School Literacy and Culture, in addition to our programming, offers the following resources for teachers, parents and students.
Family Engagement / Participación Familiar
Free Videos and Activities for Parents - Videos y Actividades Gratuitos para los Padres
- The Importance of Sharing Family Stories / La importancia de las historias familiares
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Sharing family stories is one of the best ways to spend time connecting with your children. Knowing more about their family history gives children a sense of control over their lives and instills pride in where they come from, making them more resilient as they face the challenges of life. Gathered here are some of our favorite ways for families to share their stories together—we hope you will try them with your family soon!
El compartir historias familiares es una de las mejores maneras de conectarse con sus hijos. Mientras más sepan los niños acerca de la historia de su familia, más control sienten sobre sus vidas y más orgullo sienten por su herencia, haciéndolos más fuertes frente a la adversidad y desafíos de la vida. Hemos reunido aquí algunas de nuestras actividades favoritas para que las familias compartan sus historias juntas—¡esperamos que las disfrutarán con su familia pronto!
Guide
1. Where Are You From? / ¿De dónde eres?
Your family is filled with many stories that give a glimpse of where you have come from; together, they make up the story of who you are. Watch a video filled with ideas of conversation starters to have with your child. Pull the ideas together to compose a family poem to share using our hashtag #SLClistens. View Activity Video
La historia de su familia está llena de eventos que dan una idea de dónde vienen; juntos forman la historia completa de quiénes son. Vean un video lleno de ideas para iniciar conversaciones con sus hijos acerca de su identidad como familia. Combinen las ideas para escribir un poema familiar que podrán compartir con su familia y amigos usando nuestro hashtag #SLClistens. Vean el video de actividades
2. Do You Have A Favorite Family Recipe? / ¿Su familia tiene una receta favorita?
Food and family go together. Watch a video about our favorite recipes and the stories behind them. Then, make a favorite recipe with your family and tell your child why it is special. Share your recipe and story using our hashtag #SLClistens. View Activity Video
La comida y la familia se complementan. Vean un video sobre nuestras recetas favoritas y las historias tras ellas. Luego, hagan una receta favorita con su familia y cuéntenle a sus hijos la historia de por qué es tan especial ese plato. Compartan la receta y su historia con su familia y amigos usando nuestro hashtag #SLClistens. Vean el video de actividades
3. What Is The Story Of Your Name? / ¿Cuál es la historia de su nombre?
Our name is a gift given to us by our parents and makes us unique. Watch a video of how to create a keepsake to celebrate your child, their name and all the things that make them special. Share your child’s project using our hashtag #SLClistens. View Activity Video
Nuestro nombre es un regalo que nos otorgan nuestros padres y que nos hacen únicos. Vean un video de cómo crear una cajita de recuerdos para celebrar a su hijo(a) y todas las cosas que los hacen especial. Compartan el proyecto de su hijo(a) con familia y amigos usando nuestro hashtag #SLClistens. Vean el video de actividades
4. Family Memories / ¿Cuáles son algunos de sus recuerdos familiares?
Some families are out and about while others enjoy spending time together at home. Watch a video that explains how to build a Tree of Memories. Then, spend some time with your child building your own and recording some of your family’s favorite memories. Share your Tree of Memories using our hashtag #SLClistens. View Activity Video
Algunas familias pasan su tiempo juntos fuera de casa mientras otras disfruten del tiempo pasado en casa. Vean un video que explica cómo hacer un Árbol de Recuerdos. Luego, pasen un tiempo con sus hijos creando su propio árbol y anotando algunos de sus recuerdos favoritos. Compartan su Árbol de Recuerdos con su familia y amigos usando nuestro hashtag #SLClistens. Vean el video de actividades
- Celebrating the “Little Moments” in Family Life / Celebrando los “pequeños momentos” de la vida en familia
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All families have things that make them unique and special. One of the ways we can celebrate our families is by sharing the little moments in our lives that are meaningful to us. Photographs, trinkets, and other mementos from special times shared together can serve as reminders of those events, and it is fun to reminisce about what made those moments memorable.
Todas las familias son únicas y especiales. Una manera de celebrar a nuestras familias es compartir los pequeños momentos de la vida que son significativos para nosotros. Las fotografías, baratijas, y otros recuerdos de esos momentos sirven para no olvidarnos de tales ocasiones, y es bonito acordarse de todo lo que hizo que esos tiempos fueran tan memorables.
