DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 384 004 CS 012 168

AUTHOR Morrow, Lesley Mandel; And OthersTITLE Family Literacy: New Perspectives,-New

Opportunities.

INSTITUTION International Reading Association, Newark, Del.PUB DATE 94

NOTE 8p.; Statement prepared by the International ReadingAssociation, Family Literacy Commission.

AVAILABLE FROM Order DepartmP-:., International Reading Association,P.O. Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714-8139 (single copiesare free; $7 per 100 copies).

PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom Use (055)

EDRS PRICE MF31 /PCO1 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Definitions; Elementary Education; Intergenerational

Programs; *Literacy; Parent Participation; *ProgramEffectiveness; Research Methodology

IDENTIFIERS *Family Literacy

ABSTRACTThis brochure presents new perspectives and

opportunities in family literacy. The brochure offers seven ideas asa definition of family literacy, and discusses why family literacy isimportant. It also discusses three areas where family literacy istaking place (studying the ways literacy is used by families, parentinvolvement initiatives, and intergenerational literacy initiatives).The brochure also offers 11 general guidelines that will increase thelikelihood of making a family literacy program successful. Thebrochure concludes with a selected list of 12 organizations in 5countries that can 131 contacted for further information. (RS)

***********************************************************************

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made *

* from the original document.***********************************************************************

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"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THISMATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

I- Twin/

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)."

New Perspectives,New Opportunities

U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONpu ee N Ethicaiionai a- 7.

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER tERICI

This document has been teproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating itMinor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality

Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy

A statement prepared bythe international R ailing Association

Family Litera-:, Commission

Primary authors:

Lesley Mandel Morrow

Jeanne R. Paratore0

Diane H. Tram,'

z

REST COPY AVAILABLE

Fam

ily L

itera

cy:

A D

efir

ition

,e

term

"fa

mily

liter

acy"

des

crib

es a

com

plex

conc

ept t

hat t

o da

te h

as n

otbe

en c

lear

ly

defin

ed. T

he In

tern

atio

nal R

eadi

ngA

ssoc

ia-

tion'

s F

amily

Lite

racy

Com

mis

sion

offe

rs th

e fo

llow

-

ing

idea

s as

a d

efin

ition

off

amily

lite

racy

.

1. F

amily

lite

racy

enc

ompa

sses

the

way

s pa

rent

s.

child

ren.

and

ext

ende

d fa

mily

mem

bers

use

liter

acy

at h

ome

and

in th

eir

com

mun

ity.

2. F

amily

lite

racy

occ

urs

natu

rally

durin

g th

e ro

u-

tines

of d

aily

livi

ng a

nd h

elps

adul

ts a

nd c

hil-

dren

"ge

t thi

ngs

done

."

3. E

xam

ples

of f

amily

liter

acy

mig

ht in

clud

e us

ing

draw

ings

or

writ

ings

to s

hare

idea

s;co

mpo

sing

note

s or

lette

rs to

com

mun

icat

e m

essa

ges;

keep

ing

reco

rds:

mak

ing

lists

: rea

ding

and

fol-

low

ing

dire

ctio

ns: o

r sh

arin

g st

orie

s an

did

eas

thro

ugh

conv

ersa

tion,

rea

ding

, and

writ

ing.

4. F

amily

lite

racy

may

be

initi

ated

purp

osef

ully

by

a pa

rent

. or

may

occ

ursp

onta

neou

sly

as p

ar-

ents

and

chi

ldre

n; g

o ab

out

the

busi

ness

of

thei

r da

ily li

ves.

5. F

amily

lite

racy

act

iviti

es m

ayal

so r

efle

ct th

e

ethn

ic. r

acia

l. or

cul

tura

l her

itage

oft

he fa

mi-

lies

invo

lved

.

6. F

amily

lite

racy

act

iviti

es m

aybe

initi

ated

by

outs

ide

inst

itutio

ns o

r ag

enci

es. T

hese

activ

ities

are

ofte

n in

tend

ed to

sup

port

the

acqu

isiti

on

and

deve

lopm

ent o

f sch

ool-l

ike

liter

acy

beha

v-

iors

of p

aren

ts. c

hild

ren.

and

fam

ilies

.

7. F

amily

lite

racy

act

iviti

es in

itiat

edby

out

side

agen

cies

may

incl

ude

fam

ily s

tory

book

read

ing.

com

plet

ing

hom

ewor

k as

sign

men

ts, o

rw

ritin

g

essa

ys o

r re

port

s.

