One of the challenges that ESL Teachers and English Learners face today is that students may not have the resources to have books at home, or parents may not fully understand the importance of having books in the home, or even how to read with their children.

Research about Second Language Acquisition Theory demonstrates the importance of fostering home language, for strong first language skills, in order to transfer successfully into the second language. According to Dr. Stephen Krashen, an expert in Second Language Acquisition Theory “Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language – natural communication – in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding.”

Bilingual books will meet Latino parents and students wherever they are on the spectrum of reading and learning English skills. Consider the parents who want to be involved with their children, but who make lack English skills to read children’s books in English, or parents who may not have the history of being read to themselves as children, they can read the book in Spanish to the best of their ability, with the opportunity to fully express themselves in their first language, before they attempt to learn the second language.

In our K-12 school system today, many children are learning English much faster than their parents, leaving parents left out of the process of reading if the book is entirely in English.

The beauty of collecting bilingual books to create a lending library for EL students and their parents, is that parents can read with their kids and it will help to reinforce the students connection to literature and the home-school connection, while supporting opportunities for language and vocabulary development. A book in just English does not allow the parents to fully read to their children and be engaged. Additionally, if the book is just in Spanish language, it doesn’t afford the parent or the student to learn or enhance their English skills.

“The best methods are therefore those that supply ‘comprehensible input’ in low anxiety situations, containing messages that students really want to hear. These methods do not force early production in the second language, but allow students to produce when they are ‘ready’, recognizing that improvement comes from supplying communicative and comprehensible input, and not from forcing and correcting production.” Stephen Krashen

Books that are specifically culturally familiar and meaningful are particularly needed in the Latino community and will help to foster more language opportunities and discussion about the book, which leads to better comprehension in reading.

It also provides schools with an opportunity for teachers to communicate with parents and share reading materials with them to show support.

Bilingual Books for El Students, by way of parent programs. Bilingual books and curriculum for parent engagement make it possible for teachers and school communities to invite parents and students to choose books to check out, and read together at home.

The post Bilingual Books Can Help Teachers and English Learners appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

Before kids reach kindergarten age, children’s minds rapidly develop like no other time in human life. One way to bring learning to the forefront of how we support children as a society is to start, fund, and support programs that boost children’s literacy, including those that empower parents and families through giving them books.

In the NYT article, “Helping Children Thrive,” the Harlem Children’s Zone Baby College and Harlem Gems programs are given as exemplary examples of early education programs. These programs have a four-to-one student teacher ratio and teach pre-literacy, French, and social skills. High quality preschool programs help underprivileged children to make up for some of the resources they are lacking, and another example of a literacy program supporting young children is called “Reach Out and Read.”

Through this non-profit program, doctors and nurses give out books to families during young children’s check-ups and remind them of the importance of reading to children. Children receive new books at each check-up, and the Reach Out and Read site shares that, “many Reach Out and Read program sites create literacy-rich environments that include gently-used books for waiting room use and/or volunteer readers to model for parents the techniques of reading aloud to young children.” Many parents may not be able to afford new books for their kids, and those who might not traditionally read to their children at home can benefit from another adult modelling the read aloud process for them.

Reach Out and Read serves 4.5 million children in all 50 states of the U.S. Their research shows that the preschoolers they work with score three to six months ahead of peers on vocabulary tests. This program is important because it directly recognizes children’s literacy as important to their growth and development, and it is powerful because it can reach so many children through doctor’s visits. By linking reading with physical health, the program honors reading as the crucial element to children’s well-being that research has shown it to be.

Lectura Books provides award-winning bilingual books that are a great tool for English Learner students and their parents. The multicultural stories of each book help to engage the parents of ELL students. This encourages more reading and speaking of English at home. Visit their website to see some of their most popular book titles.

The Latino Family Literacy Project are experts in working with Spanish speaking parents and can train your staff to work specifically with Spanish-speaking parents at your school. Attendees can participate via online webinar training and will learn a culturally competent and research-based program to deliver to parents either online or in person at school.

