McCorkel Clinard, Linda

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Michigan Reading Journal Volume 21 Issue 2 Article 4 April 1988 Promoting Literacy In The Home ... A Recipe for Success Linda McCorkel Clinard Michigan State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj Recommended Citation McCorkel Clinard, Linda (1988) "Promoting Literacy In The Home ... A Recipe for Success," Michigan Reading Journal: Vol. 21 : Iss. 2 , Article 4. Available at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj/vol21/iss2/4 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Michigan Reading Journal by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact scholarworks@gvsu.edu. Promoting Literacy In The Home ... A Recipe for Success Have you noticed that more is being said through the mass media - via television, radio, newspapers - about the importance of Informing and involving parents in a child's reading education? I have been grateful for the attention, but I have been disappointed and often frustrated by the amount of misinformation being distributed and the impractical, even misleading guidance offered. The following list of PARENT AND READING COMMUNICATION INGRED-IENTS is based on recent studies. We need to consider each of the ingredients as we plan to communicate with parents about reading. My major goal is to offer information which can be used by (1) the classroom teacher who is communicating personally with parents of students from preschool through high school, and (2) the administrator or program director who is planning a program for a local school or a district. INGREDIENT 1: "We Need to Talk To Parents About Literacy ... Not Just Reading" We need to share information with parents which recognizes that reading is a part of the child's total language development and ··not a discrete skill isolated from listening, speaking, and writing." (Anderson, by Linda McCorkel Clinard 3 1) The Early Childhood and Literacy Committee of the International Reading Association encourages us to "make parents aware of the reasons for a total language program at school and provide them with ideas for activities to carry out at home." (I.R.A., 2) INGREDIENT 2: "Suggest Home Activities That Are More Life-Like Than School-Like" I strongly agree with Yetta Goodman and Myrna Houssler when they suggest that: " ... while schools in general have attempted to help parents promote more school-like literacy in their homes, the variety of literacy which promote reading success is not fully appreciated. As a result, parents whose use of print is less literary but more pragmatic in nature feel distanced from their child's school experiences. As teachers understand and ap-preciate the diversity of print experiences and the knowledge children bring from home, they will view parents more and more as significant partners in helping children learn to process written language. Likewise, parents who have felt they could not help will understand the significance of thie role in supporting their child's efforts toward literacy." (Goodman-Houssler, 3) I believe that children benefit most when parents know what it is they are doing -promoting literacy. There are so many things happening in the home which are currently helping a child reach toward future reading success. We need to recognize the efforts parents are making and praise their efforts as we explain how these everyday activities are promoting literacy at home. When we want to offer other ideas to involve parents, we should keep in mind what Goodman and Houssler have said concerning the importance of offering a variety of practical suggestions. We must recognize the ways in which literacy fits into the daily lives of children and avoid offering suggestions which are a repetition of school-like activities. INGREDIENT 3: "Suggest Activities That Work" Research studies support the finding summarized in Becoming a Nation of Readers, " ... the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success is reading aloud to children ... " (Anderson, 4; Hansen, 5) I believe, however, that reading aloud should not be limited to young or disabled readers. The parents of a third grader and a sixth grader spoke to me recently. The third grader had been an excellent reader, but had recently avoided any leisure-time reading. The parents were concerned because this student's 'comprehension was suffering, too. They were planning to enroll her in a "Saturday Tutoring" session. I asked whether they had been reading to her at all lately, or had they found, as I have with my third grader, that it is very hard to find the time, especially once our children are older and can read on their own. They said they had not read to her recently, but they were willing to try. IT WORKED! Their child's interest in 4 reading was rekindled and her comprehension scores in her reading class were "magically" rising. The sixth grader was a struggling reader, and the parents were frustrated