Literacy for Life: An Intergenerational Literacy Program (original) (raw)
Related papers
An Investigation of an Intergenerational Approach to Literacy
1990
A study investigated the impact of an intergenerational approach on: (1) the literacy development and literacy use of adult learners enrolled in an adult basic education program; and (2) the emergent and developing literacy of their children. The project is one of several that have been implemented under the Boston University/Chelsea Public Schools Partnership, in which the Chelsea Public Schools have signed a 10-year contract to be managed by the university. Subjects included 74 families. Four days a week, adults attended literacy classes where they were provided: (1) instruction in reading and responding to literacy materials of adult interest; (2) a selection of books; (3) strategies and ideas for use with their children; and (4) encouragement to share their children's stories and drawings and to discuss literacy events and their importance in their lives and the lives of their children. Tne impact of the program on parents and their children was assessed. Results suggested that the design of the program met the needs of the learners as indicated by the high attendance rate and low attrition rate. Evidence from three case studies indicated significant change in adults' ability to retell and then summarize what they had read when reading materials typically found in their home/work environment. Self-report data indicated steady and systematic practice of shared literacy in the home setting. With regard to the impact of the project on children's literacy learning, findings confirmed numerous previous investigations which indicated that consistent and frequent exposure to literacy in natural settings leads to the practice of literacy to facilitate play. (Fifteen references are attached.) (MG)
1992
A study examined the influence of an intergenerational approach on the literacy development of parents and on the practice of family literacy at home. During a 3-year period, 367 families enrolled in multilingual, multiability literacy classes for at least one instructional cycle. The adult basic education classes were held in a community center located within walking distance of three of the four elementary schools in an ethnically diverse, two-square-mile area considered a "gateway" for new immigrants. The adults were provided instruction in reading and responded to literacy materials of adult interest as well as a selection of books, strategies, and ideas for use with their children; they were also encouraged to share their children's stories and literacy events. Data included assessments of parents' fluency in reading English, attendance, attrition, and self-report data on parent/child literacy activities. Results indicated that: (1) attendance was consistent across learners and across instructional cycles; (2) demonstration and modeling led to routine practice of family literacy within a relatively brief period of time; (3) storybook reading emerged as a frequent behavior, while shared writing did not; (4) parents visited the local library only once a month; and (5) there was a high growth in literacy fluency among the lowest performing adults. Findings suggest that an intergenerational focus in multiability multilingual adult education classes may provide an important vehicle for promoting literacy learning of adults. (Two figures and one table of data are included; 27 references are attached.) (RS)
Learning Families: Intergenerational Approaches to Literacy Teaching and Learning
2015
All of the literacy programmes featured in this publication share valuable experiences and lessons. They reflect a view of effective learning families whereby each child is a member of a family, and within a learning family every member is a lifelong learner. Among disadvantaged families and communities in particular, a family literacy and learning approach is more likely to break the intergenerational cycle of low education and literacy skills and foster a culture of learning than fragmented and isolated measures to address low levels of learning achievement and the lack of reading, writing and language skills (Elfert and Hanemann, 2014). However, to make such an approach successful, it is necessary to provide sustained teacher training, develop a culture of collaboration among institutions, teachers and parents, and secure sustainable funding through longer-term policy support.
Talking to Literacy Learners: A parent education project
Literacy, 1992
The project described in this paper, called Talking to Literacy Learners or TTALL, was designed to improve the quality of parent child interaction involving reading and writing, to promote gains in literacy standards, and to engender a more positive attitude toward schooling. Designed for an urban community in New South Wales where adult and youth illiteracy are above national standards, the project differs from most other parent involvement programs in that its focus is on the adult rather than the child. The project was designed to be completed in 5 distinct stages over a period of 18 months. The stages were as follows: (1) training 25 parents to interact more effectively with their children; (2) deploying those parents as tutors in the school and the community; (3) preparing resource kits, leaflets, and aids to promote literacy; (4) providing advanced training for parent-tutors; and (5) training of selected parents from the parent-tutor group to assume coordinating roles for separate community clusters attempting to introduce the program. Although the program has completed only the first stage, it appears to have been highly successful: 24 of the 25 participants completed stage 1, and 18 of the 24 returned for the second stage. (One figurc representing the educational cycle used in the program and 6 tables of data are included; 35 references and an outline of the content of the first stage are attached.) (RS)
It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader: Reflections on an Intergenerational Literacy Program
School Community Journal, 2009
Our research involved a community-school literacy initiative where seniors visit elementary schools to read with children. As we considered the residual data in our study, we were led to explore an emerging school-community relationship -a web of connection -being created by senior volunteers in the project. We discuss this aspect of our study in this article and consider the evolving role of senior volunteers in our society. We identify three characteristics of "elders" that emerge from several school literacy initiatives involving senior volunteers and consider how these are made evident in schools in our study. We also describe ways schools supported the project and suggest that these are important components of other school-community initiatives. We use the term "elders" rather than "seniors" to set our findings into the context of a long tradition of valued and valuable elder time.