Beginning and struggling readers : engaging parents in the learning process

According to Paratore 'Effective classroom teachers help parents to learn about and engage their children in literacy practices that are closely related to success in school'. Families play a role in their child's literacy development and children benefit from parental involvement in their literacy learning at school. An effective teacher motivates a child to learn, assesses and monitors their literacy development and modifies the program to suit the needs of the child. Also, an effective teacher communicates to parents about ways to engage their child in authentic literacy tasks at home, where reading for meaning is emphasised. This article provides examples of the author's professional experience of supporting parents to implement strategies at home to improve their child's reading, an examination of literacy teaching and a definition of children who are struggling to learn to read. An information session for parents was held at the beginning of the year. Handouts were included in each child's Home Reading Folder, covering the cueing systems, book orientation, strategies for before, during and after reading and the Pause, Prompt and Praise strategy for reading. In addition, sessions with individual parent/s and child were held to explain these strategies. [Author abstract, ed]