Math and Literacy Night Experience Reflection

Standard 4.3d

Recently, we had math and literacy night at our elementary school. This is done as an
outreach night to parents and students so that parents are able to learn more about activities that
they can do to support their child’s learning and gain experience in doing those activities. As a
first grade teacher, I was not directly involved in the planning of the night. However, I did help
with set up and volunteered to help parents and students with literacy activities.
As a part of the experience, students could come and choose an activity to do. There were
six literacy stations, which ranged in ability and activity. At my stations, young students could
put the alphabet in order and older students had a sort that they could do with beginning blends,
ending blends, and digraphs. We introduced the activities to parents and then students did them,
and we talked to parents about how they could do these activities at home. Before families left
our station, they were able to take their own sort or their own alphabet (or both), so they had
literacy practice at home.
Upon reflection, it would have been interesting to see a better representation of skills for
all students. It seemed as though the middle primary grades – first, second, and some of third –
got left out because of the nature of the activities. They were either pretty simple or at a level that
may be difficult for some younger students. It was also interesting that there wasn’t a lot of
information on how to extend the literacy activities for students at home, even past the take home
that they got. Another thing that I think would have been beneficial would have been some sort
of community connection, especially since we just had a library get remodeled in the area. It
would have shown families that there are places within the community that they can go to for
further literacy experiences.