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U-CAN READ: Literacy intervention in years 3 10: A

Macro/micro vision of a parent education program.

Kaye Lowe, Debbie Martens, Kelly Hannett | University of Canberra

Collaborating with parents to support the literacy success of their children could be the best
available option we have for reaching those students too often regarded as 'falling through
the gaps'. The research literature stresses we still have a long way to go in educating
parents effectively and also in addressing the needs of struggling readers in the middle years.
Cunningham and Allington, (2003) point out that most parents are unsure of how to teach
reading or help their children with literacy development. Research by Senechal (2006)
involving 1174 families highlights the positive impact of parental involvement on children's
reading acquisition. He explains that when parents were taught specific literacy skills to use
with their children, the programs were twice as effective as those where parents listened to
their children read and six times more effective than those where parents were encouraged to
read to their children. In addition, Project ROAR (Reach Out And Read) indicates that
parents are eager to help their children and when instructed in appropriate literacy activities
can positively affect the academic progress of their children (Gilliam et al, 2004).

U-CAN READ is a parent education program aimed at developing children's literacy skills by
providing parents and carers with ideas, knowledge and support. It is a unique program for
the following reasons:
1. It is a joint project of ACT Department of Employment and Training and the University
of Canberra and housed in The National Capital Centre for Literacy Research
(NCCLR).
2. It is specifically tailored to meet the needs of students in Years 3-10. With the
emphasis of most intervention programs on the early years, according to Wasik (2004)
few parent programs address the needs of children in the primary grades and beyond.
3. It provides a multi-dimensional approach to literacy intervention. Parents are
educated in ways to support their children at home as well as given one-on-one
assistance by a literacy advisor for up to twelve weeks following the seminars. Through
a series of five two-hour seminars over five weeks and one reflective session, parents
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are given knowledge and strategies to support their children at home. Parents are
empowered to be the supporters of literacy success.

The Literacy Centre operates five days a week with extended hours depending on the needs
of families. A minimum of eighty families are catered for annually. U-CAN READ is based on
current best practices in literacy interventions and research in parent education. Currently, U-
CAN READ employs a Director, two literacy advisors and an administrative assistant. The
literacy advisors are experienced literacy teachers employed by ACT Department of
Education and Training and in what follows they describe their experiences of working with
middle years students in the program.

U-CAN READ works in partnership with teachers, parents and children. In order to attend U-
CAN READ, students must be:
enrolled in Years 3 10;
experiencing reading difficulties;
enrolled in ACT schools;
referred by a principal or school counsellor.

U-CAN READ operates on a number of guiding principles. The program aims to:
1. Support parents to work collaboratively with their children and NCCLR staff for literacy
success;
2. Demonstrate and model literacy strategies that are evidence-based, self-sustaining
and supportive of life-long readers;
3. Respect and accommodate the knowledge, experience and diverse literacy
backgrounds and experiences of parents, children and families;
4. Support parents and children to build relationships that enhance successful learning;
5. Provide a quality and professional education program based on up-to-date
international research;
6. Make available quality literacy resources in an environment that is conducive to
learning;
7. Monitor students' progress using a variety of assessments.

