Teachers know that connections with families will reap benefits, but they struggle with the "how." Research shows that there is a link between family involvement and their children's academic success. Other research shows that children learn best when instruction is meaningful and connects to the knowledge they and their families hold. Family nights are after-school, evening, or weekend events which involve families (adults and children) in enjoyable and academically grounded activities and experiences. Family nights provide a way for schools to learn about and from families and for families to learn about and from schools. The ultimate beneficiaries are the students who benefit from such increased involvement and from improved communication and understanding. Reproducibles and other materials include: " Invitations " Agendas " Sign-in sheets " Evaluation forms " Activity worksheets " Handouts " Overheads " Additional resources " Connections with national standards " Tips and suggestions for an outstanding event Includes information on adaptions for special populations, issues around providing food and incentives, and cost-saving ideas.
Each chapter is a self-contained unit, containing all information, suggestions, and materials for planning and running a successful event. All family night designs have an academic focus and are aligned with standards. This book is appropriate for primary teachers and headteachers or anyone in the school or district responsible for family involvement.
Author Biography:
Diane W. Kyle is a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Louisville. She has coauthored Reaching Out: A K–8 Resource for Connecting Schools and Families and Reflective Teaching for Student Empowerment: Elementary Curriculum and Methods, coedited Creating Nongraded Primary Classrooms: Teachers’ Stories and Lessons Learned, and published in such journals as Language Arts, Peabody Journal of Education, Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, Education & Equity, Teaching Children Mathematics, and Elementary School Journal. Her most recent project, codirected with Ellen McIntyre, is “Sheltered Instruction and Family Involvement: An Approach to Raising Achievement of LEP Students,” funded by the US Department of Education. She also codirected with Ellen McIntyre a research project, “Children’s Academic Development in Nongraded Primary Programs,” funded by the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Ellen McIntyre is a literacy professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Louisville, where she teaches courses on literacy research and instruction and studies children’s development in light of instructional contexts. She has published extensively, having coauthored Reaching Out: A K–8 Resource for Connecting Schools and Families, coedited Classroom Diversity: Connecting School Curricula to Students’ Lives, Balanced Instruction: Strategies and Skills in Whole Language, and Creating Nongraded Primary Programs, and published in such journals as Language Arts, Research in the Teaching of English, Journal of Literacy Research, and American Educational Research Journal. Her most recent project, codirected with Diane Kyle, is “Sheltered Instruction and Family Involvement: An Approach to Raising Achievement of LEP Students,” funded by the US Department of Education. She also codirected with Diane Kyle a research project, “Children’s Academic Development in Nongraded Primary Programs,” funded by the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Karen B. Miller has taught elementary school for more than 20 years in grades 1–4. She currently teaches at Roby Elementary in Bullitt County, Kentucky. For two years, she participated as a teacher-researcher on the study, “Children’s Academic Development in Nongraded Primary Programs,” funded by the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Making family visits during this time enabled her to learn more about the students in her classroom and to make connections in her instruction, often through Family Nights she planned and implemented. She has coauthored Reaching Out: A K–8 Resource for Connecting Schools and Families and presented for several years at the National Reading Conference. In addition, she has served as a teacher leader for the Kentucky Reading Project and Project READ Early Intervention, in which she has provided intensive professional development for teachers on literacy and family involvement. She also has presented at the National Reading Conference on home–school connections. Gayle H. Moore recently retired after teaching elementary school for 31 years at grades K–8, including 9 years in the nongraded primary program at LaGrange Elementary in Oldham County, Kentucky. Throughout that time, she participated as a teacher-researcher on studies related to the nongraded primary. She has coauthored Reaching Out: A K–8 Resource for Connecting Schools and Families, a chapter in Creating Nongraded Primary Classrooms: Teachers’ Stories and Lessons Learned, and articles in Language Arts and Peabody Journal of Education. She has presented at conferences of the American Educational Research Association, the International Reading Association, and the National Reading Conference. Most recently she has participated as a teacher-researcher for the study, “Children’s Academic Development in Nongraded Primary Programs,” funded by the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) at the University of California at Santa Cruz. For three years, she made family visits to the homes of her students, learning about the families’ knowledge and using it to make instructional connections. She also planned and implemented several Family Nights, one focused on mathematics. Her subsequent classroom activities are described in an article in Teaching Children Mathematics.
