Parent Involvement and Literacy Development

Parent Involvement and Literacy Development

Kelsey Berry

Department of Education, Ferris State University

EDLA 476: Inquiry in K-8 Classrooms

Dr. Amy Kavanaugh

April 24, 2021

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Parent Involvement and Literacy Development

Problem Statement

As an individual that has been able to be a part of a variety of children’s lives in and

outside of the classroom, there are different actions and at times lack of actions, that depict

the desire and effort of parent and family involvement in a child’s education. One of these

actions/styles is the active and majorly involved parent. These highly-involved parents

usually follow their child’s each and every grade and assignment, aid with projects, and

motivate the child to study in order to do the best that they possibly can. They make it a

point to read with their child, volunteer in the classroom, and attend as many school events

as possible. On the other hand, there are parents who are unable to be a part due to work

schedules, or just do not feel the need or desire to be an overly-active part in their child’s

schooling and specifically, their child’s literacy development. This is becoming a big

problem that schools are seeing with their students. The lack of parent involvement in a

child’s literacy/early literacy development and the educational consequences that come

along with that are impacting students later in their schooling along with how to effectively

encourage and implement meaningful parent involvement.

Teaching methods now are completely different and more in-depth compared to

fifteen years ago and even longer than that. Knowing this can make it seem intimidating for

parents to feel confident and capable of helping their child with their schoolwork, which is

a large reason for lack of parent involvement in students’ academic development. Though

these feelings can be hard to shake, it is so crucial for parents to be involved in a child’s

educational journey, specifically their literacy development. Literacy is so critical to

development in kids and it sets them up for the rest of their academic lives. Strickland and

Riley-Ayers (2006), state “Early literacy plays a key role in enabling the kind of learning
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experiences that research shows are linked with academic achievement, reduced grade

retention, higher graduation rates, and enhanced productivity in adult life” (p. 1). Literacy

holds tremendous power in today’s world, and children are unable to reach that without

the aid of their parents or legal guardians. According to a study done by Jeon et al. (2020),

“we found that parental school involvement predicted children’s early literacy skills, but

did not find links between parental school involvement and children’s early math skills” (p.

8). That study looked at children in Head Start and other early childhood education

programs to further show the importance of parental involvement with early literacy. An

article by Bothum (2019), states “For children to be academically successful, families need

to be involved… Parents play a critical role in making that happen” (p. 19). Though it is the

child that is in school and is learning the new skills, parents play a huge role in their child’s

education.

Research has shown how important it is for parents to be involved in a child’s

literacy development, but schools are having a hard time to pinpoint how to continuously

make that happen. One study was done that followed a school-based parental involvement

program over a three-year span. Crosby et al. (2005) suggests that parent involvement in

the early years of schooling has a positive impact on students’ literacy development

through grade three. It is also mentioned that it isn’t easy to implement and continue

having a parent involvement initiatives, so some of the main principles of doing so include;

using proven methods of instruction, having a consistent program or instructional routine,

making the activities as easy on the parents as possible, and provide opportunities for

parents to come in and have the proper training and support on how to implement

activities with success (Crosby et al. p. 166). There has been another way to attempt to get
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parents and the community involved in supporting early literacy. McChesney and Conner

(2020), touched on a new initiative that laundromats nationwide are putting in place.

Laundromats around the nation have agreed to be a part of the LaundryCares Foundation

(LCF), which provides laundromats with the materials and resources to have a space

dedicated and decorated with books, coloring supplies, and literacy activities. McChesney

and Conner (2020), state “One of the most significant – but not surprising – research

findings from New York and Chicago shows that librarians play a powerful role in both

children and parents’ engagement in literacy-related activity (p. 13). Finding ways to

incorporate, encourage, and engage parents in working with their children on their literacy

development is so important and easy to do when it is easily accessible for both parties.