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The following descriptions are based on the experiences of two literacy advisers Debbie
and Kelly - as they reflect on their work with the parents and students that they work with and
the strategies used to bridge the literacy gap for these middle years students.
Debbie
I have fourteen years teaching experience from kindergarten to year six. During that time I
taught a number of children who struggled with learning to read. My concern for these
children was that when compared to their peers, their future educational opportunities were
limited. I was also worried that their self-esteem and enthusiasm for learning was diminishing
as the years progressed.
When the opportunity arose to be a part of the U-CAN READ program at the University of
Canberra I jumped at it. I saw it as an opportunity to support struggling readers. It was a
way for me to research the reading process in a microcosm with children who were finding it
difficult. I wanted to know why they were struggling and how best to help them. I was also
keen to help their parents.
Students
I am the literacy advisor to a group of seven middle years children, one girl and six boys.
Parent concern, school recommendation and scoring below average at reading on school
assessments were the prime reasons for these students being referred to U-CAN READ. In
Kayla's case, her mother instigated the process of referral because Kayla had scored at least
one band below the benchmark of her NAPLAN results in Year 5 for reading, writing and
spelling. Henry's mother was concerned about D's and E's on his report. Michael scored
three bands below the average for his year level in reading. Many of the parents and children
had sought out other options including dyslexia centres, behavioural assessments by
specialists, hearing, speech and sight assessments.
When children begin the program, a number of assessments along with an observational and
attitude survey are completed. From the attitude survey, the following comments are
common: "some books are tricky for me'; ' am not very good'; 'CRAP, know its important but
who gives a cow'; ' am pretty bad'. Some children say they want to improve their reading
while others admit that they attend the Centre because of pressure from their parents to
improve.
Parents
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As the parent seminars progress, the parents become more visibly relaxed each week and
begin to share their stories of success with the group. One parent related the story of
changing the reading location at home. Rather than sitting at the kitchen bench where
reading time had always been a struggle, they moved to the floor. This change made the
whole reading experience more relaxing and enjoyable. Another parent said she realised that
her son didn't really have a "big problem with reading because he understood what he read
but he really didn't like to read out loud.
After the seminar series and before the individual assistance (IAP) program begins many
parents report visible gains in their children's reading performance and attitudes. The parents
are less stressed and anxious about the reading experience at home. The focus of U-CAN
READ is to build or restore the working relationship between children and their parents.
Through collaboration with parents and children, strategies for use at home are demonstrated
and designed to cater for the needs of each family. As literacy advisers, we do not want to be
seen as having a "quick fix to reading problems but rather as partners in children achieving
success. We are facilitators of reading and aim to empower parents with ideas, strategies,
and knowledge to support their children with reading.
Strategies
Many different strategies are used and tailored to meet the needs of each child and parent.
Parents work with their children under the guidance of the literacy advisors. Some strategies
that have proven to be extremely successful include the following:
Dialogue Journals
The students write in a dialogue journal weekly. They read these entries aloud at the
beginning of each session. I respond each week in writing. I first respond to what the child
has written, then I share my personal experience of the topic and finally sign off with a
question. My response is of similar length to that of the child. Dialogue journals support the
child's emerging reading and writing competencies. Dialogue journals serve six purposes in
U-CAN Read. They provide a way to:
1. communicate between the parent, child and literacy adviser;
2. model good writing;
3. demonstrate conventional spelling;
4. provide non-judgemental feedback;
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5. build relationships between parent, child and literacy advisor;
6. allow the child to express ideas freely and take responsibility for the topics chosen.
Each child uses the dialogue journal in a different way. John uses his dialogue journal as a
way of continuing a fantasy story. Each week he adds a character description or a piece of
the plot and I provide written feedback. Terry's dialogue journal is an exploration of his
journey as a reader. He includes strategies he has tried with reading each week and how
they have helped him.
Bridging Texts
Essential to U-CAN Read is linking the children with books they love. The emphasis is on
moving children on to read independently. A successful strategy has been the use of
bridging texts that are of high interest. A contributing factor to Robert's success as a reader
was his discovery of the Zac Power's series. Zac Power is a character who doubles as a
school boy and secret agent. Previous to reading Zac Power, Robert's primary experience
with reading was levelled readers at school. For him, those readers became an association
with failure. When he didn't move through the levels as quickly as his peers, he started to
associate the levelled readers with personal failure. He found the books boring. Once
introduced to Zac Power, he caught the "reading bug. He began to experience the love of
reading.
In the earlier sessions of the AP's, Henry chose to read easier texts. He chose books with
large writing and few words. Every week, he was introduced to quality books through the use
of paired reading. He enjoyed the humour in these books and began to read independently.
n week four, there was a shift in Henry's reading choices. He became critical of the bridging
texts he was choosing and in his reading log he rated them as not interesting. He realised
the storylines were oversimplified and less exciting. Currently, he has a wide repertoire of
authors he enjoys including Andy Griffiths and Paul Jennings.
Reading Like a Writer
Frank Smith (1988) claims that "everyone who becomes a competent writer uses authors.
they must learn to read like a writer in order to learn how to write like a writer. Competent
