Snapshots: What do family events and activities look like?

Families are lined up out the door of the library at Joseph Gale Elementary in Forest Grove, Oregon. Event planners are sending out for more juice and cookies. Who would have expected such a turnout? AmeriCorps member Jeff Scott visited every classroom to promote Partners in Print: Helping Our Children Become Better Readers, generating excitement and making special note of prizes.

Literacy activities for families. At the event, families visit four stations, each offering training in specific strategies for reading with children and helping them draw meaning from text. At one station, an AmeriCorps member demonstrates a picture walk. A bilingual teacher translates each point for Spanish-speaking family members. Other stations feature introducing new books, asking good questions, and giving stories new endings.

Social and family networks. The event concludes with snacks and a drawing for a book giveaway. This social time gives students, teachers, AmeriCorps members, and family members (including siblings, grandparents, aunts, and uncles) an opportunity to mingle and talk with one another.

Input from experts. AmeriCorps members at Partnerships for Student Achievement, a project of the Forest Grove School District, planned this event. In consultation with Partners in Print, a professional development program for teachers, they identified helpful strategies for engaging parents to support children's literacy skills. Classroom and Title I teachers collaborate with AmeriCorps members to run the event.

"This is a project that our whole team creates together, responding to the unique needs of each school," says project director Jeri Lerwick. "It gives them a good opportunity to practice teamwork, create a flexible design, visit each others' schools, and also offers an extended experience working with families."