Introduction
If you have benefited from free access to ECRP, please consider
making a financial contribution to ECRP so that the journal can continue
to be available free to everyone. Research suggests that, of the many
reasons to provide young children with early literacy experiences, among
the most important is that such experiences can predict later academic
success. It is generally recognized that young children who understand
the purpose of print, specific sounds of words, and the letters that
represent those sounds often become successful readers in later years of
school (Bennett-Armistead, Duke, & Moses, 2005).
Vocabulary Development
Vocabulary development is a crucial part of developing oral
language skills and one of the most important components of early
literacy. A strong connection has been identified between
children's preliteracy and language development and children's
success in both reading and school in general (Wasik, Bond, &
Hindman, 2006). Additionally, researchers have found that
children's vocabulary knowledge is predictive of later reading
comprehension (Nagy, 1988; Roth, Speece, & Cooper, 2002). Often,
experiences with books and other forms of print may be the only exposure
that children have to certain words (Bennett-Armistead et al., 2005).
Environmental Print, Conversations, and Vocabulary Development
Both environmental print (that is, print found in a child's
environment such as signs, labels, or logos) and conversations with
other children and adults have been found to be effective components of
young children's vocabulary development. The National Reading Panel
found oral language fluency to be a predictor of children's reading
readiness; oral language fluency can be developed through the use of
environmental print (Kirkland, Aldridge, & Kuby, 2007). According to
a study by Prior and Gerard (as cited in Kirkland et al., 2007),
environmental print is useful in the areas of alphabetic knowledge, oral
language, print awareness, and phonological awareness, all of which the
U.S. Department of Education considers important components of preschool
literacy experiences (Kirkland et al., 2007). Some professional
literature advocates providing children with visual clues to the meaning
of words to promote vocabulary development (see, e.g., Bennett-Armistead
et al., 2005). Some professional literature also reflects the idea that
a child's ability to read environmental print may lead to positive
feedback from adults in the child's environment such that as
children are exposed to this type of print it becomes a part of their
vocabulary (Morrow, 2007).
The importance of conversation in young children's vocabulary
development has been investigated. For example, one study found that
both narrative and explanatory talk were more common during
families' mealtime conversations; connections were also noted
between the use of explanatory talk and word learning and between the
use of rare words in narrative talk and children's increased
vocabularies (Snow & Beals, 2006). Children's vocabulary
acquisition may be enhanced simply by increasing their exposure to
extended conversations during meals at home (Snow & Beals, 2006).
Research indicates that for students whose first language is not
English, using their knowledge of their first language can be very
effective in helping them develop vocabulary in English, if that
language shares cognates (that is, words that are derived from the same
root) with English. Spanish is one of the languages that shares cognates
with English (August, Carlo, Dressler, & Snow, 2005; Bialystok, Luk,
& Kwan, 2005). [Pat, is the preceding change in red acceptable?]
The Role of Families
Vygotsky's (1978) sociocultural theory emphasizes [Pat: The
original used "alludes to" but "emphasizes" would be
more accurate. Is that an acceptable change?] the importance of the
interaction of the social and cultural aspects of individuals'
environments--including the family--in their development, learning, and
decision making. A growing body of research has found links between
children's early literacy and language and factors in the home
environment (Weigel, Martin, & Bennett, 2006); families have
considerable potential to positively affect their children's
language development. For example, significant connections have been
found between parent-child activities and children's print
knowledge and between children's receptive language and their
parents' beliefs about the importance of environmental print and
book reading (Weigel et al., 2006).
Hispanic families can make substantial contributions to their
children's literacy development at home (Garcia & Jensen,
2010). For example, early home literacy practices such as pointing out
and using environmental print can also lead to higher literacy skills
among school-age Hispanic children (Saracho, 2007). Researchers have
found a relatively low rate of book reading and other forms of talk such
as storytelling among Hispanic Spanish-speaking families (Lopez,
Barrueco, & Miles, 2006). On the other hand, Reese and Gallimore
(2000) found that, while many Latino families have a culturally specific
model of literacy as something that develops over time, Latino parents
show willingness and flexibility to adapt to some preliteracy practices
that are common in the United States, such as starting preliteracy
activities before children enter school (Reese & Gallimore, 2000).
