Argues that it has not been fashionable to value literacy stories from parents as a source of knowledge for interpreting the home literacy environment. Compares teacher descriptions of several at-risk children to their parents' literacy stories. Concludes that understanding multiple home literacy environments can help teachers think critically…

Documented interactions between parents and children as they read storybooks together. Participants were twelve 4-year-olds and their mothers. Results showed diverse storybook interactions within a static sample, discouraging the practice of generalizing findings about storybook reading to dissimilar populations. (MOK)

Provides overview of major initiatives in family literacy and argues for fundamental change in the way schools relate to parents and the community. Suggests that schools and communities need to develop more effective partnerships so that parents and teachers can develop a sense of shared understanding. Concludes that such initiatives will lead to…

Claims that for home and school to cooperate on behalf of students, they must share a similar vision. Presents the concept of "critical literacy" to provide this vision. Recommends establishment of standards that clarify literacy outcomes, creation of a developmental perspective for monitoring students' progress, implementation of outreach…

Defines early literacy in terms of literate language, a register of language typified by verbally explicated meaning and talk about talk. Explores various social arrangements which support children's use of literate language. Examines the roles of diverse and close social contacts, and the ways in which individual differences mediate these…

The Early Childhood Project is a longitudinal investigation of contexts in which children from different sociocultural groups learn to read. Data collected from 41 families showed some consistency between parental beliefs on fostering reading development (entertainment versus skills perspective) and nature of experiences made available to…

Describes intervention approach designed to enhance intersubjectivity between adolescent mothers and children. Proposes that model based on the theory of guided participation enhances mothers' sensitivity to children's learning processes. Based on observation during implementation of the model, claims that engaging parents and children in mutual…

Describes a model home literacy program at the Indiana School for the Deaf. Reviews six case studies of young deaf children in order to explore and describe sign language behaviors which help deaf children grasp reading skills. Claims that sign language and finger spelling can be closely related to early reading and writing at home. (MOK)

Claims that incorporating children's native language into school curriculum can make these languages integral to the learning process. Suggests that a responsive, language-rich curriculum encourages creative and effective communication and learning. Emphasizes that language learning and sharing are the essence of the additive model as opposed to…

Reviews current understanding of the process of emergent literacy development for linguistically diverse children. Claims that process of literacy development can be viewed as a sequential developmental task. Also explains that children create principles or hypotheses to develop literacy specific to their understanding of their native language and…

Evaluated an Even Start project in Maryland, using results from the National Evaluation of the Even Start Family Literacy Program for comparison. Found that participants significantly improved in their literacy skills, and that children of parents in the project were much more likely to be exposed to literacy activities such as library visits.…

Interviews with eight families showed that literacy materials and goals for using literacy differed between middle and working class families, with middle class families drawing on more resources to learn about the child's classroom. However, all families expressed value for literacy activities, challenging the myth that working-class families do…

Tested assumption that variability in home literacy environments has no effect on individual differences in reading development. Found that variability in shared reading interactions was significantly related to growth in phonological awareness even after accounting for the effects of age, oral language, and phonological awareness at the beginning…

Examined the home literacy experiences of 15 families who participated in a parent program which used a workshop approach to help parents develop skills and understandings needed to create a supportive literacy environment in their home. Analyzed results and outlined activities according to the pattern of use of nonliteracy, literacy, library, and…

Examines why fiction books have usually been the genre of choice for reading aloud; research challenging the fiction-only approach; benefits of nonfiction books in the literacy experience of children; and how specific nonfiction books may be used to provide knowledge and an aesthetic experience comparable to that obtained with fiction. (MOK)