effective ways to communicate with parents about reading
TRANSCRIPT
Effective Ways to Communicate with Parents about ReadingAuthor(s): Nicholas P. CriscuoloSource: The Reading Teacher, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Nov., 1980), pp. 164-166Published by: Wiley on behalf of the International Reading AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20195200 .
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Effective ways to communicate
with parents about reading
Effective communication builds
parent support for a reading pro gram. Here are some practical sug
gestions for how to do it.
Nicholas P. Criscuolo Ask parents about the reading pro gram their children are participating in at school or what methods or
processes are being used to teach
reading to their children and too often they will respond that they do not know.
Don't blame parents for this situa tion. Don't blame the schools entirely either. It's a matter of communi
cation. The schools are doing an effective job of teaching children to read yet some parents are not aware
of this fact.
They need to know. Parents can do a great deal to reinforce the school's
reading program. Informed parents can also react critically when they read articles saying there is only one
method to teach reading or that the
schools are failing to teach their children how to read.
How can the schools communicate
with parents about reading? The New
Haven, Connecticut, public school
system has made this a top priority. Here are seven approaches used
successfully in New Haven to achieve this worthwhile goal.
Kindergarten registration. Parents must learn early in their youngsters' school careers that they have a strong role as reinforcers of the school's
reading program. In New Haven, when parents register their children for kindergarten they receive an
award-winning booklet, Read to
Succeed, full of suggestions for
fostering readiness skills. It is written in a crisp, succinct style without any educational jargon. It contains games and informal activities for developing prereading skills. Young children
find the activities appealing. One
game from the booklet is the following.
164
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The cut-and-paste game: The child
can cut, from old magazines, pictures of things that start with the same sound?a car, a coat, a cake, for
example. To get him/ her started, paste a picture of a car, for example, on a
brown paper bag. Then say to the
child, "Find all the pictures you can of
things that start like car. Cut them out
and paste them on the bag." You can
print the starting letter on the bag. This may help the child see that this letter makes that sound. If your child
can't handle cutting and pasting yet, work along with him or her.
Reading progress letters. As a
supplement to the basal reading program, New Haven sends progress letters to parents explaining that their youngsters have successfully completed a particular level. Attached to the letter are a few short, original stories which reinforce the vocabulary at that level and a few questions to
check comprehension for each story. The progress letter encourages parents to take a few minutes to hear their children read the stories and answer
the questions and to praise them for their efforts. Since the children have
successfully completed the level at
school, they read this material for their parents with eagerness and
pride. Many parents have responded favorably to this type of communi cation because it keeps them informed about their child's reading progress at each step of the way and allows them to share in their child's success ful reading experiences.
Parent brochure. At PTA meet
ings, workshops and informal gather
ings, parents are encouraged to ask
questions about the school's reading program or reading instruction in
general. Some questions are asked
repeatedly. The author compiled the 12 most frequently asked questions
and wrote answers for each. These were compiled into a brochure entitled "Questions Parents Ask About Reading." These brochures have been distributed to all the
schools and also placed at the city's Parents' Center.
Parent activity sheets. The New Haven public school system has
developed a set of performance objectives for kindergarten through grade six in reading, language arts
and math. A committee of parents, teachers and administrators wrote 414 parent activities to correspond with each numbered performance objective. They were written for
parents to use with children who need reinforcement on a specific performance objective. For example, a teacher has taught the performance objective "Can distinguish between fact and opinion" (Level 3, #28) and observes that certain children are
experiencing difficulty with this task. The teacher simply takes out the
parent activity for this objective and sends it home. Example:
Performance objective: Can distin
guish between fact and opinion. Materials: None.
Procedure: Give sentences such as
those below and ask your child if each states a fact or opinion.
1. Dad is in the kitchen, (fact) 2. I feel that it is cold, (opinion) 3. It is cold, (fact) 4. Ted has a red ball, (fact) 5. I think that her hat is pretty,
(opinion) Discuss that think and feel words give an opinion. A fact is something that
can be or has been proven.
Parent conferences on test results.
Parents are interested in the academic
progress their children are making in
reading. It has been the practice of some school systems to publish standardized test scores by school in the local newspaper. This had led to
misconceptions and erroneous con
clusions. Fortunately, some pub
lishers of standardized tests now
prepare parent reports which accom
pany the test scores of individual children and explain in clear and
Effective ways to communicate with parents about reading 165
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precise language the strengths and weaknesses exhibited on the test. New Haven recently instituted a
citywide testing program that includes
parent reports. It proved to be a wise decision. These reports were not
mailed to the parents; rather, released time was provided for teachers to schedule conferences with parents to
discuss the parent report fully as well as offer additional suggestions for
improving children's progress.
Reading and shopping lists. Sev eral members of the New Haven
Reading Department have visited local stores, noting the games and
toys sold there, and compiled a list which parents can use when buying gifts. This list notes the name of the
toy or game, where it can be pur chased locally and a brief comment about its learning potential.
In addition to this type of list, a summer reading list has also been
compiled which is distributed to
elementary children in June. This list was compiled with help from the
public libraries' staff so as to make sure the books are available when children visit the public libraries. Summer is an excellent time for children to do some pleasure reading and this list offers some guidance in
selecting books.
Newspaper program. In 1979 New Haven received an $89,030 Right to Read grant which was used for the
primary grades of four low-achieving schools. As part of this program, the children received the local newspaper one or two days a week, depending on grade level. All the children received the issue which contains the "Mini Page," a one-page supplement especially designed for children. This
page contains puzzles, riddles, articles and activities and other material which appeals to children. Addition
ally, all fifth and seventh grade children received the newspaper one
day per week. They were allowed to
keep it and bring it home, fostering pride of ownership.
Parents often ask teachers how
they can help their children at home and what materials to use. Our answer?use the newspaper. As part of our program, a flyer entitled "Tips for Parents" has been prepared
which offers ten activities parents can do with their children. Here are two
examples.
Picture clippers: Around holidays, have your young children clip pictures of Easter bunnies, shamrocks, Christ
mas trees, turkeys, pumpkins and other symbols of the holidays. Let them color them and paste them in
scrapbooks according to their be
ginning letters or sounds.
Family night: When the family decides to eat out, have your children check the restaurant ads for "special bargain
nights" for savings on the cost of meals.
These flyers have been sent home and provide a good basis for home school communication using a valu able resource?the newspaper.
Concluding remarks Parents who are unaware of what the
schools are doing to provide effective
reading instruction tend to believe the articles they read which say that the schools are doing a poor job. Informed and knowledgeable parents can reject the distortions and inaccu racies that often crop up. To counter these distortions and scare tactics? communicate.
There are effective ways, some of
which are described briefly in this
article, to communicate with parents about reading. Communication lets
parents know what's really going on, engenders a good feeling about the
reading program and helps parents become supportive of it as well. C
Criscuolo is supervisor of reading for the New Haven Public Schools, New
Haven, Connecticut.
166 The Reading Teacher November 1980
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