In a study by Hammer and colleagues (2003), bilingual
children's literacy development was found to benefit when their
families were provided with support and materials to promote literacy at
home in both Spanish and English. The authors posit that, while parental
modeling of literacy activities is important, children's language
and literacy development may benefit more through the use of a direct
approach (Hammer, Miccio, & Wagstaff, 2003). Environmental print has
been identified in some of the professional literature as an inexpensive
and effective tool for families who speak English as a second language
because it can provide context for the meanings of words and letters
(see, e.g., Kirkland et al., 2007).
Taken together, findings from research suggest a need for home
literacy activities for Hispanic families that encourage young
children's vocabulary development. It is reasonable to assume that
environmental print and conversation in the home can enhance the
vocabulary development of prekindergarten children from Spanish-speaking
homes, as research indicates is the case for children whose home
language is English. However, it is important to view the effectiveness
of these tools for vocabulary learning from a sociocultural standpoint
that considers bilingual parents' perspectives on literacy
development. Evidence indicates that a strong foundation in the first
language supports learning in the second language (Cummins, 1981; Bahia
& Ritchie, 1999). When the parents understand that environmental
print and conversation in the home, whether in Spanish or English, have
the potential for improving children's vocabulary development, they
may wish to interact with their children during related activities in
either language.
The purpose of this study was to examine Hispanic parents'
perspectives regarding use of bilingual literacy kits with their
prekindergarten children at home to promote conversation and
environmental print awareness.
We use the term Hispanic families in this report because that is
the term used at the site where the research was conducted. However,
other authors may use the term Latino/Latina; we use these terms when
discussing their work relevant to our study. It is important to
acknowledge that families labeled as Hispanic may differ greatly in
their demographic characteristics. For example, Hispanic families may
include only one parent whose ethnicity is considered to be Hispanic or
two parents who are from different countries but speak primarily Spanish
in the home.
Methods
Setting
The study was conducted in a preschool classroom in an urban area
in the southeastern United States. The classroom was part of a large
publicly funded preschool program in a school district that did not
support bilingual instruction in the preschool classrooms. The first
author, the classroom teacher who conducted the study, provided a
lending library that included bilingual children's books and
children's books written in Spanish.
The preschool program utilized the Opening the World of Learning
(OWL) curriculum (Schickedanz & Dickinson, 2005; Pearson Education,
Inc., n.d.). OWL is a scripted curriculum with a primary emphasis on
literacy. One aspect of the curriculum is a vocabulary component that
includes introducing and repeating vocabulary words throughout a
specific unit and theme. OWL is published in English and does not
provide materials in other languages; suggestion for working with young
English language learners include saying words slowly and repeating
words for the students.
Participants
The first author was the lead teacher in the classroom where this
study was conducted. The author's bilingual classroom aide served
as interpreter during the study.
Participants in this study were three families whose preschool
children were enrolled in the first author's classroom in a public
prekindergarten. All families in the first author's classroom
received a letter describing her study and an invitation to participate.
The author selected the Lopez, Hernandez, and Santiago families from
among the volunteers because members of these families spoke primarily
Spanish at home. Each family signed a consent form in Spanish. The
sponsoring university's Institutional Review Board approved the
study.
The participating families reflected varying demographics in
relation to socioeconomic status, number of family members living in the
home, and length of time in the United States. The families are briefly
described below. Family members have been given pseudonyms.
Lopez Family. Martha Lopez is the stay-at-home mother of 2-year-old
Luis and 5-year-old Christian, who attends a public prekindergarten
program. Mrs. Lopez is 35 years old and is married to Christian's
father, Mario. The family emigrated from Mexico 10 years ago. Luis and
Christian are U.S. citizens; Mr. and Mrs. Lopez are not. The family has
an annual income of $32,000 and owns a single-family home. The Lopez
family speaks predominantly Spanish in the home, using English 0%-10% of
the time.