Guide
1. Family Frame: What represents your family? / Marco familiar: ¿Qué es lo que más representa a su familia?
We choose frames to complement pictures and make the item we are framing more attractive. Starting with a photo or drawing of your family, create a unique frame by gathering small items that hold a special place in the hearts of those you love. As you make the frame together, be sure and talk about the memories each item holds for your family. Share your frame using our hashtag #SLClistens. View Activity Video
Los marcos sirven para complementar nuestras fotos y hacerlas más atractivas. Usando una foto o un dibujo de su familia, pueden crear un marco personalizado juntando objetos chiquitos que tengan un significado especial para cada miembro de la familia. Al hacer el marco juntos, platiquen acerca de los recuerdos que trae cada objeto para su familia. Compartan su marco usando nuestro hashtag #SLClistens. Vean el video de actividades
- What Are the Colors in Your Family’s World? / ¿Cuáles son los colores en el mundo de su familia?
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Among the most basic concepts we teach our children from an early age is to identify colors. Many recently published children’s books use the concept of color to explore racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity in the lives of families. Reading these books together can inspire your family to highlight the colors found in your world.
Entre los primeros conceptos que enseñamos a nuestros hijos desde muy temprana edad es identificar colores. Muchos libros infantiles recién publicados utilizan el concepto de color para explorar la diversidad racial, étnica, y cultural que caracteriza la vida de las familias. Libros como éstos pueden inspirar a su familia a buscar los colores de su mundo.
Guide
1. What is your favorite color? / ¿Cuál es su color favorito?
Children show their color preferences in many ways, including what they choose to wear and eat, their favorite toys, and even which crayons they feature in their creative endeavors. A collection of colorful objects can be a work of art in itself, and children will enjoy helping you gather their favorite colorful items. Join us as we make a Color Collage of simple objects found around your house and share your collage using our hashtag #SLClistens. View Activity Video
Los niños demuestran sus preferencias para los colores en la ropa que usan, lo que les gusta comer, sus juguetes favoritos, y hasta los crayones que eligen para sus esfuerzos creativos. Una colección de objetos coloridos también puede ser una obra de arte, y a sus hijos les puede gustar juntar objetos de su color favorito. Acompáñenos a crear un Collage de Colores hecho de objetos sencillos encontrados alrededor de la casa y compartan su collage usando nuestro hashtag #SLClistens. Vean el video de actividades
- Favorite Days, Happy Hearts / Días favoritos, corazones felices
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Happiness can mean different things to different people, but most of us would agree that special times spent together with family make up some of our happiest moments. In the videos that follow, we take a closer look at things that make our hearts happy and ask those we love about their favorite days. Our favorite days need not be special occasions—in fact, often they take place during the ordinary moments of everyday life, the times we feel happiest and most at ease.
La felicidad significa algo distinto para cada persona, pero la mayoría de nosotros estaríamos de acuerdo en que los tiempos especiales pasados en familia cuentan entre nuestros momentos más felices. En los videos que siguen, examinamos las cosas que ponen alegres a nuestros corazones y conversamos con seres queridos acerca de sus días favoritos. Nuestros días favoritos no son necesariamente ocasiones especiales—de hecho, muchas veces son los momentos ordinarios de la vida cotidiana en que nos sentimos más felices y cómodos.
Guide
1. What makes your heart happy? / ¿Qué llena su corazón de alegría?
Sometimes it’s the people, sometimes it’s the places, and sometimes it’s the things that make our hearts happy. So explore what makes your heart happy and then create a hanging heart to remind one another of all the things to be grateful for in your life. Share your project using our hashtag #SLClistens. View Activity Video
A veces son las personas, a veces son los lugares, y a veces son las cosas las que ponen alegres a nuestros corazones. Exploren todo lo que los pone felices y luego hagan un corazón colgante para acordarse de todas las cosas en nuestras vidas por las que nos sentimos agradecidos. Compartan su proyecto usando nuestro hashtag #SLClistens. Vean el video de actividades
