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Early literacy in Indigenous communities. Sharon Foster. Inaugural corporate supporter. Presentation outline. The importance of early literacy Explaining Let’s Read About family consultations in indigenous communities. Why is reading important?.
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Early literacy in Indigenous communities Sharon Foster Inaugural corporate supporter
Presentation outline • The importance of early literacy • Explaining Let’s Read • About family consultations in indigenous communities
Why is reading important? Being literate is a core skill that impacts on • the individual’s employment opportunities and quality of life • impacts on the prosperity of Australia. Approximately 48% of the adult population in Australia are illiterate or have a poor level of literacy.
Literacy Levels and Physical and Mental Health - USA (Quantitative) Health Problems Mental or Emotional Problems Long-term Illness Percent Literacy Level NALS, p. 44, 2002
Why is reading with young children important? The building blocks to help children learn to read and write when they get to school are developed before they get to school. These are known as emergent literacy skills.
Emergent Literacy Skills Reading aloud helps to develop • Language abilities – the amount of words they know and use • Letter identification / knowledge - knowing the names and sounds of letters • Phonological awareness / sensitivity – being able to identify and manipulate sounds in the spoken words • An understanding of the conventions of print - left-to-right, top-to-bottom, from front to back across pages • A strong bond between the parent and child, which helps them get along with other people later in life.
Why is reading with young children important? Learning to: • talk is “experience expectant” – we hear it so we learn it • read is “experience dependent” – we have to see it to learn it
Why is starting early important? Children who struggle with reading when they get to school are: • unlikely to catch up to their peers, • more likely to dislike reading, read less, and thus fall further behind.
Literacy divide • Typical middle class child enters first grade with 1,000 – 1,700 hours of one to one picture book reading • Children from a low income family averages just 25 hours Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA:MIT Press.
Why is reading aloud with young children important? When you are reading aloud with a young child (under 5) you are not trying to “teach” the child to read before they begin school, but rather helping him or her to develop the building blocks and a love of books.
What is Let’s Read? • Let's Read is a universal program based on research designed to promote reading aloud with young children birth - 5 years. • Let’s Read encourages parents to have fun reading with their young children, to develop the building blocks that will help children learn to read and write when they get to school.
Effective early literacy program From the research: • Shared reading • Built upon an emergent literacyframework • Professional involvement to convey guidance messages and model shared reading practices • Community wide delivery and or easy accessibility to age appropriate free books • Community involvementto assist in promotion and sustainability
About Let’s Read The Let’s Read program has two parts: • Support given to parents on a one to one basis • Parents need clear and simple information, as well as being shown read aloud techniques. • The messages about reading needs to be given to a parent more than once, • The best person to support a parent is a community based person that the family trusts. • The people to support and work with families should be trained and provided with high quality resources to give to parents. • Community activities • Create opportunities for young children and their families to be involved in community based early literacy activities, continuing to promote the importance of reading
Resources to give to families – in one to one interactions • Parent information sheets to reinforce messages – age specific • Booklists – age specific • DVD • A book • A reader bag
Let’s Read is NOT • A program designed to teach children to read • A set of resources that can be used how ever people like • A one - off event
Feasibility Study Results • 97% of parents reported the DVD reinforced the messages received from the child health nurse • Over 80% of parents reported that the “read aloud” books have helped in reading books with their children • 97% parents reported having read the book • 95% parents reported having read the book more than once • 94% of parents reported that their child liked the book • 9% of parents have purchased at least 1 book since receiving the booklist
Current implementation • 52 communities across Australia • Tasmanian Department of Education – Read for Life – all children under 5 years • Queensland Department of Communities – Reading to Children – 11 LGA
Why undertake family consultations in indigenous communities? To find out: • what is currently happening in the community • what are the families expectations and aspirations • whether Let’s Read is “acceptable” To make recommendations about possible ways forward.
Undertaking family consultations • Families invited to participate • Local person acts as the consultant • Completed on a one-to-one basis • Venue determined by mutual agreement • Take about 45 minutes • Results recorded by consultant • Given Let’s Read pack to keep
Undertaking family consultations Areas involved: • WA – Pilbara – 74 families • QLD – Cape York, Torres Strait, Far North Queensland – 250 families • VIC – still to be determined
Family consultation questions About the questions: • Family background • Home language and literacy • Care and education • Community involvement • About the Let’s Read resources
Family background • To gain some simple family demographics, and potentially identify whether the number of people in the household impacts on the opportunity to read aloud with a young child.
Home language and literacy • To obtain an insight into the range of languages / dialects that are spoken in the family homes and which of these can be read and written. • It is important to be cognisant of languages used at home and how to support the family to promote these languages but also ensure the child is ready for the school experience and gets the most from it.
Home language and literacyPilbara – 74 families • 17 languages / dialects – including English • One taught at primary school • One taught at primary school and secondary school • 10 indigenous languages could be read and written
Home language and literacyComparing two areas in the PilbaraN = 74
Home language and literacyQueensland community “C” - N = 20 Others reading aloud with the child • Aunts 9 • Uncles 3 • Older brothers 5 • Older sisters 3 • Grandmother 3 • Grandfather 6 • Family friends 3 • Others 6 - Cousin, Father, Childcare
Care and education • To examine who has regular contact with the child and therefore what opportunities exist for reading aloud to be undertaken with the child – both in the home and in other services
Care and education Activities enjoyed with your child: • Fishing • Swimming • Walking • Talking • Singing
Community involvement • To explore the types of people that are trusted and respected in the community and could deliver the early reading message and also the potential for community activities.
About the Let’s Read materials • To gain a reaction to the Let’s Read materials – shown the DVD, parent information sheet, booklists and the book.