Hernandez Family. Raul Hernandez is the father of Liliana
Hernandez, a 5-year-old girl who attends a public prekindergarten
program. Mr. Hernandez is a 28-year-old single father from Colombia. He
has lived in the United States for 7 years; his daughter is a U.S.
citizen, but he is not. He has a high school education and earns between
$15,000 and $25,000 a year. Mr. Hernandez and Liliana reside in a rented
apartment. They speak Spanish at home most of the time; however, English
is spoken in their home about 25%-50% of the time.
Santiago Family. Maria Santiago is the mother of Angel Santiago, a
5-year-old girl who attends a public prekindergarten program. She is
married to Angel's biological father. Mrs. Santiago and her husband
both work full time and own a home where they reside with Angel and her
older brother. [Pat, Is there a reason to not include their income or
citizenship status as you have done with the other two families?] The
Santiago family speaks primarily Spanish in the home; English is spoken
25%-50% of the time.
Data Collection
The parents participated in two separate interviews. The first
interview focused on families' current home literacy practices.
Interview questions addressed participation in conversations, reading
environmental print, and attitudes about the importance of vocabulary
development (see interview questions in Appendix A). The participants
then each received a literacy kit with instructions in English and
Spanish. They used the literacy kits for 2 weeks and were then
interviewed about their use of the kits (see interview questions in
Appendix B).
Because the first author was not conversationally fluent in
Spanish, the bilingual aide was present and served as interpreter during
the interviews, translating the interview questions into Spanish for the
participants. Each interview took less than one hour to complete. All
interviews were recorded, translated, and transcribed. Participants were
also asked to complete an optional demographics form in order to compare
and identify additional factors that may have affected the study.
Questions on the form included queries about family income, home
ownership, and home language (see Appendix C).
Literacy Kits
Each of the three participating families received two literacy kits
with instructions (Appendix D). Each kit included 15 vocabulary word
cards, created by the first author, related to the OWL unit being used
in the classroom. The cards in the first kit included pictures of
everyday objects likely to be found in the families' homes, labeled
in Spanish and English. Families were provided with definitions of these
words, along with strategies for using the words in everyday talk. The
second set of cards included definitions of each vocabulary word and a
list of related conversation prompts. In both sets, the definitions and
prompts were presented in both English and Spanish. The first author met
with each of the participating families to explain the kits and how
families could use the materials.
Data Analysis
The first author coded and analyzed interview transcriptions by
grouping similar responses into themes (Graue & Walsh, 1998). Each
theme was divided into sub-themes, resulting in an emerging coding map.
The coding map was used to code the transcripts and compare responses
among the families. In collaboration with the second author, the first
author devised charts with themes and sub-themes listed on one side and
corresponding responses from the three families listed in columns to the
right of the themes. The first and second authors collaborated to
identify dissimilar responses. Themes that emerged from the parent
interviews were (1) conversations with children, (2) use of
environmental print, (3) additional ways to support children's oral
language development, (4) freedom of language choice, and the (5)
effectiveness of the literacy kits.
Preliminary Summary
Findings from Initial Interviews
The initial interviews provided insights into the families'
home literacy practices and their beliefs about specific home literacy
practices.
Conversations were seen as a significant home literacy practice by
the participating parents. During the first interview, all of the
parents indicated that they spoke with their children for at least an
hour every evening. Mr. Hernandez and Mrs. Santiago both reported that
on days when their children were not at school, they spoke with their
children frequently. Common topics of discussion were activities at
school, behavior, and things they were planning to do. When asked
whether he believed that the child's vocabulary would benefit more
from seeing pictures labeled with the vocabulary words or from
conversations using the words, Mr. Hernandez responded, "Use the
word in conversation." Both Mr. Hernandez and Mrs. Santiago
expressed the belief that conversations were more beneficial to their
children's vocabulary development than environmental print would
be.
The participants also viewed environmental print as an important
aspect of home literacy activities. All of the participants said during
the initial interviews that they pointed out environmental print to
their children. All three indicated that they believed that it is
important to talk with their children about daily events and experiences
(e.g., going to the grocery store, riding the bus, etc.). Mrs. Lopez and
Mrs. Santiago felt that such talks would help their children to know
what those things were in the future. Mr. Hernandez provided a more
detailed perspective: "I think that, so that they learn about good
things and bad things. So that they are more careful and don't do
something wrong, that an accident doesn't happen, or something.
