HEAD START®

Supporting Family Learning

Training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community

Table of Contents | Preface | Introduction | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 | Module 4
| Continuing Professional Development | Resources

MODULE 3: Supporting Family Learning Goals

Outcomes | Key Concepts | Background Information | Activity 1 | Activity 2 | Activity 3 | Activity 4 | Activity 5 | Activity 6 | Next Steps
download these pdf attachments: Overhead 1 | Handout 15 | Handout 16 | Handout 17 | Handout 18 | Handout 19 | Handout 20 | Handout 21 | Handout 22 | Handout 23 | Handout 24

Outcomes

After completing this module, participants will be able to:

• Use observations to individualize services that support family learning.
  
  
• Use home visits and parent-teacher conferences as opportunities to support family learning goals.
  
  
• Identify how their program can provide a range of family literacy activities to meet the needs of families.

Key Concepts

• Head Start, through such formal activities as home visits, parent-teacher conferences, and family literacy activities, can extend and support the learning that occurs within families.
  
  
• Parents' goals can and should shape the way programs deliver services to support family learning.
  
  
• Good observation and listening skills are necessary in order to provide the individualized services that best support family learning.

Background Information

The purpose of this module is to encourage participants to examine common practices that link home and classroom learning environments. Specifically, the module examines parent-teacher conferences, home visits, and family literacy activities. These three strategies have been mainstays of most Head Start programs and can be used to extend and support learning that occurs in the classroom. However, these program elements also can extend and support the learning that occurs within the family. For this to happen, services must be tailored to the interests and needs of each family.

Parent-teacher conferences are important tools for building strong bridges between me culture of home and that of Head Start. Some parent-teacher conferences are approached as a means to present information to parents on how their children are doing in the classroom. However, parent-teacher conferences can be more productive if they are approached as an opportunity for parents and teachers to exchange information. As teachers and parents better understand one another's expectations, they can better support children's learning across settings.

Parents can usually give examples of their interests and describe the approach a child takes to solving a problem. With that knowledge, teachers can individualize within the classroom. When teachers show interest in hearing about parents' observations, motivation to share observations continues to grow. Curiosity often sparks more curiosity. A "let's learn more about how your child learns" joint venture between parent and teacher will yield far more positive long-term effects than an approach based on reporting weaknesses or problem areas.

Home visits are a tradition in Head Start and this opportunity offers Head Start families the special advantage of one-to-one relationships with staff. Over time, home visits can help staff build a strong relationship with a family and obtain a more intimate understanding of their goals and needs. Home visits can be held for many different reasons, for example: to exchange information with a family, to recognize and build on family strengths, or to address issues facing the family. Whatever the reason for the visit, home visits are an ideal way for staff to individualize services for families in a partnership approach.

In this module, the focus is on jointly planning home visits where the purpose is to try out activities which extend learning through everyday activities that occur in the home. The activities in this module are designed for staff who routinely make this type of home visit. However, the process of involving parents as co-planners of home visits could be adapted to meet the needs of other staff as well.

Home visits are most successful when:

• They build on activities that already occur in the home.
  
  
• Activities are tailored to each family.
  
  
• Parents are senior partners in the planning process.

To develop successful visits, staff conducting home visits make observations, support parents as they make observations, and talk with family members to determine interests, concerns, and goals. In partnership with parents, they select activities that support the educational goals of family members.

Family literacy is based upon the philosophy that parents and children can learn and succeed together. By working with parents and children as a family, rather than focusing on them exclusively as individuals, programs can better reinforce the motivation both parents and children have to succeed together.

In many ways, Head Start is in a natural position to provide family literacy services. Like Head Start, family literacy begins with a family strengths perspective. That is, the primary role of staff is to help families identify and build upon their own strengths in order to achieve the goals they themselves identify. And like Head Start, family literacy views parents as the child's first and most important teacher.

In the 1998 Reauthorization of Head Start, family literacy was defined as services that are of sufficient intensity and duration to make sustainable changes in a family. Family literacy services integrate all of the following activities:

• Interactive literacy activities between parents and their children.
  
  
• Training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children.
  
  
• Parent literacy training that leads to economic self sufficiency.
  
  
• An age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in school and life experiences.

What makes family literacy programs unique is that core services are integrated into a holistic approach to serving families rather than each being planned and implemented separately. For example, in some family literacy programs parenting materials are used as the basis for adult literacy instruction; parents observe children in their early childhood setting in order to co-plan parent/child activities; and adult and early childhood educators meet together with families to plan strategies to meet family learning goals. In short, family literacy programs wrap services around the interest and needs of families to provide a coordinated approach.

