Article: "A Great Program...for Me as a Gramma"

I wanted to find an article about dialogic reading because I know it's an important aspect of early literacy, especially with Every Child Ready to Read. I've been trying to do this with the kids at Little Tykes, asking them open-ended questions about the book we're reading. I came across this article, which covers a family literacy program in Canda. I can't speak to every aspect of this study because there are a lot of differences from a library program (and especially my program, since mine is not about family literacy). First, the program discussed here takes place in a school and lasts for much longer than a typical library program. Additionally, a meal is involved, with staff, children and caregivers partaking together. Finally, the program studied here uses a much broader definition of literacy than what most library early literacy programs use at their base.



It's really difficult to discuss this article but I think it was interesting to read. I'm not really an early literacy expert but some of the things about the program presented in the article rubbed me the wrong way. It's discussed that the facilitators don't teach parents any particular way of reading to their children. While there are many ways of reading and no one should be emphasized above the other, there is a definite need for facilitators and experts to teach parents the ways of reading to and with their children. This leads into another point. The program here emphasized parents sharing their own literacy expertise. There is no discussion of what happens when the parents don't know what this means. There is a bit of discussion about how facilitators need to address parental insecurity, which is definitely important. Finally, another issue that parents brought up in evaluative surveys was the inclusion of wordless picture books. Many parents felt these books lacked value and wondered how they could be promoting literacy when they don't have any words. I think wordless picture books are great for promoting one of the types of literacy with parents. These books encourage storytelling, which is great. Overall, I enjoyed this article. It was a different perspective than I had come across previously.



Anderson, J. & Morrison, F. (2007). 'A Great Program...for Me as a Gramma': Caregivers Evaluate a Family Literacy Initiative. Canadian Journal of Education, 30(1), 68-89. Retrieved from JSTOR database.