That things that shouldn't happen, don't.
Mrs. Lopez and Mrs. Santiago both reported that they read the
newspaper with their children, while Mr. Hernandez said that he read a
children's magazine with his daughter. Mrs. Lopez said that she
believed environmental print to be more useful than conversation in
promoting her child's vocabulary development. Environmental print,
she explained, would help her son recognize more things and that,
"... because he learns, and later he sees maybe this ... another
time he'll see what he had seen, and know what it is."
The three participants all expressed the belief that facilitating
vocabulary development even when their children were very young would
benefit the children later. When asked if it was important to promote
vocabulary development with her young children, Mrs. Santiago's
response was "Definitely! Of course!" For Mrs. Lopez,
promoting her son's vocabulary development at an early age seemed
good for his future. From Mr. Hernandez's perspective, early
vocabulary development would be of value "to improve their ability
to communicate with other people". We can be more confident in her,
more than anything, for the language (ability); so that she develops her
language (skills) at an early age. I like it that she'll be able to
communicate with grown-ups."
The participants voiced a variety of perspectives regarding
activities that would be most likely to help improve their
children's vocabulary. Mrs. Lopez explained that she felt that in
addition to learning to write and spell words, it was important for her
son to follow activities modeled by his father. She provided the
following example: "Since his dad works in construction, he wants
to do the same. Sometimes he gets blocks and puts them in his little
cart and says, 'I'm gonna work,' and I like this because
he is developing." Mr. Hernandez expressed the belief that
interactive videos and CDs helped teach his daughter literacy skills,
including vocabulary. Mrs. Lopez explained that she found a combination
of reading, watching television, visiting the library, and listening to
music to be most helpful in her children's vocabulary development.
Findings from Final Interviews
Upon completion of the 2-week home literacy interventions, the
participants were interviewed again regarding their use of the two home
literacy kits. Several common perspectives emerged, including an overall
positive response to their recently completed experience with the kits.
When asked which of the two literacy kits they considered to be
more beneficial to their child's vocabulary development, all three
participants indicated that both the environmental print kit and
conversation kit were beneficial. Mrs. Santiago replied,
"Everything; it was all good. I found it all to be useful."
Mrs. Lopez stated that she preferred the environmental print literacy
kit because the photos provided her child with something to see and
connect with; she felt that sometimes the conversations were too long
for her son. Mr. Hernandez responded that while it was easier for him to
understand and use the vocabulary cards that also contained pictures,
engaging in the conversations with his daughter allowed him to discuss
specific examples of vocabulary and to provide her with deeper meanings
for the words.
All three participants expressed a positive attitude about having
the opportunity to choose the language (Spanish or English) in which
they conducted the literacy kit activities. They found that this option
made the activities easier for them to use and helped both them and the
children with their English vocabularies. Mrs. Lopez stated, "Well,
for me, not knowing English, it's good because ... I understand
Spanish well, Spanish yes, English less, but I'm learning,
too." Mr. Hernandez commented that it was using both languages
during the activities made the experience easier; when using the kits,
he would begin with English and end with Spanish. Comments from these
three participants, who were at varying levels of English fluency,
indicated appreciation for the option of using a combination of English
and Spanish when utilizing the literacy kits.
Although the participants all indicated that the literacy kits were
effective in promoting their children's vocabulary development, the
degree of perceived usefulness varied. Explaining that she found both
literacy kits to be useful, Mrs. Santiago commented that both of her
children used all of the words in the kits, often repeating them and
asking her questions about them. Mr. Hernandez said, "It (the
literacy kit) helps children develop their language. It helps them
understand more difficult words between PreK and kindergarten."
Mrs. Lopez's perception of the experience was somewhat different;
she said that although her son used and remembered the words in the
literacy kits, he was already familiar with many of the words. She noted
that the experience did improve her son's vocabulary "a
little" but would have done more if the words had been more
difficult ones with which he was not already familiar. She mentioned
that he was very interested in one particular word that he had not known
prior to the intervention.
