Article/Book/Website Review Template: As you read each of your 5-6 articles, books, websites, please record the following

information. We will embed these in your Weebly Site on the 28 th. Please try to use a minimum of 3 scholarly articles (articles that present studies about your related topics). As you type into the form, you can use more or less space as needed for each item. Bibliographic Information (APA Formatting): Author(s) Affiliation: Type of Resource:
(Scholarly article presenting a study; Trade article presenting a teaching strategy or methodology or other; Website describing a curriculum package, etc)

Serpell, R. (1997). Critical Issues Literacy Connections between School and Home: How Should We Evaluate Them? Journal of Literacy Research 29 (4). 587-616. Robert Serpell is affiliated with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. This piece was a scholarly article presenting a study of the connections in young childrens home experiences to the schools they attend. The author studied middle and lower-income families, as well as those with multicultural roots.

Summary of essential information most essential to your study or to your background learning:

The author focused his attention on three ways in which the homeschool connection can be strengthened, for the greater good of the preschool child. Serpell examined the attitudes of home life towards schooling; the degree of understanding and trust that exists between the teacher and parent, and the sociocultural productivity of the interaction between school and the students home community. Serpell examined this relationship under the lens of variables such as socioeconomic background, attitudes toward academics versus social and moral issues, and cultural differences. In his article, Serpell set out to examine and develop a greater understanding of the challenges to the home to school connection. He found that, while the bond between the classroom teacher and parent is important to a childs literacy development, there are even greater obstacles that hinder progress. In reality, the only commonality between parents and teacher is the child that they are trying to help. Many times the gap in the connection is due to misinterpreted views on both sides. Teachers want to reach out and meet the child where he is, but the parents often feel inadequate either because they themselves struggled in school, or they simply believe that the school (teachers) is best equipped to give academic instruction. In many cultures, parents believe that raising a wellmannered and moral child that can function effectively in society is more important than encouraging a child to pursue academic achievement. I am interested in finding out what attitudes parents have toward

Way in which this source influences the field of Early Childhood Education or related fields:

Potential relevance

to your research topic and study:

school and literacy development. I am planning to use parent questionnaires and informal interviews to determine the parents views on literacy development. In the questionnaires, I want to know how much time preschool children spend in front of screens and other digital devices. In addition, the author made the point of stating that sociodramatic play, storytelling, and parent-guided television viewing can be just as effective in literacy development as interactive/shared reading aloud.