2. What is your favorite day? / ¿Cuál es su día favorito?
What is your favorite day? Maybe holidays or celebration days come to mind. Think about who you spend the day with and what you do on that day. Then, share your favorite day with the people important to you and celebrate your favorite day with a banner. Share your project using our hashtag #SLClistens. View Activity Video
¿Cuál es su día favorito? Quizás sean los días festivos u otras celebraciones que vienen a la mente. Piensen en las personas que los acompañan y en todo lo que hacen durante ese día. Entonces, compartan su día favorito con las personas que son importantes en su vida y celebren su día favorito con una bandera. Compartan su proyecto usando nuestro hashtag #SLClistens. Vean el video de actividades
- Cherished Spaces, Neighborhood Places / La casa, la comunidad, y las conexiones
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The spaces inside our homes are the setting for so much more than the activities and chores of everyday life. In a similar way, our neighborhoods provide us with far more than just the goods and services we require to care for our families. In both cases, it is the sense of connection and community we feel in these spaces that gives us the comfort and strength we need to thrive in the world. For children this is especially important, since they long to feel accepted and valued by the adults around them. As we connect with each other in our homes and communities, our children benefit from knowing that they are in places where they can feel they truly belong.
Los espacios de nuestras casas son escenarios para mucho más que las actividades y quehaceres de la vida diaria. De manera similar, nuestros vecindarios nos brindan mucho más que los bienes y servicios que requerimos para el bienestar de nuestras familias. En ambos casos, es el sentido de conexión y comunidad que sentimos en estos espacios que nos provee la comodidad y fuerza que necesitamos para prosperar en el mundo. Para los niños, esto es especialmente importante, ya que ellos anhelan sentirse aceptados y valorados por los adultos que los rodean. Al hacer conexiones en nuestras casas y comunidades, nuestros hijos se benefician al saber que se encuentran en lugares donde de veras sienten que pertenecen.
Guide
1. What is your favorite space in your house? / ¿Cuál es su espacio favorito de su casa?
Where does your family enjoy spending time together? Maybe it’s cooking together in the kitchen or gathering around the table at mealtimes. It might be watching TV together after a long day of work and school. Or maybe it’s your child’s bedroom where you spend some quiet time together each evening at bedtime. Think about your favorite spaces in your house and create a fold-out card to share with your family and friends using our hashtag #SLClistens. View Activity Video
¿Cuáles son los espacios de su casa donde a su familia le gusta pasar tiempo juntos? Quizás sea la cocina al preparar la comida o sentados alrededor de la mesa a la hora de comer. O posiblemente la sala, viendo televisión después de un largo día de trabajo y escuela. O quizás sea la recámara de su hijo donde pasan un rato tranquilo a la hora de dormir. Piensen en los espacios favoritos de su casa y hagan una tarjeta que se abre para compartir con su familia y amigos usando nuestro hashtag #SLClistens. Vean el video de actividades
2. What's in your neighborhood? / ¿Qué hay en su vecindario?
Environmental print is the print you see in your world everywhere you go. Children notice this print too, and if it is meaningful enough for them, they can read it at a very early age. As a family, choose a place you go to in your neighborhood and identify all the print your child recognizes. Then, make a model incorporating all the print labels and logos that you can! Share your project using our hashtag #SLClistens. View Activity Video
La letra impresa en su ambiente son los avisos y letreros que se pueden ver en todas partes. Los niños también se fijan en esta letra impresa, y cuando tiene significado para ellos, pueden aprender a reconocerla desde muy temprana edad. Como familia, seleccionen un lugar que les gusta visitar en su vecindario e identifiquen toda la letra impresa que sus hijos pueden reconocer. Entonces, ¡hagan un modelo incorporando todos los letreros, avisos, y etiquetas que puedan! Compartan su proyecto usando nuestro hashtag #SLClistens. Vean el video de actividades
Caring for our Children, Caring for Ourselves.
This resource has grown out of more than a year's worth of conversations among early childhood teachers participating in leadership courses with Rice University's School Literacy and Culture program. Working across school districts and educational settings, supporting young children of different ages, we have come together remotely throughout the pandemic, discussing real-life classroom challenges amidst changing realities and brainstorming possible solutions. The ideas shared here are the result of those conversations.
Research
While the central charge of School Literacy and Culture is to extrapolate current early education research into classroom practice, we do at times conduct original research as well. The nationally recognized peer-review study highlighted here found that children in storytelling classrooms made greater gains on standardized measures of early literacy than peers in control classrooms.
- "One Authentic Early Literacy Practice and Three Standardized Tests: Can a Storytelling Curriculum Measure Up?"