Another finding that emerged from the participants' interview
responses was the co-learner relationship that developed between parents
and children as they used the home literacy kits. The parents reported
that they improved their own English vocabularies along with their
children's; at the same time, the children benefited from the
parents' positive modeling and from witnessing their parents in the
role of learners. Mr. Hernandez commented, "I like it because now
my child knows many words that I didn't even know. And to go to
kindergarten, she will be well prepared and show some teachers and know
things."
Participants' Perspectives on the Overall Experience
The participants all perceived the experience of using the literacy
kits as a positive one and indicated that they would use the kits again
in the future. Mrs. Santiago, who worked outside the home, stated that
she found the kits easy to fit into her daily schedule and that
"for me it was great.... Yeah, because (for this) I don't need
special time with kids." She reported that she found all aspects of
the kits easy to use and equally helpful because her child
"understood everything." Mrs. Lopez indicated that she would
prefer to use the environmental print kit again, with the use of the
conversation prompts together with the same vocabulary words; that is,
she would prefer that all vocabulary words were accompanied by photo
cards. Mrs. Lopez also said that in the future she would keep a summary
or daily journal to record what her son was learning, an option that she
had not chosen during this study. She was the only parent who expressed
interest in extending the activities and adding to the complexity of the
kits; she was also the only participant who did not work outside of the
home. Mr. Hernandez said that he would continue to use the literacy kits
and similar materials in the future and would not change anything in
them. "No, I think that it's quite easy, this activity,"
he said. "... I haven't seen anything like it, and this
activity was a very good idea. Because sometimes I didn't know how
to explain things to her, and this helped me a lot, and I consider it
very useful and easy." As a single parent with a relatively low
income, he appreciated being provided with inexpensive materials to use
with his daughter at home; otherwise he relied heavily on materials
available at the public library.
When asked if they were aware of more effective strategies for
building children's vocabularies, the participants' responses
varied. Mr. Hernandez indicated that he thought didactic games or a
theater-like game would be effective. Mrs. Lopez explained that she
liked when the children did something more hands-on, such as coloring,
"because they work on something; their minds are working and they
develop ... in another way." Mrs. Santiago stated that she did not
know many other activities, but she thought the literacy kits "are
good."
Preliminary Discussion
Although some limitations of using the bilingual home literacy kits
became apparent in the final interviews, the overall result was a
generally positive home literacy experience for the families
participating in the study. Viewing the effectiveness of specific
literacy practices in the homes of primarily Spanish-speaking families
from their own perspectives may provide insights that can inform
creation of future early literacy interventions for such families. Many
of the findings from this study correspond with previous research on the
effectiveness of early literacy experiences using environmental print
and conversations to promote vocabulary development.
Early Vocabulary Development
All of the participants in this study agreed that promoting
children's vocabulary development is very important, even at an
early age. Previous research on home literacy and preschool language
skills has found that children's receptive vocabulary is positively
related to magazine and newspaper subscriptions, library use, television
viewing, and book reading at home (Weigel et al., 2006). The findings
from this study showed that the three participating Hispanic parents
believed that these same resources benefit their prekindergarten
children's vocabulary development. Prior to receiving the home
literacy kits, all of the parents in this study were using a variety of
such resources to promote their children's vocabulary development.
Environmental Print
Research on Hispanic families and literacy development has found
that "families who provide children with literacy experiences that
relate to their environment help them to understand their world"
(Saracho, 2007). This study found that all of the participants noted a
positive response by their children to environmental print and agreed
that using materials related to environmental print at home did promote
their children's vocabulary development.
Even though all of the participating families spoke primarily
Spanish and none of the interviewees were fluent in English, they all
reported that the environmental literacy kits were easy to use and
helpful. This finding is consistent with evidence that environmental
print can be an effective tool for parents who have some difficulty
reading, writing, or speaking English (Kirkland et al., 2007).
Conversations
Initial findings of this study show that two of the three
participating parents believed that conversations were more beneficial
to their children's vocabulary development than environmental
print. Later findings show that their personal experience with the
literacy kits confirmed parents' beliefs about the benefits of
conversations to their children's vocabularies. This finding is
consistent with evidence from other studies of benefits of engaging in
interesting conversations (Snow & Beals, 2006). All participants in
this study indicated that they would choose to use conversations in the
future to enhance their children's vocabulary development.