3

Fam

ily L

itera

cy:

Why

is I

t im

port

ant?

In o

rder

to h

elp

fam

ilies

ext

end

thei

r ex

istin

g us

es o

f

liter

acy,

the

Fam

ily L

itera

cy C

omm

issi

onha

s di

s-

crim

inat

ed c

lear

ly b

etw

een

the

diffe

rent

pur

pose

s

for

and

uses

of l

itera

cy a

t hom

e.A

par

ent i

s a

child

's

first

teac

her,

and

a c

hild

will

lear

nfr

om a

par

ent f

or a

long

er p

erio

d th

an fr

om a

ny o

ther

per

son.

Bec

ause

of

this

, par

ents

are

the

mos

t im

port

ant

peop

le in

a c

hild

's

educ

atio

nal l

ife. R

esea

rch

has

dem

onst

rate

dth

at p

ar-

ents

hav

e a

stro

ngin

fluen

ce o

n th

e lit

erac

y de

velo

p-

men

t of t

heir

child

ren.

For

exam

ple,

in b

oth

early

child

hood

and

hig

h sc

hool

yea

rs, c

hild

ren

who

live

in

hom

es w

here

lite

racy

act

iviti

es r

egul

arly

take

pla

ce a

re

mor

e lik

ely

to d

evel

op g

reat

erfa

cilit

y w

ith li

tera

cy

activ

ities

than

chi

ldre

n w

ho d

o no

tha

ve r

egul

ar e

xpo-

sure

to li

tera

cy a

ctiv

ities

.S

imila

rly, w

e no

w k

now

that

whe

n ch

ildre

n ar

e re

ad to

freq

uent

ly a

thom

e. w

hen

thei

r qu

estio

ns a

bout

boo

ks a

nd p

rint a

rean

swer

ed,

whe

n th

ey a

re g

iven

acc

ess

to r

eadi

ngan

d w

ritin

g

mat

eria

ls, a

nd w

hen

they

rec

eive

pos

itive

rein

forc

e-

men

t abo

ut li

tera

cy a

ctiv

ities

,po

sitiv

e ef

fect

s on

rea

d-

ing

and

writ

ing

abili

ties

are

obse

rved

.

Lite

racy

res

earc

hers

and

oth

ers

conc

erne

dab

out

impr

ovin

g lit

erac

y ra

tes

have

incr

easi

ngly

bec

ome

invo

lved

in p

rogr

ams

that

str

ess

anin

terg

ener

atio

nal

appr

oach

to te

achi

ng li

tera

cy s

kills

.C

hild

ren

who

live

in

fam

ilies

in w

hich

the

adul

ts h

ave

limite

d lit

erac

ysk

ills

them

selv

es, o

r in

hom

es w

here

pos

itive

read

ing

and

writ

ing

expe

rienc

es a

re n

ot a

par

t ofe

very

day

life.

are

espe

cial

ly a

t ris

k. a

nd m

any

educ

atio

nal

agen

cies

are

now

look

ing

at th

e lit

erac

yne

eds

of fa

mili

es a

s a

who

le.

Fam

ily L

itera

cy:

Wha

t is

Bei

ngD

one?

The

Fam

ily L

itera

cy C

omm

issi

on h

as id

entif

ied

thre

e ar

eas

whe

re fa

mily

lite

racy

initi

ativ

es a

re

taki

ng p

lace

.

1. S

tudy

ing

the

Way

sLi

tera

cy is

Use

d by

Fam

ilies

Res

earc

hers

wor

king

on

this

asp

ect o

ffam

ily li

tera

cy

are

inte

rest

ed in

adv

anci

ngun

ders

tand

ing

of th

e

way

s in

whi

ch li

tera

cy is

use

dw

ithin

fam

ilies

. In

thes

e st

udie

s, e

mph

asis

is p

lace

d on

the

richn

ess

of

one'

s he

ritag

e an

d ex

perie

nces

rat

hert

han

on p

er-

ceiv

ed e

duca

tiona

l def

icits

. In

som

e ca

ses,

rese

arch

ers

are

expl

orin

g lit

erac

y ev

ents

that

occ

ur n

atur

ally

with

in d

iver

se fa

mili

es. I

n ot

her

case

s,re

sear

cher

s ar

e

desc

ribin

g th

e ef

fczt

s fa

mily

lite

racy

has

on

child

ren'

s

deve

lopi

ng c

once

pts

abou

t lite

racy

. With

the

know

l-

edge

gai

ned

from

suc

h st

udie

s, e

duca

tors

can

bette

r

unde

rsta

nd th

e lit

erac

ies

that

exi

st in

div

erse

fam

ilies

and

can

help

to m

ake

liter

acy

inst

ruct

ion

in s

choo

l

mor

e m

eani

ngfu

l for

bot

h pa

rent

san

d ch

ildre

n.