As more and more attention is shown to early literacy development, it is important

to do all that we can to ensure that children are getting the support that they need for their

development. Working towards this brings many questions to light like; why is parent

involvement important to a child’s literacy development and how can parents be

encouraged to be a part in their child’s literacy development? The continued research holds

the answers to these pressing questions.

Literature Review

This literature review defines what parent involvement in context of elementary

students’ education and literacy development is. It also looks at the different benefits that

parental involvement has on students’ academic achievement and how schools, teachers,

and communities can encourage parent involvement. With the help of the sources found

and other research done for this literature review, the benefits of parental involvement will

be explained and then further be encouraged to expand throughout all classrooms.

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What is Parental Involvement/Engagement and what does it look like?

It is so important to know and understand exactly what you are striving for in your

classroom or for your students. Parent involvement is usually presented in a broad scope of

behaviors, which is why both parents and teachers benefit from having a clear definition

and expectation for what they are being asked to do. According to Grand Rapids Public

School’s (GRPS) website, parental engagement encompasses all of the different things that

parents do to aid their student to success in life and school (2014). So not only should a

parent be assisting their child in their studies, they should also be setting them up for

success and the best opportunities in their everyday life. GRPS also notes that the tasks

parents should be involved in range from getting their student prepared to go to school,

attending parent conferences and meetings, volunteering their abilities and time in the

classroom, and understanding their importance in their child’s education (2014). Though

that list of opportunities to be involved and engaged in your students’ classroom is an

overview, it is quite overwhelming for any person to wrap their head around. Most

teachers are aiming for small bits of involvement for each of these tasks in order to aid the

parent in balancing these duties along with their everyday life.

There are also studies that explore the different types of parent involvement. The

study done by Jeon et al. notes that there are different dimensions of parent involvement

which yield a range of activities and responsibilities taken on by the parents. These

dimensions are parental home involvement, parental school involvement, and parent-

teacher relationships (2020). Since there are different ways that parents become connected

and involved in their students’ educational journey, it is important for schools to provide

multiple ways per each dimension of involvement, to give parents and families options on
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how they want and are able, to be involved in their child’s literacy education. Once parents

and families get involved, the benefits of their involvement begin to bloom.

Benefits of Parental Involvement in Students’ Literacy Education

Many parents, families, and sometimes even teachers, wonder why schools

encourage and crave parental involvement in their students’ literacy education. Bothum’s

column talks about the different benefits that students have from family engagement in

their education, which are higher attendance rates, better test scores, and greater academic

achievement (2019). Just by getting parents and families involved in their students’

educational journey, students have greater success in school altogether. Based on a three

year study done on the impact of a parental involvement program in literacy, Crosby et al.

(2005) concluded that “long-term, systematic parent involvement in the primary grades is

possible and can have a significant impact on children’s literacy development even in

schools where substantial numbers of students struggle in reading and communities

manifesting significant levels of poverty” (pp. 170-171). Though that study was done on

one school, it still shows just how beneficial it is for parents to be involved in their

students’ literacy education.

Another study that was done shines a light on the parent involvement dimension of

involvement at the students’ home. Barnett et al. recalls that “the strongest associations in

our study linked children’s kindergarten readiness to their exposure to the quality and

quantity of home learning activities, highlighting the importance of home experiences”

(2020). Though many think that their child will learn everything they need to know for

school at school, it is important to be working with your child at home and be involved in

their literacy development no matter their age. In addition, Ho and Lau note that parental
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involvement in at-home literacy activities with their children are large contributors to a

child’s reading performance (2018). Not only does getting parents involved at home benefit

a child’s kindergarten readiness, but it positively impacts their reading performance as

they continue to learn as they get older.

How can Schools and Teachers Encourage and Advocate for Parent Involvement?