Parent and Child as Co-Learners
All participants in this study claimed that in the process of
teaching their children new vocabulary they learned some English
vocabulary as well. This finding is consistent with other evidence that
parents and children undergo a mutually rewarding transformation when
they engage in shared literacy practices (Ortiz & Ordonez-Jasis,
2005). Participants in the study noted that the shared experiences with
their children were positive and beneficial for parent and child, who
participated together as co-learners. Children could see their parents
learning as they did, which served as a valuable model, consistent with
evidence that children learn language in familiar environments through
social interactions involving language and by following adult models of
language use (Morrow, 2007).
Participants in this study also reported appreciation for having
the option to use their native language in addition to, or in place of,
English when using the home literacy kits. This finding is consistent
with evidence that a strong foundation in the first language benefits
the person learning a second language (Cummins, 1981; Bhatia &
Ritchie, 1999).
Limitations
Some limitations of this study should be acknowledged. The literacy
materials provided in this study were identical for all families. Some
children have more extensive vocabularies than others, as was the case
for participants in this study. The vocabulary words used in the home
literacy kits, randomly selected from the OWL curriculum, were not
differentiated for individual families. As a result, one participant
reported that the kits were less effective in promoting the vocabulary
of a child who was familiar with many of the words in the kits, although
the participant also explained that she felt confident that the
activities would have been helpful to her child if less familiar words
had been provided.
This was a qualitative study; the small scale in no way limits the
great value of the responses or the participants who represent many of
the families served in public prekindergarten programs in the United
States. At the same time, it is important to recognize that outcomes
might be very different for families whose home language has few
cognates in common with English. Additional research is needed in this
area.
Concluding Comments
This study sought the perspectives of Hispanic families on early
home literacy practices, especially practices that promote vocabulary
development. The study also focused on parent responses to home literacy
kits that allowed them to choose the language they wished to use in
activities with their children and thus valued their primary language.
While findings from this study are not statistically generalizable, they
are theoretically generalizable; that is, the home literacy experiences
of the three participating Hispanic families may help us to understand
some of the systems, activities, and procedures related to other
Hispanic families' home literacy experiences.
Researchers have found a strong connection between early home
literacy practices that promote language and later school success. We
must consider, however, how to make those early home literacy practices
positive and effective for all families. When planning early home
literacy interventions for families who are primarily Spanish speaking,
it is crucial to place value on their native language. One way to do
this is to provide experiences that allow families the freedom to choose
the language that they use with the materials. Further research is
needed on the role of freedom of language choice in early home literacy
practices in comparison to practices that limit language choice.
The perspectives of participants in our study also suggest that
continued research on the use of environmental print and conversations
to promote the vocabulary development of young English language learners
compared to other literacy activities is vital.
The most important factor when planning home literacy activities
that promote vocabulary development for young children in Hispanic
families is that the entire experience be both effective and positive
for the children and the parents.
Appendix A
First Interview Questions
English
* During what times of the day do you speak with your child?
** How long?
** What about?
* Do you ever read signs or labels to your child?
** Anything other than books?
** Do you find those tools useful?
* Do you think it is important to promote vocabulary development
with young children?
** Why?
* Do you think it is important to talk to your children about
things they see in their environment?
** Why?
* What do you believe is the most important activity in improving
your child's vocabulary and language development?
** Why?
* What do you believe will benefit your child's vocabulary
development more, picture labels, accompanied by verbal definitions, or
conversations accompanied by verbal definitions?
** Why?
Spanish
* iDurante que horas del dia habla usted con su hijo?
** ?Por cuanto tiempo?
** ?Sobre que?
* De vez en cuando lee etiquetas o senales a su hijo?
** ?Algo aparte de libros?
** ?Es util?
* ?Cree Ud. que es importante promover el desarrollo de vocabulario
con ninos?
** ?Por que?
* ?Cree que es importante hablar con ninos de lo que ven en su
alrededor?