readers notice words with interesting spellings, a well-turned phrase and stylistic
idiosyncrasies. Reading this way does not affect comprehension but rather promotes it
because it is based on prediction (p.23).
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Kayla's reading improved quickly when she shifted her emphasis to making meaning rather
than decoding words. We discussed that spelling and writing would most likely improve now
that she was reading more. On the car trip home, her mother said she questioned whether
this could be true. The next week, she was asked to read like a writer by being more aware
of what she was reading, taking note of the author's style, interesting words and spellings.
Kayla took on the challenge and began writing words she noticed in her reading in the back of
her dialogue journal. These words had spelling patterns she had previously found difficult.
She found a purpose for reading like a writer and used this for improving her writing and
spelling.
Using Writing to Build Reading Success
U-CAN READ aims to build on a child's strengths and interests as the beginning point into the
world of books and reading. Whether it is art, history, poetry, music, humour,
aeroplanes.our resources support the child's interests. Mark, a Year 8 student was
reluctant to start the program and his first dialogue journal entry accentuates his fear:
" was terrified at coming to uni to get tutored. But it was good to get a day off school
and meet new people. The one way glass was pretty cool and it was amazing how
many books there were and you were not scary as I presume all teachers are and you
were all smiles.
According to Mark, he was a good writer but his poor reading and spelling held him back.
The Centre arranged for a visiting author to meet with the children and Mark attended and
presented three of his stories. In her written feedback, the visiting author described his
stories as being well structured and with great action scenes. She recognised his ability to
empathise with his characters. Mark gained confidence through his writing and realised that
reading served a real purpose to improve his writing.
Coping Strategies
Most children arrive at the Centre with well-developed coping strategies, that is, ways of
avoiding reading. These range from giving up, looking to their parents for assistance, or
refusing to read. Thomas was no exception even though his strategy was unusual. We would
read together and when it was his turn, he would fall about laughing at each funny section of
text. It would sometimes take several minutes for Thomas to compose himself and continue
reading. The avoidance behaviour dissipated as Thomas started to read for enjoyment. As
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his confidence grew and he chose books he wanted to read, his avoidance behaviour
diminished.
Conclusion
Michael epitomises the U-CAN READ journey. According to school records and initial testing
at the Centre, Michael read well below his age group. The first time Michael read with his
mother in the IAP, he was upset and agitated. His mother was also visibly distraught.
Michael pleaded with his mum to help him with unfamiliar words. At home, the only strategy
his parents knew to use was to be the 'instant word factory' and state the word. Throughout
the course, parents are given strategies and prompts such as reading on, rereading, missing
the word, substituting a word familiar in meaning, or guessing on the basis of meaning.
Michael was finding this very unfair as he relied on his mother to tell him difficult words.
During the IAPs and at home Michael was supported to read for meaning. Book orientations,
paired reading, echo reading were just some of the strategies introduced to Michael and his
mother. Michael and his mother worked together to use prompting strategies and by week 6,
Michael's reading had improved to the extent that without assistance he confidently read the
"Magic Finger by Roald Dahl. When asked whether he thought six weeks ago that he would
be able to pick up and read a book like this, he replied "No way'.
Kelly
I have had seven years of classroom teaching experience, five in the ACT and two in the U.K.
I have experienced teaching children who dislike learning literacy, particularly reading and as
a result perform unsatisfactorily in classroom assessments and in national tests such as
NAPLAN and SATs.
I applied for this position with U-CAN READ as a way to gather more information about what I
could do for children who had difficulty in literacy and to closely examine why they were
failing. As a child I loved reading. I was the one with the flash light after lights out and I want
all children to share this passion.
Students
The group of middle year students consisted of four boys and one girl. In the first few IAP
sessions, the children lacked confidence. They were frustrated and embarrassed by their
poor literacy skills but were eager to learn. When one child was asked the question "What do
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you think of yourself as a reader?, she answered 'Really bad. Another child was asked
"How do you cope when you have to read and write? he responded: ' don't like to do it'. n
the first few weeks, the children were uncomfortable reading out loud and in some cases,
read quietly, barely able to be heard.
The children were referred by teachers, schools counsellors and principals. On the Neale
Analysis Reading Tests they scored from below average to very low in reading rate, reading
accuracy and comprehension. The children were reading on average at two years below
their chronological age. The children received learning assistance at school, some being
withdrawn from their classrooms and others receiving assistance in the classroom.
Strategies
Prompting
Initially, the children lacked comprehension skills when reading mainly due to the stop-start
nature of their reading. When trying to read a word that was unfamiliar or difficult, the children
fixated and often refused to move beyond the word. After the parent seminar, parents gave
prompts such as 'read on' or 'go back and re-read'. At times, a piece of paper was placed
over the problem word to encourage the child to read on in order to avoid fixating. Many
times, children experienced an enlightening moment at the end of the sentence, page or a
few pages on when they were able to work out the word independently.
Over three or four weeks, an improvement in the children's reading for meaning became
obvious and their focus shifted to reading for meaning and the question frequently asked of
themselves was "Does that make sense?
Book Orientation: Supporting Children for Success
Parents in the program are encouraged to support their children throughout the reading
process and shift the emphasis from reading being seen as a test. One of the strategies
