Family Literacy Program (FLP) Resources

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Mission of our Family Literacy Program

Words Alive Family Literacy Program is a resource designed to teach parents how to make literacy fun, keep kids engaged during reading time, and help improve language and cognitive development, leading to higher levels of academic achievement. All the resources needed to be successful in these classes are provided in the guides included in the kits we distribute. Please use the guide to review the questions and prompts while reading these books during your own time, and try coming up with similar questions during everyday activities such as watching TV, taking walks, and reading magazines. The more families engage in learning together, the more successful children will be in the future, and it is also a great way to bond. Ultimately, we are here as a resource to advocate for family literacy, and we hope you can take away more than just some really cool books and crafts from these sessions.

Teaching Artists Cheat Sheet
This handout contains everything you need to plan an engaging session from start to finish (e.g., Zoom login information, session schedules, and the flow of the session).

Be sure to read through the document and reach out to Faryl, our Literacy Program manager, at [email protected], if you have any questions or concerns.

Interested in learning more? Check out our FLP Teaching Artists Training Manuel here.

WORDS ALIVE POWER PHRASES

We encourage readers to use power phrases throughout the sessions to frame conversations with the students, as these will help children think deeply and respond, and give them power over their answers. Download the Power Phrases handout here.

“I wonder...
I notice...
Tell me more...
”
— Words Alive

COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES

The research shows that cooperative learning has been effective for all types of students, including academically gifted, mainstream students and English language learners (ELLs). Feel free to engage students by using the suggested strategies below!

  • Put your finger on your nose if you hear a set of rhyming words.

  • Put your hand up if you think…

  • Thumbs up if you think…

  • Say, “me too”, if you agree and point to yourself.

  • This activity is a great way for children to be able to pause and process what they have just learned. Ask the class a question that they must first consider by themselves then give them the opportunity to discuss it with their neighbor. Once they’ve discussed the question, children can share their answers with the class. By giving them this time, you are enabling them to be more engaged in their learning.

  • End of book reading summaries are a great way to engage your children and help them connect the dots on their own. As a class have the children complete an A-Z Topic Summary, either saying a word or a sentence having to do with the reading for each letter of the alphabet. For example, if we learned about a bear they could say a describing word such as: “amazing”, the second child might say: “brave” etc.

  • This activity is great, especially for visual learners or children that aren’t quite writing yet. After reading, have the children use a white board to draw a picture about what they’ve just learned. For example, after reading part of the story: Jack and the Bean Stalk, have your students draw what has happened in the story up to that point. Then a student may draw a picture of a boy planting seeds with a bean stalk growing in the background.

  • Studies show that the proper ratio of direct instruction to reflection time for students is ten to two. That means that for every ten minutes of instruction we need to provide children with two minutes for reflection. This activity is a great way to provide children with that much needed reflection time! Ask a question about a topic or concept that has been covered in the book. Using a whiteboard children can write an answer then share it with a partner, and the class if they choose.

  • Encourage the class to join in with repetitive phrases/words in the book.

  • Encourage children to use actions to go along with characters/words in the book – this can help if you have a squirmy class – either interspersed throughout the reading or as an active break to get the children up and moving.

  • Readers can use this to help students differentiate between any two categories.