It’s easy to just say that parents and families should be involved in their child’s

literacy education, but the biggest question is how. How should teachers and schools

approach this? Barnett et al. note that when teachers encourage parents to participate,

when parents feel welcome in the classroom, and when parents feel connected to the

teacher and the happenings within the classroom, parent involvement is more likely to

happen (2020). These are easy things to make happen by just sending out newsletters to

parents about what is currently happening in the classroom, how they can be involved, how

to contact the teacher if wanted, and how parents can continue the learning at home. An

article written by Ferlazzo states that an effective way to promote effective family

engagement is by establishing a relationship building process that is built upon the concept

of listening. A way of doing this is by having teachers set up home visits to students’ homes

(2011). By setting up home visits, teachers are able to see firsthand that specific family’s at-

home literacy activities, have conversations that are more personal and informational

about how the school can help encourage literacy development in their home, and overall

how much is being done at home in regards to literacy.

In addition to these propositions, the State of Michigan’s Department of Education

recently put out a report on equity in literacy and different ways of supporting family

engagement and literacy. The State of Michigan’s Department of Education (SMDE)

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suggests that educators can create home-school partnerships by engaging families in

parenting activities, communicating with families, providing volunteering opportunities,

supporting learning at home, engage families in decision-making, and collaborate with

families and the community (2021). Within each of these ideas about how to create home-

school partnerships, there were also a handful of ways that those ideas can look like. For

example, the SMDE says that when schools engage families in parenting activities, it may

look like offers to do home visits in order to better understand a student and that said

student’s family, offering family and parenting workshops that are accessible to the family,

and providing families with information and resources on how to develop home conditions

that support learning (2021). These are not the only ways that teachers and schools are

able to engage families in parenting activities, but they are some of the most beneficial.

Some other ways that the SMDE notes that schools and teachers engage families are by;

creating a parent portal for families to support home learning, safety, and social

connections, having a parent room or family center available for volunteers to do work,

giving families access to books, learning guides, and other materials that aid students at

home, families are recruited and supported to serve on school leadership teams, and

educators partner with a local establishment to present a “Literacy Night” even for

students and their families (2021). There are so many other ways that schools and teachers

are able to encourage parents to be more involved in their child’s literacy education and

development.

Another way that parents are able to get involved is by partaking in activities or

visiting places that have literacy activities for families. It is important to note that not all

families are a part of the same socioeconomic status, so having these activities and
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opportunities available for families at a practical place is crucial. McChesney and Conner

bring up how different communities had a new way of being involved in their child’s

literacy education, just by going to the local laundromat. The laundromats that partnered

with Scholastic Publishing transformed a corner of their store into a literacy nook that

provided literacy activities, multicultural books, and educational kits that were able to be

purchased, to the families that visited laundromats (2020). Having different opportunities

for exposure to literacy and for parents to become involved is crucial, and can be found

within your community. This is a unique and logical way of embedding literacy education

opportunities around adults and their tasks that they need to be getting done.

Conclusion

After going through multiple different articles, sources, and webpages, it is clear just

how important it is to have parental involvement in students’ literacy education. Not only is

it beneficial for students at that moment to see their parents involved and interested in

what they are doing, but it sticks with children throughout their schooling. Though there

have been numerous studies and in-depth journals done on the topic of parental

involvement in a child’s literacy education, there are still studies that can be done to help

further the topic. One study that I can think of is measuring the different ways that parental

involvement literacy education benefits a child and how those benefits change throughout

the elementary years. Data could be gathered by following an entire class of students from

kindergarten through fifth grade who have some parents that are dedicated to being

involved and other parents who can only be involved in specific ways. There is always

more research to be done, but nothing changes the amount of evidence that is shown on

just how important it is to have parents involved in their child’s literacy education. As far as
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educators, I believe that they need to begin to communicate more with parents in multiple

different ways and mediums, give more opportunities of different types of volunteering,

and host literacy family nights that encourage families and students to come together and

enjoy learning as a whole.

