Bringing Literacy Into the Home

Studies have shown that the major reasons why children are under-prepared for reading is due to the lack of printed material at home, as well as one-on-one story time with a parent or caregiver. This is why bringing literacy into the home is so important.

Q: What is take home literacy?
A: Take home literacy is a way for children to bring their literacy to their home-life. They can be in "bags" or "kits" that the children bring from school, and have their parent or caregiver read it to them. They can stem from themes discussed in the classroom, or from the individual child's interests. These sets contain multiple books for the parents to read, as well as easier books that the children can try reading on their own. They also have materials and activities that correlate with the chosen theme. This gives the child a more in-depth understanding of the material being taught, while also improving their abilities to read, listen, and comprehend.

Take home literacy is the most direct connection made between school life and home life. Having the constant themes and story-telling or read alouds in a child's life can greatly improve his or her ability and desire to read. It also benefits the child to collaborate with his or her family through literacy, causing reading  to be associated with the feeling of comfort.

Below is a video that gives a great example of how to create a take home literacy kit. 

Benefits of Reading Aloud

Reading aloud is one of the most important literary activity for children to engage in. The main benefit from children getting read to is that it helps them to acquire early language skills and can ultimately set them up for success in reading and comprehension.

• "Children who fall seriously behind in the growth of critical early reading skills have fewer opportunities to practice reading. Evidence suggests that these lost practice opportunities make it extremely difficult for children who remain poor readers during the first three years of elementary school to ever acquire average levels of reading fluency." Torgeson, J. Avoiding the Devasting Downward Spiral, American Educator. (2004)

This activity can also build curiosity and motivation in the child, due to the language stimulation taking place. Also, this personal child-parent or child-adult interaction builds a sense of comfortability that can later be linked to books and reading. This can create more interest in reading for these children and later life. They could also begin to see reading as a coping mechanism due to the complacent ties formed to books through reading aloud.

Reading aloud also teaches children the skill of listening. This is very beneficial because it is an important characteristic for students to have when entering school. This can ultimately increase students' success in their schooling, while decreases the risk of having future school-related issues as an adolescent.

Below is a link to a short video discussing the importance of reading aloud to your children at home. It also provides multiple ways in which you, as a parent can incorporate reading into your child's every day life, as well as an easy way to create readings in your home that cater to your child's own personal interests.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HThtiOkD2k#

Literacy Is A Cultural Practice Article

The most interesting part of this article is was the explanation that every family is literate. It described how every family has its own way of communicating, whether it be with words or symbols, and each family uses these in a different way. This shows how even each family in different cultures has its own form of literacy. These diversities need to be incorporated into the classroom for students to receive a rounded eduction.