Planning a Community Literacy Event

Goals:

Hart, Betty and Todd R. Risley. (Spring 2003)  "The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap"  The American Educator.  American Federation of Teachers.  www.aft.org

Research in the above cited article is summarized from  the authors' work that first appeared in:
Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young American Children, Copyright 1995, Brookes; www.brookespublishing.com, 1-800-638-3775; $29.00.

∞ Importance of Reading

∞ Promote community, school, family partnerships

∞ Establish a literate atmosphere.

∞ Strengthen intergenerational support within the community

Events should:

∞ Include a reading/literacy component.

Vocabulary --Stahl, Steven A. (Spring 2003)  "Words Are Learned Incrementally Over Multiple Exposures." The American Educator.  American Federation of Teachers.  www.aft.org (PDF file)

Print Climate—C. Contantino and Stephen Krashen.  “Differences in Print Environment for Children in Beverly Hills, Compton, and Watts.” Emergency Librarian.  24, 1997, 4, pp.8-9.  See also: Stephen Krashen, “Bridging Inequity with Books,” January 1998.  pp. 19-22.  Comments in Educational Research.

∞ Bring at least two generations together.

∞ Extend the event into a new segment of the community.

∞ Encourage family involvement.

∞ Be open to the public – extend an invitation.