Melissa asked: "What tactics have you used to communicate with parents about literacy? Also, how have you created literacy plans with parents? What has worked and what has not worked in your classrooms? Have the parents been responsive to your plans?"
First of all, welcome! With regard to a literacy plan with parents (I teach 5th grade), I do not have a formal plan but I stress/require the parents provide a quiet spot and uninterrupted time for 30 minutes of daily/nightly independent reading. If necessary, parents sign the reading log. Second. we have something called a Homework Star which is awarded to each student that completes every single assignment for the month, including the nightly independent reading. This is a big deal for the students and parents. There is a celebration at the end of the month for all the Homework Stars. Another thing that I have done in the past is start out in the fall with with a "Family Writing Project." Parents come to school with their students one night a week for 6-8 weeks and we learn about writing together. The genre is usually memoir and the kids love learning about the parents' lives. (You can find out more about this through the National Writing Project or the CT Writing Project.) Perhaps the most important thing my school does is stress the importance of reading and vocabulary for future success in life. Everyone in our school community knows and sees this. By the way, my school is 100% minority, representing 29 countries - only 100 students. Parents sign a contract over the summer committing to volunteer at school - in a number of capacities depending on interest and skills. I don't know if I answered your question... Meg _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
