Posted: March 12th, 2023

Family Literacy Event Proposal

 Family Literacy Event Proposal 

Planning For a Family Literacy Event

For this assignment, you will develop a
Proposal for a small Family Literacy Event that you can create at your school/preschool setting. Keep the ideas for the event simple and the focus on building relationships with families and on authentic engagements with real books. *Remember that you will not be required to actually create this event; you are just developing a usable proposal for the event that takes all of your learning from this course into consideration.

What you will submit:

Part One:

·

A description of your the setting including grade level, your role in the setting and a proposed number of participants for your event (this proposal should be for a small event, not a schoolwide event).

· Select one of the reading tip sheets linked below and explain how you will use this with families. Plan to include a read aloud and demonstrate some of the tips on the tip sheet.

·
Reading Tip Sheets for Parents

·
Links to an external site.

·

· Explain how you will share information with families about resources in the community (including library resources for your community).

·

· Describe how you might learn from families about home literacy practices and how you might use this knowledge to help enrich the literacy learning in the classroom.

· Describe how you might use at least ONE of the ideas described in your Accelerating Literacy textbook for your proposed event. (Find these in Part II of your book).

One approach that you might explore is to connect with parents of children in an after-school program and offer to provide a 30 minute workshop around a read aloud. Demonstrate an interactive read-aloud with students and offer parents some tips (see link above) on how to support literacy learning at home though simple things like conversation, songs, simple activities, books to provide literacy enrichment and a love for reading.

Part Two:

Reflecting on this assignment:

Write a reflection on your growth and new learning around this assignment.

· How did your research into literacy learning needs for the discussion assignment influence your literacy learning event?

· Do you think that you could help meet a recognized need in the community?

· What might your vision be for expanding on your ideas for this event?

·
Reading Tip Sheets for Parents

·
Links to an external site.

·
The Resources at Your Library

·
Links to an external site.

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Krystle Grant

ELE 5700

Dr. Nickolson

March 7th, 2022

Family Literacy Event Proposal

School Description

Petree Elementary School is a Title I public school located in Winston-Salem, NC, which

is in a mid-size city setting. The student population of Petree is 377 and the school serves PK-5

(Overview of Petree Elementary, n.d.). At Petree Elementary in 2019, 6% of students in grades 3-5

scored at or above the proficient level for math, 12% of students in grades 3-5 scored at or above

the proficient level for reading, and 32% of students in grades 3-5 scored at or above the proficient

level for science. 75.1% of students are economically disadvantaged and 96% of students enrolled

are minorities (North Carolina School Report Cards, n.d.).

My Role

My role in the classroom as a teacher is to teach, engage, and support students through

academic instruction. Additionally, my role as the teacher also requires me to build relationships

with my students and their families so we can all be on one accord as we work towards helping

the student reach their academic goals. For this event, I will be working with third-grade students

and there will be a total of thirty participants present. This includes fifteen students and two parents

to accompany each student. During this event, I plan to use and share the reading tips page that is

titled “Reading Tips for Parents of Third-Graders.” More specifically, I will start off by giving

every parent a copy and explaining the purpose of the page. Next, I will read through the tips and

provide more context behind what is on the page. Then, I will encourage each parent to try to use

a new reading tip with their child every week and explain the benefits of doing so. After going

over the tips, I will conduct a read aloud portion where I model for parents how I use some of the

reading tips, as well as explain and show them some of the best ways to engage children in reading.

Sharing Information

I plan to share information with parents regarding resources in the community in many

ways. More specifically, some of these methods include word of mouth, parent emails, classroom

newsletters, phone calls and parent messages through communication platforms such as

ClassDojo. Furthermore, at this event I plan to present a slideshow which will thoroughly review

the library resources in our community. I plan to share a list with all the local libraries in our

community. This list will include Forsyth County Central Library, Southside Library, Reynolda

Manor Branch Library, United Way of Forsyth County, and Foundations Early Learning Center

of Winston-Salem. I plan to address frequently asked questions such as what is a library, who can

use it, where are they located, how to get a library card, what can be found at a library, how to

access books and materials in other languages, and how to locate other libraries in our area

(Colorado, 2019). In addition to talking about the different libraries and the services they offer, I

also plan to have an informational table set up with pamphlets from each library, reading tips,

afterschool clubs and programs that are offered, as well as afterschool tutoring programs that are

offered. Additionally, I will tell parents about local book clubs, book fairs and writing contests so

they can provide their child with the opportunity to attend.