2. P

aren

t inv

olve

men

t Ini

tiativ

esP

aren

t inv

olve

men

t ini

tiativ

es in

clud

e pr

ogra

ms

that

are

desi

gned

to in

volv

ean

d in

form

par

ents

abo

ut

activ

ities

that

will

pro

mot

e th

eir

child

ren'

slit

erac

y

lear

ning

in s

choo

l. S

uch

prog

ram

s in

volv

e pa

rent

s as

agen

ts in

sup

port

ing

thei

rch

ild's

lite

racy

dev

elop

men

t

and

may

orig

inat

e fr

om s

choo

l, th

elib

rary

, or

othe

r

com

mun

ity a

genc

ies,

and

ofte

n ar

e co

llabo

rativ

eef

fort

s be

twee

n th

ese

agen

cies

. A b

asic

pre

mis

eof

pare

nt in

volv

emen

t pro

gram

s is

that

par

ents

are

bot

h

will

ing

and

com

mitt

ed to

hel

p th

eir

fam

ilies

lear

nlit

-er

acy

activ

ities

that

will

lead

toim

prov

ed s

choo

l per

-

form

ance

.

3. In

terg

ener

atio

nal L

itera

cyirk

iativ

esln

terg

ener

atio

nal l

itera

cy in

itiat

ives

are

spe

cific

ally

desi

gned

to im

prov

e th

e lit

erac

y de

velo

pmen

tof

bot

h

adul

ts a

nd c

hild

ren.

The

se p

rogr

ams

view

par

ents

and

child

ren

as c

o-le

arne

rs. a

nd a

re g

ener

ally

char

acte

r-

ized

by

plan

ned

and

syst

emat

ic in

stru

ctio

nfo

r bo

th.

Inst

ruct

ion

may

occ

ur w

hen

pare

nts

and

child

ren

wor

k in

eith

er c

olla

bora

tive

or p

aral

lel s

ettin

gs.T

he

inst

ruct

ion

for

adul

ts is

inte

nded

to im

prov

eth

eir

lit-

erac

y sk

ills

and

at th

e sa

me

time

teac

h th

em h

ow to

wor

k w

ith th

eir

child

ren

to a

id th

eir

deve

lopm

ent.

10s

Fam

ily L

itera

cyPr

ogra

ms:

VV

hat

Mak

es a

Pro

gram

Succ

essf

ul?

rotc

ssio

nals

inte

rest

ed in

de5

elo

ping

fam

ilylit

er

acy

prog

ram

s fr

eque

ntly

ask,

-1-

loss

do

I des

elop

a su

cces

sful

pro

gram

s S

ince

com

mun

ity n

eeds

vary

',sn

ick,

ther

e is

no

sing

lem

odel

for

deve

lopi

ng a

succ

essf

ul ta

mils

lite

racy

pro

gram

. lim

eser

, the

fol-

loss

ing

gene

ral g

uide

lines

sal

incr

ease

the

likel

ihoo

d

Of s

ucce

ss.

'Suc

cess

ful f

amds

lite

racs

pro

gram

s re

spec

t and

unde

rsta

nd th

e di

\ ers

its o

f the

fam

ilies

they

ser

se.

'Suc

cess

ful f

amily

lite

racy

pro

gram

s bu

ild u

pon

lit-

erac

y he

hasi

ors

alre

ady

pres

ent

in fa

mili

es. A

lthou

gh

thes

e he

llosi

ors

ma\

he

difle

tent

from

cons

entio

nal

inel

aks.

all

fam

ilies

use

lite

rals

in th

e ro

u-tin

e ,d

thei

r da

d I c

es Il

ese

hCha

5lO

rs,

shou

ld Ir

e

.1r6

.11(

rAle

ilcle

d, r

espe

cted

, pre

sers

ed, a

nd

dese

lope

d si

thin

fam

ily li

tera

cy p

rogr

ams.

"Suc

usst

ul fa

mily

lite

racy

pro

gram

s do

not

try

toco

rrec

t- o

r -1

1\-

the

Tam

ils. R

athe

r, th

eyle

ss in

ter-

vent

ion

as a

sup

plem

ent t

o th

e in

tera

ctio

ns th

atal

read

y ex

ist.