with their child's inability to read the social studies and science textbooks. When I asked whether they had tried reading a little of the assignment from the science or social studies books to their child, they said they had not. Soon afterward they called to share that they had tried to help by reading some of the assignment, and it really helped. Studies conducted with elementary and secondary students support the following activities, in addition to reading aloud, as contributors to reading success: (Hansen, 6; Ketcham, 7; Rickert, 8) Helping the child with his/her homework assignment Setting reading goals with the child Encouraging, helping select, and discussing the child's reading Encouraging use of the public library Number and quality of newspapers and magazines in the home Family visits to places of historical interest and museums Parents' discussion of the news Books given as presents Providing a variety of materials that interest the child and that the child is ABLE to read Making a quiet place in the home available for reading Providing the child with reading materials when s/he is home sick INGREDIENT 4: "Be Aware Of What Parents Of Good Readers Do" We have often become immersed in the reasons why problem readers have problems, but I appreciate the results of studies which stress the characteristics of parents of good readers. Thus, we can encourage parents by praising those who exhibit any of these characteristics, so they will continue to use them. We can also help parents who are not as aware to begin modeling the techniques used by parents of successful readers. Margarete Dix found that parents of good readers ... 1 . Are themselves good readers 2. Read for pleasure 3. Use TV selectively 4. Read to their children before they entered school 5. Are aware of the importance of a wide variety of experiences She found that the parents of poorer readers tended to view reading mainly as a skill process and used the library infrequently. (Dix, 9) These characteristics, together with the list of activities suggested in Ingredient 3, provide a number of areas to consider when making suggestions to parents. The comment which I hear parents express most often, especially after they have received sug-gestions, is, ' 'But/' m not certain how to get the message across," or "/ don't know how to teach." The results of Anabel Newman's excellent longitudinal study provide a challenge to teachers and parents. She found that "students who turned out to be high achievers had strong models to imitate and positive family support in the form of encouragement, discipline, and persuasion." (Newman, 10) She recommends that parents recognize their importance as models, and I suggest that as teachers we need to recognize a similar responsibility. Modeling is a powerful, persuasive tool for teaching at any level. (Clinard, 11) INGREDIENT 5: "Inform And Involve Parents In School Activities" In addition to the characteristics listed as part of Ingredient 4, parents of successful readers "have a more accurate view of their children 's performance. Those parents know about the school's reading program. They visit their children's teachers, may observe in the classrooms periodically, and are more likely to participate in home-school liaison programs." (Anderson, 12) 5 INGREDIENT 6: "Educators Must Take The First Step" I have made a number of suggestions concerning what we could do to promote literacy at home. You have, no doubt, seen many of these suggestions before, but why haven't parent-education practices improved? A study of teacher practices with regard to parent involvement was conducted recently at The Johns Hopkins University. The results of this study provided insights which helped explain why many parent-involvement programs do not appear to have long-term success. One majorfinding was that "teachers have not been educated in the management of parent involvement.'' Teachers· are hesitant and often reluctant to take the initiative in communicating with parents, yet educators must take the first step in communicating. We cannot wait for parents to take the initiative. Other findings from The Johns Hopkins' study indicated: " ... teachers who do not actively use parent involvement techniques and who teach children with highly educated parents report that the parent-involvement techniques would work, but that they do not choose to use them. Teachers who are not active users and who teach children with fess educated parents are more apt to report that the parents would not-be able or willing to carry out the activities related to the child's schoolwork ... " (Becker, 13) When I have asked teachers why they do not use parent-involvement techniques, the response I hear most often is, "It requires a great deal of effort that does not seem to be appreciated by the parents or my administrators." I believe that we need to (1) provide teachers with efficient and effective means of communicating with