Amanda Craik 11/28/08 Parent Stories Project

Parent/Child Family Routines and Activities 1) What do you and Jayla enjoy doing together? Reading books, playing at the playground. I help her with her homework every day. Child Literacy History 2) All children have potential. Did you feel that Jayla has some particular talent or gift early on? Were there some specific things you did as a parent to strengthen this talent? You could tell she liked books at an early age. So she has a lot of books at home. I used to read with her and I still try to read with her every day. Teachable Moments 3) What are some of the ways that Jayla may have learned simply by watching you do something? I read the paper in the morning sometimes, so maybe she starting learning about reading from that. She helps me cook sometimes and she learned how to cook certain foods by watching me cook. Homelife 4) Tell me about your relationship with Jayla. We like to laugh together. She enjoys showing me things that shes done at school and telling me what happened at school that day. Educational Experiences 5) Does Jayla participate in activities outside of school on a weekly or monthly basis? After-school, YMCA. [Follow up question: what is her favorite activity at after-school?] She really likes the art class. Parents Belief about Their Child 6) How does Jayla feel about school? Jayla likes going to school. She really likes reading and writing and learning new things. She also has a lot of friends at school that she likes to be around. Childs Time with Others 7) Who are the significant people in Jaylas life? Me, her brother Jaylin, her grandmother, her cousins, some of her aunts and uncles.

Parent/Child/Sibling Relationship 8) What would you like to have happen for Jayla in school this year? I would like her to get better at reading and enjoy reading on her own. I also want her to develop skills that she will need for third grade, so she can do well in third grade next year. Parents Hobbies, Activities, etc. 9) What kinds of books or magazines do you read, and did you read a lot when you were growing up? I didnt read a lot growing up. When I did read it was usually books I read in school. But other than that I didnt read much. Parent/Teacher Relationship 10) What do you think your childs teacher (Ms. Hartsig or myself) could do to help you with Jaylas learning experiences at home? Reading incentive programchildren get rewarded at school for reading at home. Suggested books to read for her grade level. More opportunities for her to bring home books from school, either from the classroom library or school library. Ideas for what we can work on to get her ready for third grade. Parents School History 11) What do you remember about your own efforts to read and write? I didnt read very much. Some of my siblings read but I wasnt interested in reading. We did not have a lot of books in my house. Post Interview/Conversation Memo Positive Jayla enjoys reading and school in general. Negative Jaylas mom did not seem to have positive reading experiences when she was growing up. It seems like Jaylas mom feels like there is not enough support from school for reading or other academics at home.

Jayla and her mom seem to have a good relationship.

Jaylas mom seems to be very involved in her academics.

Beginning

At the beginning, Jaylas mom had a lot of good things to say about Jaylas attitude about reading and school. I heard a lot about Jaylas and her mom doing things togetherboth school-related things and recreational things.

Middle

I continued to hear positive things about Jaylas learning at school and at home. It sounds like Jayla has a lot of support from her mom and she has many other significant people in her life as well. I also heard a lot about being prepared for third grade. The end of the interview was when I heard less positive things. It sounds like Jaylas mom was either uninterested in reading when she was growing up, or she didnt have a very good experience with it. It also sounded like she wanted the teacher/school to provide more support for reading and learning at home.

End

Instructional Ideas/Responses Instructional Idea Develop some sort of reading incentive for the students in the class to foster positive feelings about learning. Provide book lists or consistently send home books with students that are appropriate for each students reading level. Provide information or practice with third grade material. Source Jaylas mom

Jaylas mom

Jaylas mom

Instructional Plan Through my interview with this parent, I gained insight into different instructional plans that I can use with Jayla, a student who is already successful in reading and writing. One plan that I would like to implement in the classroom that I believe could benefit all students is create a reading incentive program in the classroom. Currently students are expected to read twenty minutes a night for homework, but for many students this is not incentive enough. Having some sort of program in the classroom that rewards students for reading might make them more excited about reading. For example, students who read a certain amount of minutes could be rewarded with a treat of some sort. Another possible idea is to set a goal for the entire class to read a certain amount of minutes, and once the entire class reaches that goal the entire class will be rewarded with a celebration. While Jayla is already quite proficient in reading, it is important that as I teacher I continue to foster her interest in reading. If she loses interest, she may not continue to grow and be as successful in literacy.

While an incentive program in the classroom could help students get motivated to read, it is also important to help students develop an intrinsic motivation for reading. As Jaylas mom mentioned, my CT and I should have a consistent system to send books home with students that are appropriate for their reading level. At the beginning of the year we gave students time every day to check out a book from a classroom library to bring home. Now, we no longer make time for students to do that. If we are going to require to students to read and give incentives for them to read every night as well, it is important that we give students opportunities to check out books and ensure that they are books that are appropriate for their reading level. Jayla is already very proficient in reading, so she needs to bring books home that will continue to challenge her and help her to grow as a reader. Allowing students to check out level-appropriate books from school will help them become more excited about reading because if they only have a limited selection of books at home to read they may grow tired of them. These books also may not challenge them enough. Finally, I want to implement something after school or something I can send home that would help Jayla feel more prepared for third grade. Her mom seems to be looking forward to next year in terms of her academic success and looking for ways to help her daughter be prepared. One thing that I could do is talk with a third grade teacher in the school and ask what important concepts will be covered the following year as well as what skills should be mastered before a student reaches third grade. I could send home lists with Jayla of these skills and concepts she could practice at home to help her prepare for next year. I could also send home materials for enrichment projects that she could complete at home. Another idea I have, if there are more students and parents who are interested in being introduced to third grade material, is implementing some sort of program after school for second graders. This program would cover important third grade material and introduce students to ideas that will be essential for third grade, which is a very important year for testing. This is a program that I feel will benefit Jayla and other students who are more advanced in their literacy development and interested in enriching their education. Reflection This parent story project was an interesting and challenging project. I found that I did learn some new things about Jayla but more importantly I learned about some important things that her mom was concerned about and wanted for Jaylas education. This showed me the importance of speaking directly to parents and not assuming everything. Also, it showed me that parents have great ideas for how learning in the classroom can be improved. This is evident through my instructional planall of my plans came directly from Jaylas mom. While it may be difficult to meet with each parent in my classroom one-on-one, maybe I could send home a parent survey or suggestion form so all parents have the opportunity to contribute to our classroom in some way, even if they do not have the time to come in and meet with me or do not feel comfortable in a school setting. One very challenging thing about the project in general was setting up a meeting time with my parent. The parent actually cancelled on me twice, and when I finally was able to meet with her and get the information from the interview I had a very short time to actually complete the written work. However, this just reinforces the idea that teachers need to be flexible and that working with parents

may not always be the most easy or most convenient thing to do, but the information and ideas they have can be invaluable to a classroom. I hope that as I continue to work with parents in the future I take what they have to say seriously and always consider how I can use their ideas in the classroom.