Literacy Matters for the Whole Family

What is Literacy?
Literacy involves listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. It is the ability to exchange information with other people.

How Do Literacy Skills Develop?
Every child is unique. Every child has his/her own mix of strengths and interests. For each child, some ways of learning work better than others.

You know your child better than anyone. You can identify his/her strengths and interests, and you can use that knowledge to help him/her build literacy skills, both at home and in partnership with teachers and others at school.

Each child develops at his/her own rate. One child may start to read early, while another is concentrating on other things and only discovers the joy of reading a year or two later.

How can I help my child develop literacy skills?

  • Have conversations with your child. Talk about things that interest him/her.
  • Ask questions that encourage him/her to observe and learn and that encourage him/her to talk in sentences, not just give “yes” or “no” answers. Speaking and listening strengthen reading and writing skills.
  • Listen to your child’s questions and help him/her get answers. Teach him/her ways to find the information that he/she wants.
  • Talk to your child about everything. Talk about the words you use in your conversation to build an awareness of words and a rich vocabulary.
  • Enrich your child’s environment by taking him/her to zoos, libraries, museums, sports events, or cultural events. Talk about the experience together.
  • Go with your child to talks by favorite authors at libraries, bookstores, book fests, and community centers.
  • Read to your child regularly. If you start reading stories to a newborn for just 10 minutes a day, that child will have heard more than 3,000 hours of stories by the time he/she enters school.
  • Teach your child how to use language to get things done. For instance, teach him/her to read a menu, write a thank you letter, or present his/her views on some current topic of interest.
  • Get involved in your child’s classroom.
  • Encourage your child to read different kinds of books – stories, literature, biographies, poetry, and nonfiction books on his/her favorite subjects.
  • Check out literature in different formats from the library – books on tape, CDs, videos, and DVDs.

Excerpt from: Opening the Door to Learning: Literacy is a Family Affair, published by New Visions for Public Schools.