While comprehensive family literacy programs offer all three services, the way in which they provide services may vary. For example, some programs provide all three services within a single agency while others offer services through the collaborative efforts of several community agencies. Some programs provide entirely home-based services, while others are center-based or a combination of the two. Most programs that are family-centered also address the need for flexible hours, family supports (e.g., child care while adults are in adult education, transportation, etc.) and referrals for additional services to community resources.

Most Head Start grantees already offer some family literacy activities. The challenge for Head Start programs is to take stock of the types of activities they already offer and decide if the range of activities is sufficient to meet the diverse needs of families and the requirements of the Performance Standards.

Activity 3-1: Parent-Teacher Conferences

Purpose: Participants will practice planning for parent-teacher conferences that support family learning.

Materials

Handout 15: Lara's Point of View; Handout 16: Mary Ellin's Point of View, Handout 17: Discussion Questions; pen or pencils.

Process

Begin by stating that parent-teacher conferences can help build strong bridges between the learning that goes on at home and at Head Start. For this to happen, parents and teachers need to share information with each other. They need to know what is going on in the other's setting, the teaching strategies that each uses, and each other's concerns and goals.

Divide participants into two groups. One group will focus on the parent's perspective. Distribute Handout 15: Lara's Point of View to this group. The other group will focus on the teacher's perspective and should be given Handout 16: Mary Ellin's Point of View.

Ask each group to select a volunteer to read the handout to their group. Then direct each group to begin a discussion of the questions at the bottom of the handout. Allow 20-25 minutes for reading and discussion.

Have the first group recruit a volunteer to play the role of the parent, and have the second group recruit a volunteer to play the role of the teacher. The rest of the participants will watch and observe the role play. Allow 5- 6 minutes for a role play of the parent-teacher conference.

Discuss the role play using the following questions:

• Did the parent communicate to the teacher what she wanted her to know (and vice versa)?
  
  
• Did the parent get the information she wanted from the teacher (and vice versa)?
  
  
• What facilitated the sharing of information? What got in the way?
  
  
• What concerns were of importance to both Lara and Mary Ellin?
  
  
• How did this conference help build bridges between the learning that goes on at home and at Head Start?
  
  
• Was there any way to make this conference even more successful?
  
  
• What can teachers and other staff do to prepare for a conference?

Debriefing

In summarizing this activity, make the following points:

• Parent-teacher conferences are opportunities where both parents and teachers can share information and concerns.
  
  
• Parent-teacher conferences can be used to build bridges between the learning that goes on at home and at school.
  
  
• Successful parent-teacher conferences require preparation, planning, and follow-up.

Conclude the activity by leading a discussion of the following question:

How do our parent-teacher conferences support both the agenda of the parents and the agenda of the teachers?

Activity 3-2: Planning for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Purpose: Participants will prepare for an actual parent-teacher conference in order to be active participants.

Materials

Handout 14: Summary of Observations (from Module 2) filled out; Handout 18: Planning for Your Conference with the Teacher; pens or pencils.

Process

As a first step in this preparation, have participants review Handout 14: Summary of Observations, on which they recorded their findings and impressions from activities in Module 2. Have participants reflect on what they have observed in terms of their children's skills, interests, and needs. Also have them reflect on the teaching and parenting strategies they have observed to work with their children.

Distribute Handout 18: Planning for Your Conference With the Teacher. With you or with a partner, have participants talk through each item on the handout. If participants are comfortable, role play the conference, with you or another partner taking on the teacher's role.

Provide any assistance that participants need to arrange for an actual parent-teacher conference. Set a time and place to meet again after the conference.

Debriefing

Ask participants to describe how the conference went. Then discuss the following:

• How can you talk about what you learned in the conference with your child in a positive way?
  
  
• What goals did you decide on with the teacher?
  
  
• How do you plan to work together with your child on these goals?
  
  
• How do you plan to communicate with the teacher about progress toward the goals?
  
  
• What can you do that will help you be consistent in following through on this plan?

Remind participants that they should feel free at any time to talk with the teacher or ask for another conference.

In summarizing this activity, make the following points:

• Parent-teacher conferences are opportunities where everyone's agenda can be met.
  
  
• Successful parent-teacher conferences require planning and follow up.

Activity 3-3: Planning Home Visits Together

Purpose: Participants will use observations as a basis for co-planning instructional home visits.

Materials

Handout 19: Planning Home Visits Together, Head Start video, Our Stories Keep Us Connected; VCR and monitor.

Process

Begin by stating that home visits are not all the same. Some home visits are held to exchange information between families and programs. At some home visits, staff and parents address problems facing me family. Home visits also can be a strategy for introducing learning activities parents can do at home with their children.

Home visits work best when both parents and staff are focused on the same goals, the activities are tailored to the family, and the activities build on the family's interests and strengths.