The post Helping Young Children by Reaching Out to Parents with Books appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

Univision Contigo – Clave al Exito – “Key to Success” is media company Univision’s educational online resource designed to help Spanish-speaking parents get involved in their child’s education. The platform serves an access point for helping parents communicate with educators and learn how to help their children read and excel with their studies.

Be a Learning Hero – Another valuable source for vital information and tips for parents on how to stay up to date with all of the growing changes happening in the education system in the United States. With so many new shifts in the current paradigm, it can be tough to navigate so many developments and this website is dedicated to helping parents stay on top of every new change to become more effectively involved in schooling.

The ENLACE Initiative – A program under management by the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), the ENLACE initiative was created with the sole purpose of helping Hispanic families find the resources they need in order for children to complete high school and pursue college. It serves students in grades K-12 as well as students enrolled in college and universities both public and private.

Lectura Books – Publishes bilingual books to meet the language needs of Spanish speaking parents and their children.

Family Phonics – A program to use with parents who need to learn basic phonics and phonemic awareness, so that they can help their children with English phonics.

Family Stories Curriculum – published by The Latino Family Literacy Project. Requires staff development for effective implementation of a Parent Involvement and family reading program.

The post Parental Engagement Resources for Hispanic Parents appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

There is little debate that a parent’s engagement in a child’s learning is highly beneficial. A number of studies have shown the extent of the positive impacts that healthy parental involvement can provide with marked improvements in attendance, behavioral patterns, and social skills, as well as better grades and test scores, resulting in higher graduation rates. But distinguishing the type of relationship that provides the most benefit can be a bit more difficult to fully ascertain, as the term “parental involvement” can have many different meanings and applications for a student’s progress. For most parents, attending parent/teacher meetings is the most common method of demonstrating some form of involvement in their child’s learning, but there must be a nurturing alliance between parents and educators as both parties work in concert for the positive outcomes of the child. This can be found in a number of collaborative strategies that include volunteering, routine avenues of communication, and a shared effort for decision-making so that all stakeholders have equal input in school policy and educational content. This helps to foster stronger bonds with the child at both school and home between all concerned parties to help improve learning. Teachers work with students during the day to impart curriculum and parents continue the successful achievement of students by taking an interest in their studies, assisting them with homework and ensuring that all such work is finished and ready for the next day’s classes.

Lectura Books offers award-winning bilingual books that are a great tool for English Language Learners. The books are written in both English and Spanish and focus on important vocabulary. This will help ELL students succeed with language acquisition no matter what grade level.

If you liked this blog post, check out our Facebook and Twitter page to stay updated. We frequently post relevant information related to ELLs.

The post Parental Involvement and the Impact on School Success appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

Each district’s LCAP sets a clear and determined vision for student achievement by establishing goals and a course of action for meeting the standards set within those goals on an annual basis. These outcomes are formulated as per the strict guidelines laid out in eight priority areas developed by the California Board of Education.

Every LCAP reflects the importance of stakeholder engagement by making it the first concern of each school district’s action protocol. By placing such importance on the role of parents in the academic development of the child, the LCFF and LCAP is laying the groundwork with family stakeholders to foster a meaningful and sophisticated learning community that encourages students to excel by working to understand and respond to their educational needs. The LCAP encompasses an extensive engagement process that puts the students first and welcomes input from parents to assist in the development of annual plans for maximum efficacy and positive, goal-oriented outcomes. Parents who are fully invested in their children’s futures play an essential part in the implementation of academic standards and driving positive educational outcomes for students with respect to English proficiency, test scores, and preparation for college by becoming more present and active in the learning community.

Districts can seek to encourage effective school-family communications by adopting a parent center at a majority of schools within the district, engaging in parent surveys, and offering workshops for staff to help parents become more involved in supporting their students’ achievements.

Lectura Books publishes quality bilingual books that are perfect for building diverse libraries at parent centers and school classrooms. Teachers benefit greatly from attending a workshop to better understand the Latino immigrant population and our curriculum with concrete lesson plans for a proven, successful Parent Involvement Program.