*Suc

cess

ful f

amily

lite

racy

pro

gram

s ar

e he

ld in

acce

ssib

le lo

catio

ns th

at a

re n

onth

reat

enin

g an

dfr

iend

ly. A

vaila

ble

tran

spor

tatio

n, c

hild

car

e, a

ndre

fres

hmen

ts a

t mee

tings

con

trib

ute

to c

reat

ing

asu

ppor

tise

clim

ate.

'Suc

cess

ful f

amily

lite

racy

pro

gram

s fo

lloss

soun

d

educ

atio

nal p

ract

ices

app

ropr

iate

for

the

liter

acy

deve

l-

opm

ent o

f chi

ldre

n an

d ad

ults

. Var

ied

stra

tegi

es fo

r lit

-

erac

y le

arni

ng a

re u

sed.

'Suc

cess

ful f

amily

lite

racy

pro

gram

s m

ay s

sork

ssith

pare

nts

and

child

ren

toge

ther

or

sepa

rate

ly, h

elpi

ng

fam

ilies

sha

re in

thei

r le

arni

ng e

xper

ienc

es.

'Suc

cess

ful f

amily

lite

racy

pro

gram

s br

ing

pare

nts

toge

ther

in s

uppo

rt g

roup

s to

sha

re e

xper

ienc

es a

ndle

arn

from

one

ano

ther

.

'Suc

cess

ful f

amily

lite

racy

pro

gram

s se

ek to

impr

ose

both

the

qual

ity a

nd th

e ra

nge

of p

aren

t-ch

ildin

tera

c-

tions

in r

eadi

ng a

ndril

ing.

'Suc

cess

ful f

amily

, lite

racy

pro

gram

s pr

ovid

e pa

rent

s\s

at id

eas

and

mat

eria

ls fo

r lit

erac

y ac

tiviti

esin

the

hom

e. *Suc

cess

ful f

amily

lite

racy

pro

gram

s en

cour

age

par-

ent i

nput

into

the

acad

emic

des

elop

men

tof

the

chil-

dren

.

*Suc

cess

ful f

amily

lite

racy

pro

gram

s ar

eco

llabo

ratis

e

effo

rts

that

com

bine

the

stre

ngth

s of

man

yag

enci

es.

BE

ST

CO

PY

AV

AIL

AB

LE

Fam

ily L

itera

cy:

How

Can

1 L

earn

Mor

e?T

The

follm

sing

org

aniia

tions

can

he

cont

acte

d fo

rfu

rthe

r in

form

atio

n on

\say

s to

est

ablis

h, a

dmin

-is

ter,

and

eva

luat

e fa

mily

lite

racy

pro

gram

s.(B

ecau

se o

f lim

ited

spac

e, \s

e ar

e un

able

to p

rovi

de a

nal

l-inc

lusi

ve li

st o

f nat

iona

l and

inte

rnat

iona

l org

ani-

zatio

ns c

once

rned

ssi

th fa

mily

lite

racy

.)

Aus

tral

ial i

ntui

t Sta

lcs

Rt

ling

Bal

i:iris

lifts

,:11

1I i

t ill

!CH

Ass

ot fa

I to

rti,r

t Mt.\

I lie

t,i(

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The Family Literacy Commission of the InternationalReading Association is charged with conductingresearch and creating professional development

materials in the area of family literacy.

Lesley Mandel Morrow, Chair

Pehr-Olof Ronnholm, Board Liaison

June Atkins

Caroline Beverstock

Marie C. Di Biasio

Patricia A. Edwards

Devron A. Gaber

Colin Ilarrison

Dolores B. Malcolm

Susan Neuman

John Daniel O'Leary

Jeanne R. Paratore

Jorie W. Philippi

Diane H. Tracey

Carol Greenwood Trejo

Alan E. Farstrup, Ex Officio

Doris Roettger, Ex Officio

ORDERING INFORMATION

This brochure may be purchased from the InternationalReading Association in quantities of 100 at a cost ofUSS7.00 per 100. Single copies are free on request.

The International Reading Association is a 94,000member nonprofit professional organization dedicated

to improving reading instruction and promotingliteracy worldwide.

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Copyright 1994 by the International ReadingAssociation, Inc. All rights reserved.

International Reading Association800 Barksdale Road

Newark, Delaware 19714-8139, USA

Illustrations by Dave Bailey

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