A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Section 6: Curriculum and Instruction

Auerbach, E. (1990). Making meaning, making change: A guide to participatory curriculum development for adult ESL and family literacy. University of Massachusetts, Boston: Bilingual/ESL Graduate Studies. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 321 593).
This document, describing the University of Massachusetts Family Literacy Project, is intended to provide guidance for those interested in developing adult English as a Second Language (ESL) and family literacy programs for immigrants and refugees. It serves primarily as a curriculum guide, stressing important project components, the reasoning behind them, and suggestions for how others can incorporate these processes into their own program. The author, however, encourages program developers to carefully consider the specific concerns and issues of each group of participants to ensure effectiveness. Provided throughout the article is documentation of the learning process for teachers, students, and staff.

Hannon, P., Nutbrown, C., & Fawcett, E. (1997). Taking parent learning seriously. Adults learning, 9(3), 19?21.
Although the combination of adult education and early childhood education can often support each other, difficulties can exist because the aims and the traditions of each component also differ. The purpose of this article is to focus on how early childhood educators can think about parent learning. Early childhood educators need to recognize that (1) differences exist between adult and child learning; (2) parents are experts of their own children; (3) parents have views on school literacy; (4) parents have views about their role in their children's learning; and (5) bilingual parents may have different learning needs. This article concludes with suggestions for practice.

National Center for Family Literacy. (1995). Family literacy: Parent/child interaction time (participant's manual). Louisville, KY: Author.
This manual, focusing on parent/child interaction time, serves as a part of the training for family literacy programs. It discusses the importance of parent/child interaction, outlines the definition and structure of parent/child interaction time, and promotes ways in which this interaction time can be successfully transferred to the home. Included in the manual is a typical example of parent/child interaction time, in addition to a listing of what is and is not considered to be parent/child interaction time. The importance of parents learning to facilitate their child's learning is discussed by means of listing characteristics of emergent literacy and describing the role of parents and play in a child's learning process. The manual includes a list of common problems and solutions for implementing parent/child interaction time and a list of suggested questions to be examined during the planning of a program to foster parent/child interaction.

National Center for Family Literacy. (1995). Family literacy: Parent groups (participant's manual). Louisville, KY: Author.
This manual serves as a guide for programs intending to develop and implement parent groups. Included are sections discussing the purposes of parent groups, the definition and examples of parent groups, issues targeted by parent groups, and the role and responsibilities of a staff member involved with a parent group. The manual provides a sample session plan, a parent survey, and a sequencing of topics for parent groups. Group dynamics and facilitating skills are addressed by underlining the importance of communication, involvement, and respect among group members. Methods used to empower families are also discussed. In addition, strategies for facilitating personal growth for parents (e.g., self-esteem and problem solving) and questions that should be examined while developing a parent group are included.

National Center for Family Literacy. (1995). Family literacy: Putting the pieces together (participant's manual). Louisville, KY: Author.
This manual serves as a training guide for instructors of family literacy programs. The guide focuses on component integration, teambuilding, and collaboration, which together foster effective family literacy programs. The component integration section of the manual defines the term, provides examples, lists what individual program components have to offer in integration, discusses ways to address curriculum integration, offers a list of guidelines for implementing component integration, and demonstrates sample planning worksheets for component integration. The teamwork section of the manual describes what teamwork is, who are considered members of the team in family literacy programs, attributes of effective teams and team members, and a description of the Four Stage Model of Team Development. The manual also offers examples of ways to help build teamwork. The collaboration section discusses the importance and process of collaborating. The manual provides a checklist of strengths and barriers to successful collaboration and a sample collaboration chart which tracks the benefits of collaborative relationships between a program and the various agencies with which it interacts.

Padak, N., & Cook, D. (1990). Family literacy programs training manual. Columbus, OH: Ohio State Dept. of Education, Division of Adult Basic Education.
This manual is comprised of nine 1-hour training sessions for adult participants in family literacy programs. The authors note that the sessions can be combined or used individually. This feature allows a trainer greater flexibility in customizing the program to the needs of the participants. The training sessions focus on the following topics: (1) the process of literacy learning; (2) emerging literacy; (3) environments for literacy learning; (4) children's literature; (5) promoting reading fluency; (6) environmental print; (7) promoting writing growth; (8) language-experience activities; and (9) reading-reasoning activities. For each section, the authors provide goals, procedures for implementation, and a reference list for further learning on the session's topic. Also included are worksheets for activities that promote active participation among group members. Two sessions include handouts with suggestions for language activities that parents can engage in with their children. The training session on children's literature provides a handout with questions, answers, and recommendations for reading with children. A listing of appropriate books for designated grades (1?4) is included. There are two reference lists, one focusing on parents and reading, and the other on intergenerational literacy.

Section 5: Program Development, Assessment and Evaluation Procedures

Part B: Conceptual Issues, Programs, and Research Related to Family Literacy