The post California’s New Funding Law: The Latest Information for LCAP and Family Engagement appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

The program was more ongoing and gave the parents a lot of feedback on how to help their children.

Now that Parent Involvement is such a strong national focus, it is important to provide teachers with a whole new framework for Hispanic Parent Programs, if we want parents and kids to become life long readers.

Harris County Department of Education formed the Cooperative for After-School Enrichment, or CASE, in 1999 to mobilize the community to work together to ensure that every child in Harris County has access to an after-school program.

CASE develops and implements a variety of programs to serve students, families, schools and communities:

• 21st Century Community Learning Centers
• Partnership Project
• After-School Initiative
• CASE AmeriCorps
• ENRICH After-School

This testimonial video was filmed at Westwood Elementary school to demonstrate that Spanish-speaking parents benefit greatly from participating in The Latino Family Literacy Project at their child’s school site.

Harris County Office of Education, with CASE and 21st Century programs collaborated to provide Parent Involvement Programs at Spring Branch.

Parents may not have strong reading skills in their own background, but once they are taught the importance of reading, along with strategies for sharing books, and are provided with books that they love, parents are so excited to read with their children. A big part of our program outcomes is that parents are provided life-changing skills and training for becoming life long readers. That’s why bilingual books are so important in our literacy programs, because it’s one way to help Spanish speaking parents read with their children, while developing English together as a family.

Teachers who come to our workshops learn the difference between hosting a one-time workshop at their school for parents, versus an ongoing approach to family reading and literacy development. Another big reason for attending a workshop is to understand the parents in a whole new way. Teachers leave our workshops with a new framework for family reading with bilingual families.

The post A New Framework for Hispanic Parent Programs appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

Culture, in its broadest sense, is “the way of life” for a group of people, comprised of beliefs, values, symbols, attitudes, language, experiences, and religion. It can greatly shape a person’s sense of identity, how they fit into society, and characterize their behavior and personality. In a classroom setting, where students come from many different backgrounds, cultures can collide. In such an instance, it is especially important for educators to recognize these differences and how to assess the challenges that come with it. Being culturally competent and practicing culturally responsive methods can help educators to better listen, understand, and communicate effectively with their students, leading to an overall enriching and nourishing educational environment.

To read more about cultural competence, visit our blog, or plan on attending a workshop to understand in more detail why bilingual parent programs are beneficial to both parents and children as Hispanic parents move through the acculturation process of learning to live in a new culture, with family changes and new language development.

The Latino Family Literacy Project are experts at providing bilingual and meaningful parent involvement programs so that parents learn a new role for working with academics with their children.

The post What is Cultural Competence in the Classroom? appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

There are many ways for parents to be involved with kids in Preschool and Elementary grades, but what about when kids are in middle school and high school at the very time in their lives when their developmental age is naturally pushing their parents away?

In the middle and high school years, students may be seeking more autonomy from their parents, which makes the home school connection even more challenging for parents. That is why schools need to consider a structured way for parents to come to campus with their middle or high school student and be involved in encouraging their teen’s next steps. It’s just as crucial to be involved at this stage as being involved in their younger years with reading and homework.

And, if the teen years aren’t already challenging enough to stay close and connected, many Hispanic parents face a language barrier with teens who have been schooled in English, but the parents may not have the same English language skill set. Often parents are left feeling like they cannot help or even sometimes communicate with their teenaged children.

For these important reasons, Lectura Books publishes books and curriculum in Spanish and English so that the needs of the family are met. One of the main tools for this is the College Awareness Program, which uses a dynamic 10-chapter book to help parents and students learn about how to get to college.

The book is told through one family’s journey and how they worked out their challenges, discussed their old belief system, and financial concerns about college. The book is culturally relevant to a Latino family’s experiences as well as equally relevant to all families who wonder about how to support and encourage their teen with their dreams, which may be radically different than their own parents’ journeys, particularly if the parents did not go to college.