** ?Por que?
* ?Que cree es la actividad mas importante en el desarollo del
vocabulario y uso del idioma de su hijo?
** ?Por que?
* ?Cree usted que etiquetas de dibujos acompanadas con definiciones
orales o las conversaciones acompanadas con definiciones vocales puede
ayudar mas con el desarollo de vocabulario de su hijo?
** ?Por que?
Appendix B
Second Interview Questions
English
* What aspects of the environmental print literacy kit did you find
to be effective, if any?
** Why?
* What aspects of the conversation literacy kit did you find to be
effective, if any?
** Why?
* Which kit did you find to be more effective?
** Why?
* Will you use any of these strategies in the future?
** If yes, which ones and why?
* Do you believe there are more effective strategies in teaching
vocabulary to PreK children who speak primarily Spanish?
** If yes, what are those strategies and why do you believe they
are more effective?
* How important was the option of choosing Spanish, English, or a
combination of both in implementing the literacy practices?
** Why
* Overall, did you find this process to be beneficial?
** Why?
** What would you change?
Spanish
* ?Cuales son los aspectos mas efectivos del "kit" que
contiene actividades usando lo que se puede leer o escribir en el
alrededor?
** ?Por que?
* ?Cuales son los aspectos mas efectivos del "kit" que
contiene actividades acerca de conversacion?
** ?Por que?
* Que juego es mas efectivo?
** ?Por que?
* Usara algunas de las estrategias en el futuro?
** ?Cuales?
** ?Por que?
* ?Cree Ud. que hay estrategias mas efectivas para ensenar el
vocabulario a los ninos que hablan espanol antes de entrar en la
escuela?
** ?Cuales son y por que cree que son mas efectivas?
* ?Es importante tener la opcion de escoger entre el ingles y el
espanol o una combinacion de los dos acerca de implementar las
estrategias de leer y escribir?
** ?Por que?
* En general ?tiene beneficios el proceso?
** ?Por que?
** Que cambiaria?
Appendix D
Instructions for Literacy Kits
* Read over kit's vocabulary words and definitions.
* Read over kit's conversation prompts.
* The conversation prompts simply provide an idea of how to begin a
conversation with your child to provide meaning and context to the
vocabulary words they hear. You may use the prompts during any part of
the day with your child and may use any or all of the words listed with
each suggested prompt.
* Be sure to provide verbal definitions within your conversations
for each vocabulary word you use.
* If you have any questions about how to use the conversation
prompts, call your contact at ***-***-****.
* Note which of the words you have heard your child use.
* Throughout the 2-week period, use any two conversation prompts
each day, making sure to use each of the vocabulary words at least two
times and each prompt at least one time.
* At the end of the 2-week period, note how many of the words your
child is able to use. You may want to keep notes throughout the 2-week
period to track your child's progress; however, this is optional.
References
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curriculum guide? Opening the world of learning: A comprehensive early
literacy program: Program guide.
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Rebecca Robinson Query
Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools
Deborah Ceglowski & Patricia Clark
Ball State University
Yongmei Li
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Author Information
Pat: Please provide one-paragraph bios along with contact info for
one of you.
Rebecca Robinson Query is ...
Deborah Ceglowski is ...
Patricia Clark is ...
Yongmei Li is ...
Appendix C
Demographic Form
Age(s) of primary caregiver(s):____________________________
Marital status:____________________________________________
Primary caregiver(s)--Level of education
(Highest grade level completed/degrees):___________________
Number of people living in household:______________________
Number of employed members of household:___________________
Nation(s) of origin:_______________________________________
Number of years living in United States:___________________
Total household income range:
15,000 or below____________________________________________
15,000-25,000______________________________________________
25,000-40,000______________________________________________
40,000-60,000______________________________________________
60,000-100,000_____________________________________________
100,000 or greater_________________________________________
Number of U.S. citizens living in household:_______________
Amount of English spoken in home:
25%-50% of time____________________________________________
10%-25% of time____________________________________________
0%-10% of time_____________________________________________
Type of housing:
House______________________________________________________
Condo/Townhome_____________________________________________
Apartment__________________________________________________
Other______________________________________________________