Component 2:
Parent Involvement in Literacy Instruction of their Children

          Project ROAR includes an extensive parent involvement and family literacy portion. This part of the grant was designed to increase parent involvement and assist parents in understanding the importance of their influence as well as increase the parent’s ability to assist their children in the early stages of literacy development. The grant provides for a weekly book checkout purchased through Raising A Reader. Each classroom is presented with 26 high quality red book bags that include four books each. Every child is allowed to check out a different book bag each week to take home. This is to encourage “book cuddling” with parents which in turn helps to create a love for reading. Teachers are also presented with an attaché through this program that includes information on early brain development, a teacher’s guide to implement this system, ideas for adding depth to preschool literacy activities, and a guide to interactive storybook reading.

          Project ROAR also provides monthly family literacy meetings in each community. These meetings are organized by the Family Literacy Advocates and are planned each month to teach families a new strategy in assisting their child with their literacy development. The first half of each school year is directed toward the Raising A Reader parent involvement program. The reading strategies for this program center around four genres which include wordless, bilingual and alphabet, storybooks, and concept books. The second half of the school year focuses on a program from Scholastic known as “Reading Starts With Us”. Techniques and tips for parents are developed from discussions about four additional genres which include folktales, realistic fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. At these meetings the families also receive literacy materials to add to their home libraries that are being created by this grant. The grant also created resource libraries in each community from which the parents can check out literacy materials to use at home for a month.