This is an age-appropriate novela style book that is enjoyed at the heart level and is far from the average cut-and-dried informational book.

Parents discover that they are their teens’ biggest supporters and they also learn how to maximize their help, because it really matters!

The program includes an engaging chapter book (in both English and Spanish) with illustrations and an interactive parent- student journal that introduces key educational terms. A step-by-step Teacher’s Guide with English As A Second Language curriculum is also included. Teachers can register online for a program training workshop or an online webinar.

The Latino Family Literacy Project can train school staff to provide a parent and student family engagement program using a 6-week curriculum, a culturally relevant chapter book, a premade PowerPoint, and parent/student handouts.

The post Middle / High Parent Involvement for College Awareness appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

California law states, “the government and the public schools of California have a moral obligation and a constitutional duty to provide all of California’s children, regardless of their ethnicity or national origins, with the skills necessary to become productive members of our society, and of these skills, literacy in the English language is among the most important”. By this statement, California dedicates its efforts to making sure that all students become English language proficient; this includes English learners and non-English learners alike. However, with English the chosen language of instruction, limited English proficient students miss out on the same opportunity of academic success as non-English learners.

According to the California Department of Education, monolingual English-speaking students enter school with speaking vocabularies between 2,000 to 8,000 words, vastly different from the vocabularies of entering English learners. Moreover, there are about 1.4 million English learners in California, constituting about 22.7% of total enrollment in California public schools. So how does California help their English learner population?

Many states and districts form committees with experts to help create guidelines to support their states’ teachers and staff who work with English Learners. The California Department of Education, for example, provides assistance to local schools and districts in helping English Learners achieve the following goals:

• Ensure that English learners acquire full proficiency in English as rapidly and effectively as possible and attain parity with native speakers of English.
• Ensure that English learners, within a reasonable period of time, achieve the same rigorous grade-level academic standards that are expected of all students.

In addition, the California State Board of Education has created a California English Language Development Standards Implementation Plan that provides a very thorough plan-of-action for helping English learners achieve school success. The plan “describes the rationale and strategies for the successful integration of the CA ELD Standards, which align to the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy, to address the English language and literacy skills that English learners need in key content areas”. For additional information on CA ELD Standards and resources for teaching California’s English learners, visit the California Department of Education webpage here.

Getting Parents Involved

A portion of a good district plan includes working with English learners by providing English support and resources for parents. In fact, the California Education Code allows funding for schools “to provide adult English language instruction programs to parents who pledge to provide personal English language tutoring to California school children with limited English proficiency”. Essentially, the provision facilitates increasing parent involvement and developing English language vocabulary skills for English learners –both of which are keys to school success and goals of The Latino Family Literacy Project.

As of yet, parent involvement doesn’t have a lot of structure and standards. However, if a district coordinates its efforts to have all schools provide the same program for strong outcomes in parent involvement with English learners, they can reach their goals in graduating students with the language needed for academic success. The Latino Family Literacy Project is an example of an program designed for  English learners whose native language is Spanish. Moreover, our program also provides expert training to educators so they are equipped to help not only their students learn academic language, but also provide parents with effective strategies that will allow them to support their children as they learn academic language. For more information on our programs, visit our web page.

The post Getting Parents of English Learners Involved in California Public Schools appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

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2019 Purple Dragonfly Book Award

Tom Max in the Wild West | Tom Max en el viejo oeste
Cultural Diversity AND Best Children’s Book 6+ – Honorable Mention

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2019 Pinnacle Award

Tom Max in the Wild West | Tom Max en el viejo oeste
Best Bilingual Children’s Book

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2019 Independent Publishers Book Awards

Tom Max in the Wild West – Bronze Medal
Best Multicultural Non-Fiction Book – Children’s

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2017 Moonbeam Bronze Award

My Super Cool Friends
Reading and Literacy Skills

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2017 New Mexico / Arizona Book Awards

Where Love Begins
Finalist – Children’s Picture Book Bilingual, Finalist – Biography for New Mexico Subject