used is to provide a book orientation. Together, parents and children look through a book
prior to reading, talk about the pictures, the author & illustrator, the blurb, content and
challenging words. This ensures that the child does not struggle with unfamiliar words at the
crucial time of building their confidence and fluency. After a few weeks of book orientation
and experiencing success, the children's confidence improves. Some children take control of
this strategy and prior to reading look through the book pointing out pictures and difficult
words.
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Giving Children Responsibility: Book Choice and Paired Reading
A critical element of U-CAN READ is giving children choices around their reading material. In
order for this to happen, the centre makes available a high number of quality texts including
picture books, early chapter books, chapter books, books for older readers, magazines,
comics and websites.
In the first few weeks, the children seemed amazed at the freedom they had to choose from
the shelves. They borrowed between 1-3 books each week. In the few weeks that followed,
they began to take home 3 books minimum per session. The children demonstrated an
eagerness and excitement to borrow each week. Some children insisted on lists of books
being written for future reading. The children and parents also began to source reading
material from their local libraries and bookshops. Once the children had ignited their passion
for reading a book or series of books, they became confident and excited when reading here
at the centre and at home. Some children took their favourite books home to read to younger
siblings which was evidence of their changing perceptions of themselves as readers.
Often children found a connection with a book or series that they enjoyed reading with their
parents. One child loved reading Dr Seuss because her father had read them all when he
was younger and had kept all of his old copies. Reading familiar texts such as fairy tales
enabled another child from the middle years to become an independent reader. He enjoyed
reading improvisations such as The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Ron Sciezka and
Prince Cinders by Babette Cole. He loved the quirkiness of the story being read from a
different characters perspective and in the case of Prince Cinders, he loved the more modern
view of the familiar story, Cinderella.
When children located a book or series with which they connected, it was often difficult for
them to stop reading. For others, a pattern of reading independently at home every second
night was established. On alternate nights, parents and children would participate in paired
reading as a means of accessing more challenging texts.
Paired reading serves a number of purposes:
1. Through the sharing of a book, the child/parent relationship seems to strengthen and
without stress, they genuinely enjoy the experience.
2. Through paired reading, the parent is able to model reading. The child hears fluent reading
and adopts these strategies when it is his or her turn to read.
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3. Paired reading allows the child to maintain meaning and fluency.
Paired reading can be introduced in a number of ways taking turns to read sentence by
sentence, paragraph by paragraph or page by page.
To further include the whole family in a shared reading experience, many children from the
middle years chose to take home multiple copies of texts. There was one book for each
family member, even if the child who attended the centre had a much younger sibling. One
parent commented "We now sit around the table and read together as a family.
Humour is also is a vital part of reading for some children. It often gives the child purpose for
reading and makes it fun when reading may have been a tedious and boring activity in the
past. The Dairy of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney was a book choice made by Paul, and after
using paired reading with his father, he read the book at home during the week. He raved
about it and recalled the funniest parts. His father stated that he had gone out to buy the next
book in the series and by the end of the week Paul had read all four of the books
independently. The book was a turning point for this child.
Paul 'caught the reading bug' and told me that his parents bought him a torch. With his
parent in earshot, he described how he now uses it to read in bed before lights out. Later in
the session when the parent walked outside, Paul returned to our working space and
informed me secretly that he often hides the torch to read after lights out. He then put his
finger to his lips and said "Sshhh. almost cried with joy. strongly believe that we need to
give children back the responsibility for choosing their own books. Using strategies such as
paired reading, guided reading and echo reading can enable children to access books that
may be too hard for them to read independently. Once children find the "right book, it is hard
for them to put it down.
Conclusion
Effective literacy programs for parents inform them of how children learn to read and write;
parents become informed participants in their children's learning. n addition to educating
parents, an effective program provides a range of researched strategies to implement at
home. Prior to undertaking a parent program, parent's avenues for providing assistance can
limited. They are often left to draw on their memories of schooling and what they recall of
their own literacy experiences. Their strategies revolve around sounding words out or telling
the child what the word is. Frustration, anxiety and fear are present in many homes when the
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child's aggravations and the parents' angst collide around a book. Providing a repertoire of
strategies and an understanding of why they are important is empowering to the parent and
beneficial to struggling readers. It is the logical solution to an enduring problem of middle
years children struggling to understand why they have been forgotten in the quest to achieve
literacy.
References
Cunningham, P.M., & Allington, R.L. (2003). Classrooms that work: They can all read and
write. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Gilliam, B., Gerla, J.P., & Wright, G. (2004). Providing Minority Parents with Relevant Literacy
Activities For Their Children. Reading Improvement, 419(4), 226-234.
Senechal, M., & National Institute for Literacy. (2006). The effect of family literacy
interventions on children's acquisition of reading: From kindergarten to Grade 3. A meta-
analytic review. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: RMC Research Corporation
Smith, F. (1988). Joining the Literacy Club: Further Essays into Education. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann Educational Books Inc.