Learning from Families

Throughout this process, I can learn from families in many ways. Moreover, I can learn

from families about home literacy practices by having an open discussion with parents based on

what literacy practices they feel work best for them and their child at home. During this discussion,

I can record their suggestions on chart paper for everyone to see and take note of. Another way of

doing this would be something as simple as having a box titled “best at-home literacy practices”

and next to it, I can have post-it notes so parents can write their suggestions on the post-it’s and

drop them in the box at their convenience. One other way I can learn from families about home

literacy practices may include me creating a Google Form that I can link to my teacher website

which will allow parents to enter their names and a host of literacy practices that they feel work

best. After learning from families, I can then use this knowledge to help me enrich the literacy

learning that occurs in my classroom. For example, I can implement one new suggestion from

parents each week. By doing this, students won’t become overwhelmed, and it will provide me

with a decent amount of time to see what works and what doesn’t. In addition to giving

suggestions, I believe parents can contribute to the classroom in several other ways. More

specifically, I believe many parents would be able to contribute to the school/classroom by

teaching students how to read and write in other languages, reading books about their profession

to peak students’ interest, and even by helping students create their own books based on their own

ideas and hobbies.

Connecting with Children and Parents

One way that I can connect with children and parents is after school once a week on

Friday’s during a reading workshop called “Reading Rockstars”. During this thirty-minute

workshop, reading will be the main focus. Before reading, I can incorporate a warm-up/activator

to get the children thinking. An example of a warm-up activity may be me showing the children

the cover of the book for the day and allowing them to analyze the cover and make predictions on

what they think the story is about on post-its. Then, I can let them share their predictions out loud

before we read the book and then revisit them again after we finish the book to see if any of them

came true. The book for the first read aloud is titled “Chrysanthemum” by Kevin Henkes. While

reading and modeling for parents, I plan to begin discussions on teasing, self-esteem, and

acceptance as these topics are addressed in the book. Furthermore, I plan to mention Elaine Garan

and explain the benefits of reading out loud to children which includes the fact that it teaches them

reading skills in a variety of areas. Moreover, some of these reading skills include how students

develop new vocabulary and experiences, students develop new listening comprehension skills,

and students develop language skills and concepts about print (Graran, 2007). Additionally, after

I read out loud and have a discussion with the students about the book, they will then begin “buddy

reading”. During this time, each child will be paired with an older child, or a better reader and the

better reader will read out loud while the other reader follows along (Classroom, 2011).

Afterwards, both readers will do a turn and talk to discuss their thoughts on the book. Lastly, the

pair will work together to complete the literacy task for the day. Reading tasks will alternate

weekly, some days children will be asked to draw their own version of the cover photo for the

book, or they may be asked to free-write and write their own extended ending to the book, or they

may be asked to summarize the book and rate it from 1-5 based on their personal likes and dislikes.

Offering Tips to Parents

Furthermore, I can continue to offer parents tips on how to support literacy at home in

several ways. More specifically, I can encourage them to have discussions while reading the same

way I modeled during the read aloud. Additionally, I can encourage them to come up with

reading/writing activities that allow children to respond to stories while also expressing themselves

through their writing. I can also encourage inform them of different songs to sing before starting a

new book, and lastly, I can even promote our classroom library which will allow students to check

books out from our classroom on a weekly basis while also requiring them to read the book and

complete a corresponding book report upon returning the book. Additionally, when children return

the book, they will have the opportunity to share their book report with the whole class. Not only

does this provide parents with the opportunity to work with their child and support them with

literacy at home, but this also gives the child an opportunity to learn how to break down a book by

identifying the main idea and supporting details, summarizing, and reviewing cause and effect or

problem and solution text structures while using sequence words like first, then, next, and last.

Reflection

My research into literacy learning needs in my community influenced my literacy learning

event in many ways. More specifically, upon researching I came to the realization that

unfortunately, there are not many resources available in Winston-Salem beyond after school

tutoring programs and weekly story time sessions held at local libraries. This was very

disheartening to find out because there are many children who need extra support far beyond what

they receive during a typical school day. Because there is such a need, this inspired me to create a

literacy learning event that caters to children and parents in a way that is intentional and purposeful.

