Supporting Language and Early Literacy:

at Home and in

Early Childhood Settings

Session 7: Family Engagement

Early Literacy Advisory Group

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

For more information, please contact: Gaye Tylka, Project Coordinator, gtylka@cesa4.k12.wi.us; 608.786.4844

Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council

Your

• (insert your name/title here)• Insert your co-presenter’s name/title here)

FACILITATORS

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

GOALS

AGENDA 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?

Planning and Curriculum GoalsDeciding what should be done to

promote development and what we want children to learn

• Needs Identification & Prioritization• Planning (Strategy/Indicators)

ImplementationProviding meaningful,

experiential activities that support individual and group goals guided by supportive

interaction and relationships

AssessmentGathering information to determine what the child

can do and what the child is ready to learn • Data Collection

• Data Analysis

WISCONSIN MODEL EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS

Teaching Cycle

• 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 environmentA.EL.2 - Listens and responds to communication with othersA.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 (non-verbal) to communicateB.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 languageC.EL.3 - Shows appreciation books and how print worksC.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. engagementwhat do you see?

What we already know about families and literacy

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

Rationale – Brain Research

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-IncomeThe 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

Use of Technology with Parents Message to

Parents on

the Use of

Screen Time

with

Children

• 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

Literacy Tipsin Your

Newsletter

Include Literacy in

Family Events you Hold

Promoting Literacy Resources

• At Home http://www.childrenslearninginstitute.org/our-research/project-overview/Pre-K-Dual-Language-Learners/documents/ParentCalendar_DLL_2012.pdf

=

• Out and Abouthttp://www.childrenslearninginstitute.org/default.aspx

• Play Source: Leong, D. and E. Bodrove, R. Hensen, M. Henninger. Scaffolding Early Literacy Through Play.

Powerful InteractionsSharing 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.