1. Parent Involvement One Key to Reading Success Western Regional IRA Conference Seattle, WA Fall, 2008

2. Dr. Barbara Honchell University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC honchellb@uncw.edu Dr. Sandy Jones Saint Andrews Presbyterian College Laurinburg, NC jonessp@sapc.edu

3. Parent Involvement: Research Base Evidence says parent involvement will make learning to read easier and more meaningful. (Walde & Baker, 1990; Education Alliance, 2007)

4. Research… Parents play a significant role in helping children to become readers and writers when involvement is substantive, ongoing, and consistent. (Henderson & Mapp, 2002)

5. Research… Reading activity at home influences reading achievement and reading attitudes. (Rowe, 1991)

6. Research… Early literacy skills are related to home environment and reading proficiency through the primary years. (Rowe, 1991)

7. Research… Most parents are willing to work with their children but…they dont know how to help. (Chavkin & Williams, 1985)

8. Assessment Tool Directions Give yourself 5 points on each question if you feel that what you are doing is excellent, 0 points for poor, or any score in between you think you deserve.

9. 1.My child sees me reading something every day. 2.I have my own library card. We make regular trips to the library. 3.Things to read are easy to find in our home. 4.Sometimes I talk with my child about what I am reading. 5.My child and I often read things aloud to each other.

10. Rating Scale: How did you score? 25-20 Excellent, you are right on track. Talk to your childs teacher for some new ideas. 19-15 Good work, you could try some suggestions from your childs teacher that will raise your score. 14-0 There are some easy things to do that would really help your child. Your childs teacher will be glad to help you.

11. Read Something Every Day Read every day at a regular time. Read from a variety of materials like magazines and newspapers. Choose what is interesting to you and your child: sports, comics, or animal stories. Talk about what you read. Ask your childs opinion about what he reads.

12. Have a Library Card and Make Regular Trips to the Library Spend quality time with your child at the library. Encourage your child to look for many kinds of reading materials. Take advantage of story hour, computer usage, family night, summer reading clubs. Remember the librarian is there to help you. Get a family library card, it is free in most communities. Use your school library as well as the public library.

13. Have Reading Materials in Easy to Access Locations in Your House Turn off the TV and read regularly. Share stories at bedtime. Share your favorite childhood stories with your child. Talk about what you are reading together. Have books within easy reach.

14. Talk to Your Child about What You are Reading or Watching on TV Ask questions about what you read. Talk about new words. Play word games like I Spy

15. Read Aloud to and with Your Child Read and reread favorite stories. Read with your child all school year long. Read with your child in the summertime. Take turns reading pages or reading in unison.

16. When your child is reading to you, do not correct a mistake if the error makes sense. If a word is really hard, tell your child the word and move on. Reward your childs reading efforts by commenting on the things he/she is doing well. Some mistakes are okay. Dont worry about every mistake your child might make when reading.

17. Four Important Things to Keep in Mind when Working with Parents Concrete Examples Opportunities for Reading Specific Praise Tools (bookmark example)

18. Conclusion We cannot expect that parents will know what to do to help just because they are parents. Parents must rely on us to provide the information about the literacy practices that will best meet the needs of their children. (Honchell & Jones, 2008)