Although there are several tutoring programs available here, there are not any programs setup that

teach and model for children how to read and write. Additionally, there are not any programs or

resources available that provide parents with useful information on how to support literacy at

home. After finding this out, I kept this information in mind and created an event that informs

parents of the literacy resources available in the community, while also modeling how to read out

loud and engage children by discussing relevant topics presented in the book. Additionally, this

event is also designed to provide parents with reading tips while also showing them how to engage

children in writing activities that correspond with the book.

Through this event and several others that I have brainstormed, I believe I can help meet a

few recognized needs in the community. For instance, I believe I can help by modeling how to

read aloud for parents so they can see how to engage their child with literacy at home, I can help

to develop young writers by encouraging them to write book reports and book responses after

reading new books, and I can also help by helping children gain the confidence to read and learn

how to read from others by having them paired together to do “buddy reading.”

When it comes to expanding my ideas for this event, the possibilities are endless. More

specifically, I have thought of other ideas that include a grade-level book club, a literacy inspired

spirit week where students can participate by doing various things such as dressing up as their

favorite book characters, bringing in their favorite book to do a show and tell, dressing up as their

favorite author and much more. Another idea includes a grade-level reading competition or a read-

a-thon which will require each class to compete for a certain amount of time to see which class

can read the most books of a certain genre. Additionally, after each book each class will be

challenged to come up with a project or classroom display to show what they have read. Other

ideas include parents coming to the school once a month to read a book to the class based on their

career. In addition to reading, I will also ask that parents hold a question-and-answer session

afterwards so students can ask questions about their career, and I will also ask that parents explain

the steps they took to go down their career path while highlighting the pros and the cons of their

job.

Overall, by completing this assignment I have realized that there are many literacy learning

needs in my community and because of this, I have been inspired to create and find helpful

resources for the children and parents who live here because they deserve these literacy

experiences and opportunities just as much as anyone else. Moving forward, I plan to participate

in more literacy professional development training sessions and workshops so I can continue to

find innovative ways to close the literacy gap in my community. Moreover, my goal is to inspire

and encourage every child to develop a love for reading because reading is fundamental!

References

Classroom, C. F. T. C. (2011, September 23). Bringing Reading to Life After School [Video].

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cTrqD_w0AY&feature=youtu.be

Colorado, C. (2015, December 1). Tips for Parents of Third Graders. Colorín Colorado.

Retrieved March 1, 2022, from https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/tips-parents-

third-graders

Colorado, C. (2019, December 20). The Resources at Your Library. Colorín Colorado. Retrieved

March 1, 2022, from https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/resources-your-library

Garan, E. (2007). Smart Answers to Tough Questions: What to Say When You’re Asked About

Fluency, Phonics, Grammar, Vocabulary, SSR, Tests, Support for ELLs, and More.

Scholastic Teaching Resources.

North Carolina School Report Cards. (n.d.). North Carolina School Report Cards. Retrieved

March 1, 2022, from

https://ncreports.ondemand.sas.com/src/school?school=340490&year=2021&lng=en

Overview of Petree Elementary. (n.d.). U.S. News. Retrieved March 1, 2022, from

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/north-carolina/petree-elementary-

220975#:%7E:text=The%20student%2Dteacher%20ratio%20is,1%20full%2Dtime%20sc

hool%20counselor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cTrqD_w0AY&feature=youtu.be

https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/tips-parents-third-graders

https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/tips-parents-third-graders

https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/resources-your-library

https://ncreports.ondemand.sas.com/src/school?school=340490&year=2021&lng=en

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/north-carolina/petree-elementary-220975#:%7E:text=The%20student%2Dteacher%20ratio%20is,1%20full%2Dtime%20school%20counselor

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/north-carolina/petree-elementary-220975#:%7E:text=The%20student%2Dteacher%20ratio%20is,1%20full%2Dtime%20school%20counselor

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/north-carolina/petree-elementary-220975#:%7E:text=The%20student%2Dteacher%20ratio%20is,1%20full%2Dtime%20school%20counselor