Methodology
Instructional Plan:
The lessons that are planned are intended to encourage and increase the amount of

parent involvement in students’ literacy development. These lessons were created by using

the strategies of parent teacher meetings (Ferlazzo, L. 2011), getting the community

involved (McChesney, E., & Conner, M. 2020 and Michigan Department of Education 2021),

and opportunities at home for parents to be involved (Michigan Department of Education

2021). Some of these lessons are intended for once a year, quarterly, and weekly.

Assessment Plan:
There will be a few different times for formative assessments to take place within

these lessons. The formative assessments are mostly being used to gauge how the parents

are feeling and to document their thoughts on different activities going on, but one is a

check-in with students to make see if they are actually completing their work and if they

are still enjoying it. Parents will be asked to fill out a form that discusses their concerns and

their needs, but will also be assessed within our discussions. Parents’ thoughts and input

will also be assessed through surveys as a check-in. Students will be asked to complete a

short check-in sheet. Check-in’s and surveys play a huge role in understanding where

parents and students are coming from, along with ensuring that parents, students, and

teachers are on the same page.

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Lesson Plan #1

Title: Parent/Teacher Meet and Greet

Subject: Language Arts/ Literacy Development

Grade: All grades (K-5) and parent(s)/families/guardian(s)

Time/Period: Before school, after school, evenings, possible weekends. Meeting should

last around 30 minutes to an hour.

Materials: Clipboard, paper, pen/pencil, handout of resources, and copy of the exit ticket.

Here is a list of some resources -- https://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-

28753_65803-383275--,00.html , https://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-

28753_74161-548063--,00.html , https://kdl.org/community-resources/literacy/

Standards: Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy: Grades K to 3. Instructional

Practice 10: Collaboration with families in promoting literacy.

https://literacyessentials.org/downloads/gelndocs/k-3_literacy_essentials.pdf

Objectives: I can get to know my child’s teacher, know what they are expecting from my

child in regards to their literacy development, understand how I can be involved in my

child’s literacy development, and express my concerns and needs to my child’s teacher.

Assessment (Formative): ‘Exit ticket’ of ways that I (the teacher) am able to support them

in their child’s literacy development and the best methods of communication for them. This

will be a small slip of paper that can be done after the meeting and sent back to school with

the child, or emailed to the teacher.

Introduction:
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1. Within the first month of school, I will send out a letter to parents (via email and a

paper copy) asking them to be thinking about where/when/how a meeting would

work best for them.

2. A week after sending the first letter out, I will send out a letter to parents (via email

and a paper copy) having them sign up in a Google Form for the date, time, and

method of meeting that would work best for them. They will have options of home-

visits, zoom calls, or in-person meetings at the school.

Steps in the Lesson:

1. Once all parents have signed up for a meeting time, I will meet with each family/set

of parents/guardian(s) at their desired time.

a. Teacher note: Go into each meeting with an open mind and a notebook to

write down what you can do to accommodate to their needs. Also make sure

that you have a list of resources that you can give to the students’

families/guardian(s)/parent(s).

2. When starting these meetings, I will first ask if there is anything that I can do to help

them or their student with not only literacy, but other school related things as well.

3. Then begin to explain your expectations for the student when it comes to literacy

development, and what role I am seeking for the parent(s)/families/guardian(s) to

take in the students’ literacy development.

4. After explaining expectations, it is important to make sure that the

parent(s)/families/guardian(s) feel welcome in the classroom to volunteer, help

out, and just feel like they are desired part of learning and their students’ literacy

development.
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Closure/Wrap-up:

1. Finish up the meeting by giving the parent(s)/guardian(s)/families a list of

resources that help to encourage literacy development. Be sure to explain how those

resources are beneficial to literacy development.

2. Then ask if they have any questions, concerns, or ideas that could make things easier

for themselves.

3. End with checking in on how they are feeling about the information that was

presented.

Extension Activities:

1. About a week after the meeting, I will email/send a letter home, or call to make sure

no other questions have come up since the meeting.