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Patricia M. Cooper (New York University), Karen Capo (Rice University Center for Education), Bernie Mathes (Rice University Center for Education), Lincoln Gray (James Madison University)
Published in Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Volume 28, Issue 3 (July 2007), pages 251 - 275Abstract
The current study was designed to assess the vocabulary and literacy skills of young children who participated in an authentic literacy practice, i.e., Vivian Paley's “storytelling curriculum,” over the course of their respective prekindergarten or kindergarten years. We asked: How do prekindergarten and kindergarten age children, who participate in the storytelling curriculum over the course of the school year, perform on pre- and postmeasures of AGS/Pearson Assessments' Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) (3rd ed.) Form IIIA, and Whitehurst's Get Ready to Read!, as compared to those young children in the same grade with similar backgrounds and in the same or similar school settings who did not participate in the storytelling curriculum? Results show that in comparison to same-age children in like settings, participants in the storytelling curriculum showed significant gains in both vocabulary knowledge and literacy skills. These findings underscore the possibility of supporting both beginning and experienced teachers in using authentic literacy activities to prepare children for literacy learning, while maintaining their service to a wide range of other developmental issues. They also call into question the prevailing trend to abandon such classroom practices in favor of a skills-centered approach to curriculum.
Select references on storytelling/story acting and general oral language development
- Cooper, P. (1993). When stories come to school: Telling, writing, and performing stories in the early childhood classroom. New York: Teachers and Writers Collaborative.
- Cooper, P. M. (2005). Literacy learning and pedagogical purpose in Viivan Paley’s ‘storytelling curriculum’. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 5(3), 229 – 251.
- Cooper, P. (2009). The classrooms all young children need: Lessons in learning from Vivian Paley. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Dickinson, D. K. (2002). Shifting images of developmentally appropriate practice as seen through different lenses. Educational Researcher. 31(1), 26 – 32.
- Dickinson, D. K. & Sprague, K. E. (2002). The nature and impact of early childhood care environments on the language and early literacy development of children from low-income families. In S. B. Neuman & D. K. Dickinson (Eds.) Handbook of early literacy research, Vol. 2 (pp. 263-280). New York: Guilford.
- Hart, B. and Risley. T. (2003). The early catastrophe: The 30 million word gap by age 3. American Educator, 27(1), 4 – 9.
- Dudley-Marling, C. (2007). Return of the deficit. Journal of Educational Controversy. 2(1), Article 5.*
- Fernald, A. and Weisleder, A. (2015). Twenty years after Meaningful Differences, it’s time to reframe the ‘deficit’ debate about the importance of children’s early language experience. Human Development. 58(x), 1 – 4.*
- Hirsch-Pasek, K., Adamson, L., Bakerman, R., Owen, M., Golinkoff, R., Pace, A., Yust, P., and Suma, K. The contribution of early communication quality to low-income children’s language success. Psychological Science, 26(7), 1 – 13.*
- Ramirez-Esparza, N., Garcia-Sierra, A., and Kuhl, P. Look who’s talking: Speech style and social context in language input to infants are linked to concurrent and future speech development. Developmental Science. 17(6), 880-891.*
- Paley, V. (1981). Wally’s stories: Conversations in the kindergarten. Cambridge: MA: Harvard University Press.
- Paley, V. (1990). The boy who would be a helicopter: The uses of storytelling in the classroom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Paley, V. (2004). A child’s work: The importance of fantasy play. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.*
- Tabors, P. (2008). One child, two languages: A guide for early childhood educators of children learning English as a second language, 2nd edition. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.*
*Those books or studies identified with asterisk were not referenced in the original study, but may be of interest to the reader.
Standards Correlations
In light of the 2008 Revised Pre-kindergarten Guidelines, the 2012 Revised Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Kindergarten, and the increasing need to support all classroom activities with evidence of standards, School Literacy and Culture created the following documents. These documents are designed to assist teachers and school leaders in understanding the educational impact of many of SLC’s widely known activities on students’ learning as described in the Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines and the English Language Arts and Reading Kindergarten TEKS. For each document there is an “Activities to Standards Correlation” section which describes each SLC activity or practice and associates it with a Texas education standard. There is also the “Standards to Activities Correlation” section which lists the standards and all the related School Literacy and Culture activities or practices that can be used to meet each standard.