Family Literacy Practices of First-, Second-, and Third-Grade Children Across Monolingual and Bilingual Households

• In Event: Home, School, and Communities: Promoting Language and Literacy Development

Abstract

Understanding the home literacy practices of early learners can provide valuable insights for school districts, reading specialists, and teachers, as it provides a window to the kinds of reading/writing support children receive outside of the classroom. This study examines the literacy practices of families based on data collected from 142 surveys targeting English-speaking and Spanish-English speaking households attending 10 elementary schools in Illinois. Surveys consisted of both open-ended and Likert-scale questions. Findings revealed that shared reading and comprehension activities were prominently employed as home across both English monolingual and Spanish-English bilingual households. In contrast, four specific areas were given little or no attention in bilingual family responses. In light of these findings, implications and recommendations are discussed.

Authors

• Peter G. Parker, Bowie State University

• Jacquelyn Sue Sweeney, Bowie State University

• Sandra C. Figueroa, Bowie State University