Encouraging Literacy at Home

Tips for teachers are given in this month's issue of The Reading Teacher, and one that I found interesting was the idea of sharing with parents the natural ways to incorporate literacy at home. Families typically write lists, write in journals, and enjoy jokes whether they are in comics or on TV. All of these things incorporate reading and writing, and if parents are aware of ways to encourage their children to participate and practice their literacy skills then students will be more successful in the classroom.
Parent involvement is important, but not always easy to come by. Instead of asking a lot of parents when it comes to homework help, teachers can share ways to use routines that are already in place to help their children learn. A lot of the issue currently is that parents don't know how to help. It is the job of the teacher to keep parents informed.
The article written by Timothy Rasinski and Nancy Padak calls this way of literacy instuction "Family literacy". If the family is involved in the student's learning, then the student will be encouraged to do better.

Timothy Rasinski
Nancy Padak "Family Literacy: Write Soon!" The Reading Teacher. April 2009.