This teaching tip reports a case of an author-illustrator study of Donald Crews. It discusses the suitability of his books for an author-illustrator study in preschool classrooms and emphasizes the significance of his work for family literacy among racial and ethnic minority groups. A Head Start classroom of preschoolers investigated Crews's books…

The purpose of this article is to describe a family literacy project involving a partnership of school-aged children and their families with in-service and pre-service teachers enrolled in a university course on literacy instruction for English language learners. This project consists of family members sharing their stories with their children to…

This Kindergarten Teacher's Guide provides information for kindergarten teachers on how to support families as they practice foundational reading skills at home. It serves as a companion to the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade. Both guides present four…

This article shares a monthly curricular model that can help teachers and families bridge the gap between home and school by using literature and response inspired from the cultures in the classroom. Integrating culturally responsive texts and family response journals into the classroom and the home can help children, their families, and peers…

As a teacher of struggling and resistant readers in high school, I searched for instructional practices that provided relevance, motivation, and engagement for my students as well as presented opportunities to become more aware of their challenges and priorities outside of school. Technology needed to be a part of the project to allow students…

Parent involvement in children's language and literacy development is a continuum. Parents enhance their newborn baby's language and vocabulary growth, whereas with older children parents are involved in school and provide support by engaging in learning activities such as assisting with homework. Parent involvement is an important part of…

This unique book features an array of approaches, strategies, and tools for teaching multiculturally in the early years. The teachers and classrooms portrayed here provide young children with rich educational experiences that empower them to understand themselves in relation to others. You will see how amazing teachers engage in culturally…

This article advocates for the inclusion of transnational and community literacies in the literacy instruction provided to all students, but especially those who are ELLs (English language learners). Transnational and community literacies are texts and literacy practices that reflect the multidirectional movements of people, media, language and…

Practice in working with parents is changing and communicating with parents is increasingly a part of teachers' responsibilities. Besides focusing on supporting their children's learning, many schools now involve parents in education for themselves. Yet despite the expectation that they will work to engage parents in their children's learning, in…

Written by teachers for teachers, "A Kaleidoscope of Models and Strategies for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages," is a practical introduction to models and strategies employed in the teaching of English language learners. Each chapter discusses several models and/or strategies by focusing on particular methods and gives…

When adults share picture books with young children, they build their lifelong literacy and enjoyment of reading. In beautiful full color, the new edition of this popular book will help recognize quality in children's literature and illustration and see how to use picture books to best advantage. Following an introduction, this book is organized…

Reviews global statistics on illiteracy. Highlights to objectives of UNESCO's International Literacy Year. Discusses the trend toward intergenerational or family literacy programs in the U.S., as exemplified by Head Start, Even Start, and the parent-children literacy efforts of Sharon Darling. (DMM)

This book is an account of the development and implementation of the University of Massachusetts English Family Literacy Project, presented as a curriculum guide for others who may be involved in developing English-as-a-Second-Language and family literacy programs for immigrants and refugees. An introductory section describes the program, the…

This book provides practical strategies and tools for assessing and teaching even the most hard to reach English language learners across the content areas. Syrja offers educators the latest information on working with ELLs (including using formative assessments) and provides a wealth of classroom-tested models and measures. These tools have…

This book shares the author's discoveries in a first-grade classroom about Family Message Journals--notebooks in which children write a message to their families each day about something they did, learned, or thought about in school, and then a family member writes a message in reply. The book is intended to spur other teachers to reflect on how…