken
language to communicate (includes language
forms - syntax, semantics, and pragmatics)
Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards (WMELS)
Domain III. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
AND COMMUNICATION
C. Early Literacy (2011 Update)
C.EL.1 - Develops ability to detect, manipulate, or
analyze the auditory parts of spoken language
C.EL.2 - Understands that the alphabet represents
sounds of spoken language and letters of written
language
C.EL.3 - Shows appreciation books and how print works
C.EL.4 - Use writing to represent thoughts or ideas
Research-based Early Literacy Content Areas
• Oral Language
(WMELS A. Listening & Understanding & B. Speaking &
Communicating)
•
Vocabulary
(WMELS A. Listening & Understanding & B. Speaking &
Communicating)
• Phonological Awareness
(WMELS C. Early Literacy)
• Alphabet Knowledge
(WMELS C. Early Literacy)
• Concepts about Print
(WMELS C. Early Literacy)
•
Writing
(WMELS C. Early Literacy)
Early Literacy
Wisconsin Common Core State Standards
(CCSS) – English Language Arts (ELA)
• What is expected of students
by the end of 5-year-old
kindergarten (5K) & beyond
• To identify the alignments &
connections between
WMELS – Literacy and the CCSS-ELA for 5K:
http://bit/ly/earlyliteracy
Definition of Family Engagement
“Family engagement occurs when there is an on-going,
reciprocal, strengths-based partnerships between families and
early childhood professionals.”
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
"Parent and family engagement is about building relationships
with families that support family well-being, strong
relationships between parents and their children, and ongoing
learning and development for both parents and children."
Head Start/Early Head Start (HS/EHS) Parent Engagement Framework
Family involvement vs. engagement
what do you see?
What we already know
about families and literacy
Rationale – Brain Research
The brain is not wired to read. It is
wired to listen to and speak
language. We need to build the
reading brain.
The Art of Changing the Brain Enriching Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning by James E. Zull
Indicators of School Success
A child can only achieve competency in
essential school readiness skills—such as
language and early literacy—when s/he has
begun to experience and master all the
domains of development. These include
cognitive, social, emotional, and physical
development, as well as non-cognitive areas
such as motivation to read and persistence
in learning.
(Kupcha-Szrom 2011)
Literacy Benefits from
Social Emotional Development
Building relationships between family and child are
opportunities to focus on literacy.
Points to Ponder
•
•
•
•
•
Families of low-income
Dual language learners
Cultural
Gender
Kids and families who have become hooked on
screen time
Literacy & Families of Low-Income
• Poverty is the single best predictor of a child’s
failure to achieve in school (Brizius & Foster
1993)
• A national data set of nearly 100,000 US school
children found that access to printed materials
is the "critical variable affecting reading
acquisition."
Literacy & Families of Low-Income
The Achievement Gap
Literacy and Dual Language Learners Rising
Numbers
• In 2013, 20% of the children enrolled in Head Start
programs in Wisconsin were children who are
learning a home language other than English (Office of
Head Start Program Information Report, 2013).
• The number of PreK-12 students who are learning
English as another language increased by 100-200%
in Wisconsin between 1997-98 and 2007-08 (NCELA,
2010).
Literacy and Dual Language Learners
Educational Disparity
• Studies show that placing 3-4 year-olds who are dual
language learners in English-only programs without home
language support often have long term negative
consequences--emotionally, socially, and academically
(August & Shanahan, 2008; Espinosa, 2008; Nemeth, 2009).
• Children who are young dual language learners need
additional support in both languages to remain on par
academically with their native English-speaking peers
(August & Shanahan, 2008).
Cultural Consideration
The distinction between
developmental failure and social
mismatch has been clarified by Kagan
(1990), Meisels, et al. (1992), and
others. This distinction is important
because it reminds educators of the
developmental competence of
children whose skills and knowledge
are different from those expected by
a school.
Barbara T. Bowman, vice president, Academic Programs, Erikson Institute, Chicago, Illinois. It was published in
1994 by NCREL's Urban Education Program as part of its Urban Education Monograph Series.
Gender
Wisconsin RTI Center – Reviewing K-5 Universal Reading Instruction
•Text messages
•Facebook
•Emails
•QR codes
•Limit screen time
•Books on a tablet
don’t replace lap
time reading
•Time in front of a
screen is time away
from other critical
activities
Ponder at Your Table
• What are ways to intentionally promote early
literacy with this focus population?
• What are the costs of not focusing on this
group in terms of literacy promotion?
• What are the potential individual, family, and
community benefits of focused literacy
promotion with this population?
Family Engagement
From Your Early
Childhood Setting
Weekly Book Bags
Sent Home with
Suggested Activities
Parent
Readers in
the
Classroom
Modeling a
Language and
Literacy Rich
Environment
Include
Literacy in
Family Events
you Hold
Literacy Tips
in Your
Newsletter
Promoting Literacy Resources
• At Home
http://www.childrenslearninginstitute.org/our-research/project-overview/Pre-K-Dual-LanguageLearners/documents/ParentCalendar_DLL_2012.pdf=
• Out and About
http://www.childrenslearninginstitute.org/default.aspx
• Play
Source: Leong, D. and E. Bodrove, R. Hensen, M. Henninger. Scaffolding Early Literacy Through
Play.
Powerful Interactions
Sharing These Skills with Families
• Step One: Be Present
• Step Two: Connect
• Step Three: Extend Learning
Powerful Interactions How to Connect with Children to Extend Their Learning
by Amy Laura Dombro, Judy Jablon, and Charlotte Stetson NAEYC 2011
Resources
Wrap-up
• Was any of this information new to you?
• Share ways you will engage families in
literacy activities.