Lesson Plan #2

Title: Community Literacy Night

Subject: Language Arts/Literacy Development

Grade: All Grades (K-5) and Parent(s)/Families/Guardian(s)

Time/Period: Afterschool/Evening. The event will take place 5:00pm-8:30pm.

Materials: Tables, chairs, tickets, paper for exit handout and activities, prizes (will vary

depending on school and budget), pizza, plates, cutlery, napkins, painters tape, call cards,

fly swatters (four), whiteboards, whiteboard markers, whiteboard eraser, library (books),

pens, pencils, markers, crayons, colored pencils, pre-bound paper,

Standards:

Common Core State Standards:

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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.A

Recognize and produce rhyming words.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.C

Read common high-frequency words by sight

(e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.3

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or

several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they

occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.A

Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event

sequence that unfolds naturally.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.2

Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information

presented orally or through other media.

Objectives: I can attend a community literacy night organized by my students’ school. I can

learn new ways and games to help my student with their literacy development by

interacting with the different activities at the community literacy night.

Assessment (Formative): After the community literacy night, a survey will be sent out via

email for the parent(s)/families/guardian(s) to fill out about what they liked, how it could

be improved, and any additional comments. An incentive to get more people to participate

will be to put the names of people who filled out the survey into a drawing for a chance to

win a free pizza from the restaurant that provided the food at the community literacy night.
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Introduction:

1. Gather the families into the gymnasium as they are arriving

2. Welcome the families to the literacy community night and tell them what it means to

the teachers and administration that they are there.

Steps in the Lesson:

1. Explain the specifics on how the night will go, where the games are, and where the

prize table is located.

a. Dinner will be served, after eating families are welcome to go begin playing

games, reading books, interacting with the local business booths, and

redeeming their tickets at the prize table. Students are able to earn tickets

after playing games and reading a book in the library (one book read is five

tickets received).

2. Begin serving dinner

3. After people start to finish up eating, they are welcome to go and begin visiting the

different stations, playing the different games/centers, reading books in the library,

and interacting with the local business booths.

a. Game/Center #1: Find and Say Letters: This game will take place in a

classroom that had a large area of open space. There will be letters (three of

each letter) made out of painters tape randomly on the ground. The staff

member that is running this game/center will say a common word and have

three people at a time try to find the letter that the word starts with. Once

each student has found the letter that they believe that word starts with, the

staff member will say the correct letter out loud. This will go on for five
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rounds, and at the end each participant will get five tickets. (example: The

staff member calls out the word ‘snake’, the participants would be trying to

find the letter ‘s’).

b. Game/Center #2: Swat the Word!: This game will take place in a classroom

that has a couple large whiteboards on the wall, preferably two. One of the

whiteboards will have a variety of commonly known words for Kindergarten

to Second Grade (examples: like, the, and, down, take, funny, then, going,

think, best, because, before, right, sing, etc.). The other whiteboard will have

a variety of commonly known words for Third to Fifth Grade (examples:

climate, slumber, gather, gist, region, essential, automatically, result,

example, recognize, summarize, conflict, scarce, conclude, escalate, abolish).

Two students will approach the whiteboard that is intended for their grade

level with a flyswatter in hand. The staff member that is running this game

will say a word that is on the board, and the students will compete against

each other to see who can find and swat the word the fastest. Students will

do this three times and at the end, the students will receive ten tickets.

c. Game/Center #3: Library: The school’s library will be open for students and

their parent(s)/families/guardian(s) to sit down and read together. There

will be a few staff members walking around and monitoring the library.

Students are encouraged to read aloud if possible. For every book that is

read, the student receives five tickets.

d. Game/Center #4: Make Your Own Story: This center will take place in

classroom that has tables, chairs, writing utensils, and drawing materials. At
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each seat, there will be pre-bound paper ready to be made into a book. In the

middle of each table, there will be story ideas for students and their

parent(s)/family/guardian(s) to write and illustrate their very own book.