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2017 Purple Dragonfly Book Award

The Art of Memory / El arte de recorder
Cultural Diversity – Honorable Mention

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2017 International Latino Book Awards

The Art of Memory / El arte de recorder
Best Latino Influenced Children’s Picture Book

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2017 Skipping Stones Honor Book

The Art of Memory

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2017 Purple Dragonfly Book Award

Where Love Begins / Donde comienza el amor
Poetry – 2nd Place

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2017 International Latino Book Awards

Where Love Begins / Donde comienza el amor
Honorable Mention – Best Educational Children’s Picture Book

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2017 Purple Dragonfly Book Award

My Super Cool Friends
Picture Books 5 & Younger – Honorable Mention

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USA Book Awards – Finalist

The Art of Memory

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2017 Pinnacle Award

My Super Cool Friends / Mis amigos super fabulosos
Best Children’s Book

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2017 Honor Book for Paterson Prize for Book Young People – The Poetry Center

Where Love Begins
Poetry Honor Book – Children’s Bilingual

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2017 Pinnacle Award

The Art of Memory / El arte de recordar
Best Children’s Art Book

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2016 NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Award

Baby Talk Bilingual Board Books
Best Book – Children’s Bilingual

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2015 International Latino Book Awards – Honorable Mention

Boy Zorro and The Bully
Best Nonfiction Children’s Picture Book – English

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2014 – Indie Fab Book Awards – Finalist – Indie Fab Book Awards

Boy Zorro and The Bully
2014 Best Children’s Book
Children’s Picture Book / Early Reader, Elementary

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2014-2015 Tejas Star Reading List

The Many Faces of Max – 2014-2015 Reading List
Children’s Picture Book / Preschool Level

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2014-2015 Tejas Star Reading List

Letters Forever Bilingual Book – 2014-2015 Reading List
Children’s Picture Book / Elementary Level

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2014 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award

Boy Zorro and The Bully – Gold Medal
Children’s Picture Book / Spanish Language

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2014 – USA Book Awards

The Oldest House in the USA – 2014 – USA Book Award – Finalist
Children’s Picture Book, Non-Fiction Category / Elementary

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2013 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award

I See the World – Gold Medal
Reading Skills/ Literacy

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2013 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award

Letters Forever – Bronze Medal
Spanish Language

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2012 International Latino Book Awards

The Oldest House in the USA
Best Educational Children’s Book- Bilingual

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2012 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award

I See the World – Silver Medal
Reading Skills/ Literacy

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22010 Moonbeam Awards

Teo Goes to the Circus – Silver Medal
Best Spanish Language Book

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2010 International Latino Book Awards

Fun with ABC’s – Loteria Style
Best Educational Book

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2010 Pinnacle Award

The Shark That Taught Me English/
El tiburón que me enseñó inglés – Best Children’s Book

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2009 Moonbeam Awards

Colors All Around – Gold Medal
Best Preschool Book

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2009 Moonbeam Awards
Fun with ABC’s – Loteria Style – Gold Medal
Best Alphabet/Counting Book

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Flores Family Café – Bronze Medal
Best Spanish Language Book

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2008 International Latino Book Awards

Vines of the Earth – Honorable Mention
Best Children’s Picture Book – Bilingual

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2008 Moonbeam Awards

The Shark That Taught Me English/
El tiburón que me enseñó inglés – Gold Medal

Carlito’s Story / La historia de Carlito – Bronze Medal

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2008 Independent Publishers Book Awards

Graciela’s Dream/El Sueno de Graciela – Bronze Medal
Best Multicultural Fiction Book – Chidlren’s

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2007 International Latino Book Awards

Graciela’s Dream/El Sueno de Graciela – Second Place
Best Young Adult Fiction – Bilingual

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2007 International Latino Book Awards

Teo and the Brick/Teo Y El Ladrillo – Honorable Mention
Best Educational Children’s Book – Bilingual

The post Award-Winning Bilingual Books & Parent Programs with English Learners appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.