parents. and (2) encourage administrators to recognize the efforts of those who are communicating effectively. In an effort to provide such means of communicating, we need to look for programs which have been effective and meet the needs of our situation. Then, we can apply techniques that meet ou·r needs. Excellent resources are available through the International Reading Association to help us seek out good models of parent programs. Parents and Reading: A Resource Bank of Projects that Work (I.R.A., 14) offer samples of a variety of parent projects. Anthony Fredericks and David Taylor prepared a very helpful booklet for I.R.A. which offers guidelines for planning parent programs, Parent Programs in Reading: Guidelines for Success. (Fredericks, 15) Another means of helping teachers communicate effectively would be by establishing a Parent Reading Area in the school library. Place materials for PARENTS on specific shelves. The teachers could use materials on these shelves as resources. This would save teachers a great deal of time in searching for articles, brochures, activity pamphlets, and resource books to use for specific children. Finally, we need to recognize teachers who are communicating. Since 1984 our Oakland County (Michigan) Reading Council has been involved in a Parent Communication project which has recognized teachers who are effectively communicating with parents. We are currently collecting samples of reading communication ideas from teachers in our county to compile into a "Communication Booklet." Teachers who have material accepted as part of the booklet will receive special Certificates of Recognition for Reading Communication. Teachers, as well as parents, need to be recognized and praised for the good things they are doing to promote literacy. Thus, we will be encouraging them to continue what they are doing to help children succeed in becoming literate. Linda McCorkel Clinard, Ph.D. is a Distinguished Lecturer and Professor at Michigan State University- Southeast Regional Center, Birmingham, Michigan. She is the author of The Reading Triangle: You CAN Help Your Child Learn to Read. Reprinted from the Greater Washington (D.C.) Reading Council 6 REFERENCES Anderson, Richard, C.; Heibert, Alfreida; Scott, Judity A.; Willkinson, A.G., Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading, National Academy of Education, National Institute of Education and the Center for the Study of Reading, 1985. p. 30. International Reading Association Early Childhood and Literacy Committee, et. al., "Joint Statement on Literacy Development and Pre-first Grade", The Reading Teacher, April 1986, pp. 819-821. Goodman, Yetta M. and Houssler, Myrna M., "Literacy Environment in the Home and Community", Roles of Literacy Learning: A New Perspective. International Reading Association, Newark, Delaware (Ed: Duane Tovey and James Kerber), 1986. pp. 26-27. Anderson, et. al., p. 23. Hansen, Harlan S., "The Home Literary Environment: A Follow-Up Report", Elementary English, Vol. 50, January 1973, pp. 97-98, 122. Hansen, H.S. Ketcham, Clay Adams, "Factors in the Home Background and Reader Self-Concept Which Rel ate to Reading Achievement", Ed.D . dissertation, Lehigh University, 1966. Rickert, Collenn, "Eighth Grade Students' Reading Achievement and Its Relationship to Parents' Perceptions of Selected Factors in the Home Environment", Ed .D. dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 1980. Dix, Margarete, Are Reading Habits of Parents Related to Reading Performance of Their Children? Bethesda, MD.: ERIC Document Reproduction Service, ED 133 693, 1976. Newman, Anabel, Twenty Lives Revisited: A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Literacy on the Occupations and Schooling of Students Who were Low Reading Readiness in First Grade ( 1964-1978 with Special Attention to Model, Motivation, Interest, Perseverance and Pressure, Bloomington, IN.: Indiana University, 1980. Clinard, Linda M., "Modeling the 'RELATE' Process in Teach er Education in Reading and Development of Guidelines for Instructional Decision-Making", Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Michigan, 1979. Anderson, R., et. al., p. 26. Becker, Henry J. and Epstein, Joyce L., "Parent Involvement: A Survey of Teacher Practices", (The Johns Hopkins University). The Elementary School Journal, Vol. 83, Number 2, November 1982, pp. 85-102. International Reading Association Parents and Reading Committee, Parents and Reading: A Resource Bank of Projects that Work, International Reading Association, Newark, Delaware. (Updated regularly). Fredericks, Anthony D. and Taylor, David, Parent Programs in Reading: Guidelines for Success, International Reading Association, Newark, Delaware, 1985. f 

Promoting Literacy In The Home ... A Recipe for Success

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Promoting Literacy In The Home ... A Recipe for Success

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