Literacy in the Welcoming Classroom: Creating Family-School Partnerships that Support Student Learning

by JoBeth Allen, Celia Genishi, Donna E. Alvermann

Overview

Nearly every reform effort espouses the importance of “parent involvement.” This research-based guide is essential reading for teachers and administrators who want to make welcoming classrooms a reality. With a focus on literacy instruction, it showcases stories of what works when teachers in elementary school classrooms throughout the country partner with families across cultural and language differences. The author showcases effective strategies that educators can adapt to fit their own school communities. This book is perfect for professional study groups, parent–teacher discussions, and whole-school workshops.

This follow-up to JoBeth Allen’s bestselling Creating Welcoming Schools:

• Features up-to-date research on family involvement that has been shown to make a difference for students’ literacy learning.
• Demonstrates how teachers and families can collaborate through projects such as dialogue journals, photography and writing projects, and critical literacy inquiry.
• Details how to establish and sustain genuine dialogue through student-led, family-involved conferences.

Offers exercises teachers can use with families, including a version in Spanish, downloadable at www.tcpress.com.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807750773
Publisher:	Teachers College Press
Publication date:	05/02/2010
Series:	Language and Literacy Series
Pages:	120
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

JoBeth Allen is a professor of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia who works closely with schools. She codirects the Red Clay Writing Project.

Table of Contents

Foreword Katherine Randy Bomer vii

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction: Family-School Literacy Partnerships 1

Living This Book as a Dialogue 2

DEAR Reader Chapter Structure 5

Picture a Partnership for Learning 6

1 Partnership to Foster Learning 7

Discuss Parental Involvment Practices at Your School 8

Explore Partnerships That Lead to Literacy Learning 10

Act to Explore Literacy Learning Partnerships 15

Read to Learn More 16

2 Develop Trusting Relationships 17

Discuss How We Can Learn About Each Other 18

Explore Ways Teachers and Families Build Community 19

Act to Build Relationships 25

Read to Learn More 26

3 Build on Family Knowledge, Languages, and Literacies 27

Discuss How You Currently Build on Family Language and Literacies 28

Explore Family Funds of Knowledge 29

Act to Learn from Family Visits 35

Read to Learn More 38

4 Partner Through Photography 39

Discuss the Potential of Photography 40

Explore Family-School Partnerships Through Photography 41

Preparation for Photographing Out-of-School Lives 41

Act to Partner Through Photography 46

Read to Learn More 47

5 Partner Through Journals 48

Discuss Current Family Involvement in Reading and Writing 50

Explore Family-Schools Journals 50

Act to Partner Through Journals 57

Read to Learn More 58

6 Invite Family Voices Into Literacy Practices 59

Discuss Your Classroom Literacy Structures 60

Explore Invitations to Extend Classroom Literacy Structures 60

Act to Develop Home-Classroom Literacy Partnerships 68

Read to Learn More 69

7 Engage Families in Critical Literacy Inquiry 70

Discuss How Families Participate in Critical Literacy Inquiries 71

Explore How Teachers Invite Families Into Critical Literacy Inquiries 72

Act to Engage Families in Critical Literacy Inquiries 78

Read to Learn More 79

8 Make the Most of Conferences 80

Discuss Parent-Teacher Conferences at Your School 81

Explore How Others Have Made the Most of Conferences 83

Act to Make the Most of Conferences 91

Read to Learn More 91

9 Strengthening Partnerships: What Will We Do Next Year? 92

What Difference Have Family-School Partnerships Made? 93

A Planning Retreat to Advance 95

Extending the Dialogue 97

References 99

Index 103

About the Author 107

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“If all schools could put these ideas into play, I have no doubt that children’s reading achievement would soar.”
—Anne T. Henderson, Annenberg Institute for School Reform

“JoBeth Allen’s new book is the one we educators most need for 21st-century schools…. This isn’t about getting families to do school at home; it’s about bringing homes and neighborhoods into the language and literacy activities and learning inquiries in schools.”
—From the Foreword by Katherine Bomer, educational consultant and Randy Bomer, The University of Texas at Austin