Once the book is completed, the student is able to bring it home and will

receive fifteen tickets.

e. Game/Center #5: Match and Add to a Rhyme!: This center will take place in a

classroom that has room for students and their

parent(s)/families/guardian(s) to have individual work space. At each work

space, there is a piece of paper that has two columns of words and a writing

utensil. Students will be tasked with finding a set of rhyming words (one

from each column), writing the set of rhyming words on another sheet of

paper. The student will then come up with an additional word that rhymes

with the set that they found. Once the students match all of the rhyming

words, they will show the staff member managing the center, and they will

receive ten tickets.

4. Once parent(s)/families/guardian(s) are ready to leave, they are encouraged to visit

the prize table to redeem their tickets.

Closure/Wrap-up:

1. As people begin to leave the event, there will be

teachers/administration/volunteers standing at the exit thanking them for coming

to the event and handing out a piece of paper that will say when the next community

literacy night will take place and it will have a link to the survey to fill out.

Extension Activities:
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1. Have students help come up with different game ideas and then create the games for

the next community night.

Lesson Plan #3

Title: Take home literacy activity bags

Subject: Language Arts/Literacy Development

Grade: All Grades (K-5)

Time/Period: Friday evenings – Thursday mornings

Materials: Will vary depending on the children’s book and the activities that go along with

that book. Materials needed for example activity bag: book The Way I Feel by Janan Cain,

slips of paper that have vocabulary words from the book written on it, paint chips, mini

whiteboard, whiteboard marker, paper that has an image of a head on it, Velcro, pieces of

paper with facial features, and computer to create the word search.

Standards: Based on the example given; may vary depending on the grade level of

activities.

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.B

Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.5

With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from

peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5

Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide

additional detail.
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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7

With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and

the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4

Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the

senses.

Objectives: I can read the book in my activity bag with or without help. I can complete the

five activities in my activity bag with or without help from a parent/family

member/guardian.

Assessment (Formative): When returning the activity bags on Thursday mornings,

students will be asked to complete a small “check-in” by being asked what book they had,

to write a small blurb stating if they enjoyed the book in their activity bag, and which

activity was their favorite.

Introduction:

1. At the beginning of the school year, the activity bags will be introduced to the

students and a letter explaining them will be sent home with the students for their

parent(s)/families/guardian(s).

2. On Friday of every week, students will be given their assigned take home literacy

activity bag to bring home and explore at home.

Steps in the Lesson:

1. Within each take home literacy activity bag, there is a children’s book and five

activities that go along with the book.

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a. Each activity works on one of the six components of literacy; phonemic

awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. In regards to

fluency, students will be working on that when reading the book or being

read the book.

b. All materials needed for the activities are in the bag, so the

parent(s)/families/guardian(s) do not have to go out and purchase anything

or skipping an activity because they don’t have the materials.

2. Students are expected to complete the activities at home and have their

parent(s)/families/guardian(s) participate with them.

Closure/Wrap-up:

1. On Thursday of every week, students are expected to bring back their take home

literacy activity bag with all of the materials back to the classroom.

2. When a student returns their take home literacy activity bag, they pick up a check-in

sheet that states which book that they had, writing a small blurb stating if they

enjoyed the book, and which activity was their favorite.

3. The bags will be sanitized, checked for all materials, and counted for.

a. HELPFUL TIP: The teacher could have a sheet that keeps track of what

student has what bag and to help ensure that students don’t get a repeat bag.

b. There will also be extra bags in case students forget to bring their activity

bags back to school.

4. Bags will be prepared to be distributed Friday afternoon, and will have a weekly

newsletter put in them that talks about what the students worked on during that

week and how they can practice it at home.

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Extension Activities:

1. Have students help think of and create new activity bags for the next year’s class.

Take Home Literacy Activity Bag Example – Kindergarten

(The Way I Feel) by Janan Cain

- Phonological Awareness: Have the emotions from the book spelled out individually,

and find how many syllables are in each word. (Clap it out, dance it out, or even use

your arm)

- Writing Activity: Get paint chips that are big and have four different color variations.