Introduce the Head Start video. Our Stories Keep Us Connected. Select one or two families from the film to show participants. Divide participants into small groups. Distribute Handout 19: Planning Home Visits Together, and review the observation tips from the first page. Ask participants to observe as though they were a staff person making a home visit with the families. Then show the video.

After the video is over, ask groups to discuss the questions on the handout. Remind each group to select someone to take notes. Allow 20-30 minutes for discussion. Replay segments of the video as necessary.

Bring the entire group back together. Ask a spokesperson from each group to report on their discussion.

After each group has had an opportunity to report their findings, note some of the similarities and differences between each group's responses. Continue by stating that home visits work best when they build upon activities families already do within the context of their daily lives. Therefore, they must be individualized and family-centered.

Debriefing

Summarize the activity by making the following points:

• All parents want their children to learn.
  
  
• Because parents plan and oversee the daily routines at home through which their children learn, they need to be involved in planning the activities used in home visits.
  
  
• Home visits work best when they build upon activities families already do in the context of their daily lives. Therefore, they must be individualized.
  
  
• Home visits can create or strengthen bridges to and from home and Head Start.

Activity 3-4: A Five-Step Planning Process

Purpose: Participants will learn and practice a five-step process for developing individualized, family-centered plans for home visits.

Materials

Handouts 20: James and David; Handout 21: The Stories Found in Playtime; Handout 22: Planning Home Visits; materials with parent/ child activities such as Head Start's Our Stories Keep Us Connected or Fun and Learning for Parents and Children.

Process

Begin by explaining that this activity focuses on planning home visits that are used to try out activities which extend learning through the everyday activities that occur in the home. These visits might be pan of a home-based Head Start or a strategy for providing individualized parenting educational opportunities. These home visits are most successful when:

• They build on activities that already occur in the home.
  
  
• Activities are tailored to each family.
  
  
• Parents are used as key resources in planning.

Provide participants with a copy of Handout 20: James and David and Handout 21: The Stories Found in Playtime. Explain that you will be using the examples on the handouts to explore a five-step process for jointly planning home visits. Read through these handouts together using the questions listed to guide the discussion.

Debriefing

When you have completed the questions on Handout 20, discuss the following question:

What can we learn from this exercise about the importance of co-planning for the success of home visits?

When participants have completed the discussion, conclude the activity by providing them a copy of Handout 22: Planning Home Visits. Explain that they may want to extend this activity by actually co-planning their own home visit, using Handout 22 as a guide.

Note that, depending on the family, staff person, and how well they know each other, it may take one or more initial home visits just to accomplish Steps 1 and 2. (For example, in order to identify goals, the parent and staff person making the home visit may want to spend one or more home visits looking through publications for suitable family learning activities.)

Activity 3-5: Supporting Family Literacy

Purpose: In this activity, participants will identify what their program already does to support family literacy.

Materials

Overhead 1: Supporting Family Literacy; Handout 23: How Well Do We Support Family Literacy?; overhead projector and screen; Post-It™ notes or 3” x 5” cards; chart paper; markers; tape.

Process

Use the information in the background section to introduce the concept of family literacy. Then use Overhead 1 (or write the information on chart paper) to emphasize that family literacy programs focus on the family as a learning unit. Central to the services offered in family literacy programs are those that:

• Help children acquire the skills they need to become literate.
  
  
• Help parents advance their own literacy skills.
  
  
• Help parents learn how their children learn and how they can support their children's literacy efforts.

Continue by stating that family literacy activities are already an important part of many Head Start programs. The challenge for Head Start programs is to examine if the activities they offer meet the needs of the families they serve.

Provide participants with a stack of 3” x 5” cards or a pad of Post- It™ notes. Explain that in this activity they will be asked to answer the following question:

Do we offer a range of family literacy activities to meet the needs of all the families we serve?

As a first step, ask participants to reflect for a moment on all the different ways — big and small — that their Head Start program supports literacy. For example:

• We offer parenting workshops on how to read to young children.
  
  
• We help parents get involved with the local GED program,
  
  
• The children make “All About Me” books in the classroom.

Ask participants to write each activity they think of on a separate 3” x 5” card or Post-It™ note.

Allow 5-7 minutes for this brainstorming exercise.

While participants are brainstorming, post chart paper in three different areas of the room. Label the chart paper in area 1: Helping children acquire the skills they need to become literate. Label the chart paper in area 2: Helping parents advance their own literacy skills. Label the chart paper in area 3: Helping parents learn about how their children learn and how to support their children's literacy efforts.

When participants have finished brainstorming, call their attention to the chart paper posted around the room. State that one useful way to assess the range of a program's family literacy activities is to begin by categorizing them.

