The Irvington Public Library (Irvington, New Jersey) conducted a project that involved recruitment, retention, public awareness, training, basic literacy, collection development, tutoring, and intergenerational/family programs. The project served a community of 25,000-50,000 people, and targeted the learned disabled and intergenerational/families.…

This publication consists of English and French versions of an annotated bibliography of resources available from the Literacy Section of the Learning and Employment Preparation Branch, Ontario Training and Adjustment Board. The English version contains 95 print and video resources grouped under these topics: general reports and studies on…

Studies have shown an inextricable link between under-education and chronic, intergenerational welfare dependency. With welfare reform focusing on moving individuals into the workforce more quickly, state welfare reform efforts to assist low-income parents and their children are needed. Incorporating family literacy instruction into…

Proposes teaching only language arts for three years for children from poor families who do not emphasize reading. Suggests methods including teacher and student story telling; story reading; practicing letter formations; singing or talking along with records or videotapes; discussing word meanings; reading poetry; and story writing with corrected…

A study of Head Start preschoolers and families suggests emergent literacy is supported by the Home Based Reading Project, but only when teachers teach parents strategies in simple language, offer a library of quality books, and provide materials highlighting reading practices and effective literacy interactions. Parents play a crucial role in…

This paper discusses: (1) the importance of building a comprehensive web of support for families in family literacy programs (such as Even Start) that communicate consistent values and messages essential for educational success; and (2) how integration of program components can be developed and strengthened. The paper is organized around four…

The Focus on Networking project was undertaken to identify significant Adult Education Act Section 353 demonstration projects produced by Pennsylvania project directors and adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) practitioners nationwide and to publish a newsletter to disseminate information about those projects. A panel of 6 literacy experts…

The report describes a family literacy program in the Allentown School District (Pennsylvania). Instructional activities included two adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes using resources of the school district, Adult Literacy Center of the Lehigh Valley, and a local church, which provided child care facilities. Adults met twice weekly…

This document contains a project report and a parenting resource book of materials for use in family and other adult basic and literacy education programs. The project report details how focus groups were conducted to determine the interests of adults in family literacy classes. Ten categories of interest were identified and materials were…

The Bethlehem Area Chamber of Commerce addressed family literacy through the promotion of a "Jump into Reading" videotape and its accompanying brochure in local businesses and schools as well as throughout Pennsylvania. Jump into Reading was designed to teach parents the importance of reading aloud to their children and offer techniques…

Intended to provide practical amd proven ideas to help children develop as literate persons, this book presents 24 essays on diverse topics to help teachers and parents realize the potential they have for improving children's literacy development. The ideas presented in the book are based on sound research, theory, and actual practice. After an…

A first stage evaluation of the Even Start Program of the Newark (New Jersey) public schools is presented. Even Start is an early childhood parental involvement program in its third year of implementation. Goals are to involve parents as active partners, to help children develop cognitively and affectively, and to improve adult literacy and…

This book focuses on results from secondary analyses of the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) and implications of these analyses for policy, practice, and further research on adult literacy. Part I contains an introduction and three additional chapters that provide a substantive summary of the NALS and its purposes: "Introduction: Adult…

A descriptive study examined the relationships between what young children learned about written language in the home and their parents' levels of literacy ability and their uses of print in their lives. Twenty-four children, aged 4-6, in 20 families of low socioeconomic status were observed during their waking hours in their homes and communities…

This guide was developed during a demonstration project conducted in three diverse, multiethnic Western Pennsylvania communities to use older adult tutors as mentors to improve Head Start parents' literacy skills and ability to develop their children's literacy. The guide is intended to facilitate tutors' learning about family literacy and to give…