Read with me: investigating the effects that parent involvement has on a child's reading development through the use of take-home literacy folder

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness that parent involvement has on a child?s sight word development with the use of take-home literacy folders. The participants consisted of eight kindergarten students; four girls and four boys. The sample group was analyzed in comparison with the remaining 13 students in the class. All 21 students in the class received the same instruction during school hours. Classroom instruction consisted of large group lessons, guided reading groups, and literacy centers. All 21 students were given the same assessments throughout the year. Participants were given a literacy folder that contained a book at their instructional reading level which is based on the Fountas and Pinnell Reading Benchmark Assessment (Heinemann, 2012), a comprehension activity to go along with the book, a reading strategy bookmark, and a set of sight word flash cards. There was a reading log in which the parents recorded and commented on their experiences, as well as a guide for quality reading tips for parents. The children took their folders home every Monday and Wednesday and brought them back to school on Wednesday and Friday. The remaining students in the class did not receive the literacy folder. The only activity provided by me for them to take home and work on with families was a weekly sight word book. The participants also received these sight word books. I examined sight word gains in the eight candidates versus the other 13 which showed a significant growth in the participants versus the remaining children. The participants made an eleven percent gain in sight words learned from January to April. The others, while they continued to learn new words, decreased their percentage by five percent. This made for a sixteen percent difference between the children who received the literacy folders and the children who did not. The parents of the children who used the literacy folders were given one survey (see appendix 2) The attitude of the parents who did participate in the survey was overall very positive. They felt as though it was something that benefited their children and if given the choice would do it again. These results were shared with parents to increase the awareness of the importance of literacy sharing in the home environment. Overall I believe it is a beneficial addition to my kindergarten classroom.