Ask participants to review each activity they listed on cards or Post-It™notes Then ask them to go around the room and attach the cards or Post-Its™ to the appropriate chart paper. Continue this process until all cards or Post-Its™ have been categorized. Ask the group to review each list to eliminate any duplicates or make any changes they feel are necessary.

Next, divide participants into small groups. Ask each group to consider the information on the chart paper while using Handout 23: How Well Do We Support Family Literacy? to rate (from their own perspective) their program's family literacy efforts. Allow 20-25 minutes for discussion.

Bring the whole group back together and ask for volunteers from each of the small groups to report on how they rated the program (in terms of total number of stars) and to give a brief summary of how they came to this rating.

Continue discussing using the following questions as a guide:

• Based on the diverse literacy needs of the families in your Head Start program, is there a need to expand the activities in any particular area? Why?
  
  
• What can you do within the Head Start program to provide services in this area?
  
  
• Who or what community groups can Head Start work with to provide some of these services?

Debriefing

Conclude this activity by stating that all Head Start programs offer some types of family literacy activities. The challenge is to ensure that a range of activities are offered to match the diverse interests and needs of the families being served.

Activity 3-6: Literacy Building Activities

Purpose: Participants will examine how Head Start staff can support families' use of literacy activities in everyday experiences.

Materials

Handout 24: Literacy Building Activities; two different colors of pens.

Process

Begin by stating that what happens in the home significantly influences a child's learning. Parents support their children's literacy development in many ways including:

• Creating a home that is rich in reading and writing materials.
  
  
• Reading, telling, or writing stories with their children.
  
  
• Modeling everyday uses of reading and writing.
  
  
• Talking to their infants/toddlers about what they are doing while they are doing it.
  
  
• Listening to talking books borrowed from the public library.
  
  
• Holding positive attitudes toward education.

Distribute Handout 24: Literacy Building Activities. Ask them to reflect on their experiences with their child, their experiences as a parent, and/or their experiences at Head Start, in order to answer the four questions on the handout. Encourage them to come up with at least five responses to each question using one of the colored pens. Participants may work individually or in pairs.

When they are finished, ask them to use a different color of pen to jot down next to each response ideas they have for how Head Start can help parents accomplish this literacy building activity. Using the four examples from the handout, here are some possible ideas:

1. They have books in the home — hold a book giveaway.
   
   
2. They create a family storybook — organize a “lend a camera” program.
   
   
3. They use bus schedules — hold a learning session on schedule reading (bus schedules and also TV schedules, class schedules, etc.).
   
   
4. They attend a class themselves. Give certificates and frames to display their achievement when parents complete a class.

Debriefing

Ask participants:

• What more can you, as an individual, be doing to support the literacy building activities of families?
  
  
• What more could the program be doing to support the literacy building activities of families?

Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice

• Have a discussion about the quality of the home visits your program provides. Use the information sheet on quality considerations for home visits contained in the appendix as a guide for the discussion.
  
  
• Review materials in your Head Start library or resource room and those available in your community for ideas of learning activities parents and children can do together. Create a directory or index of activities that can be used by staff for instructional home visits, newsletter topics, or responses to parent requests. Be sure to extend beyond reading and writing literacy activities and include activities in hands-on math and science.
  
  
• Activities in materials such as Exploring Parenting address common parental concerns but are designed as workshop activities. Adapt a workshop activity to one that parents and children can do together at home during a home visit.
  
  
• Create a committee of parents and staff to look for new ways to connect classroom and family learning environments. For example, publish a monthly calendar that gives parents suggestions of activities they can do at home that connect with topics or events that are happening in the classroom; create a series of storybook kits for a lending library that contain a book, a sample activity, and all the materials needed to carry out the activity at home; as pan of every parent/teacher conference provide parents with sample activities, books, and materials that they can use at home to support their children's learning in specific skill areas.
  
  
• As a follow-up to a parent-teacher conference, develop a solution-focused plan for building and sustaining bridges between the classroom and home environments. The Head Start guide Supporting Families in Crisis contains a process for developing such plans.
  
  
• Have staff and/or parents use the process in Activity 3-4 to prepare for a parent-teacher conference for a school-aged child. Or, review Module 2 of Planning for Transitions for suggestions of activities designed to help staff and parents prepare for and participate in individualized transition planning conferences.
  
  
• Review your program's family partnership agreements process and identify family and adult literacy goals that are common across families. Use this information as a springboard for program planning, especially when designing parenting education opportunities. Or, look for ways to create volunteer opportunities that connect with parent's own literacy or employment goals.
  
  
• Organize regular visits to your local library and consider holding parent workshops on how to select a book for your child (or for themselves) and how to read a book to children at different ages. As part of the workshops, provide opportunities for everyone to get a library card. Use the Library-Head Start Partnership Project materials to generate more ideas.