(One in each color). Then have the child choose an emotion from the book and

choose a color to associate with that color. They then do a senses poem. TASTE,

SMELL, and SOUND

 EXAMPLE:

o Orange is Joy

o Orange is the taste of pumpkin pie

o Orange is the smell of citrus trees

o Orange is the sound of a tabby cat meowing

- Literacy Activity with Manipulatives: I can have the different emotions spelled out

individually and then have a piece of paper printed out that has a head on it. Put

Velcro on it and have different facial expressions in a bag for them to make certain

faces that match the emotion. Then they can label it.
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- Any Literacy Activity of Your Choice: Make a word search that has all of the different

emotions that were talked about in the book and maybe even adjectives that were

described. (Cry, Stomp, Smile, Sun).

LINK FOR WORD SEARCH: https://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/286969/

Conclusion:
The benefits of parent involvement in the classroom are undeniably notable and

should not be dismissed. With the help of in-depth research, I discovered that not only is

parent involvement needed beneficial just in the classroom, but it specifically is valuable in

a child’s literacy development at school and at home. Though the involvement is ultimately

the parents’ decision, teachers, administration, and the overall community play a role in

this as well.

I made my lessons based on the previously stated facts, along with my prior

knowledge and experience in classrooms. In order for parents to have a longing to be a part

in their child’s literacy development, I believe that there needs to be a relationship between

the parent and teacher with mutual understanding of expectations. This will ensure that

the motives of both parties are clear, concise, and ultimately genuine. Once a relationship is

built, the likelihood of future involvement is higher, which leads to more parent

involvement at home and higher success rates in students overall. We as educators cannot

expect parents and families to know how to be involved and know the benefits of being

involved in their child’s literacy development without being informed. This is where we

come in, step up, and inform the parents, which is basically advocating for the success of

our students. We have to meet them where they are, and provide a variety of opportunities

for them to become involved.

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References

Barnett, M. A., Paschall, K. W., Mastergeorge, M. A., Cutshaw, C. A., & Warren, S. M. (2020).

Influences of Parent Engagement in Early Childhood Education Centers and the

Home on Kindergarten School Readiness. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 53,

260-273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.05.005

Bothum, K. (2019, March 1). Family Matters: Making family engagement a cornerstone of

literacy education. Literacy Today, 16-19. https://www.literacyworldwide.org

Crosby, S. A., Rasinski, T., Padak, N., & Yildirim, K. (2015). A 3-Year Study of a School-Based

Parental Involvement Program in Early Literacy. Journal of Educational

Research, 108(2), 165-172. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2013.867472

Ferlazzo, L. (2011). Involvement or Engagement? Educational Leadership: Schools, Families,

Communities, 68(8), 10-14. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-

leadership/current-issue.aspx

Grand Rapids Public Schools. (2014, October 29). What is parental engagement. Welcome to

the Grand Rapids Public Schools. https://www.grps.org/parents/parental-

engagement

Ho, E. S., & Lau, K. (2018). Reading engagement and reading literacy performance: effective

policy and practices at home and in school. Journal of Research in Reading, 41(4),

657-679. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12246

Jeon, H. J., Peterson, C. A., Luze, G., Carta, J. J., & Langill, C. C. (2020). Associations between

parental involvement and school readiness for children enrolled in Head Start and
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other early education programs. Children and Youth Services Review, 118, 1-

13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105353

McChesney, E., & Conner, M. (2020). Soap, Suds, and Stories: Early Literacy at the

Laundromat. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service

to Children, 9-15. 
Michigan Department of Education. (2021). Equity in

Literacy. https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/Equity_in_Literacy-

Full_Version_714779_7.pdf

Strickland, D. S., & Riley-Ayers, S. (2006, April). Preschool Policy Brief Early Literacy: Policy

and Practice in the Preschool Years. National Institute for Early Education

Research. https://nieer.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/10.pdf