Family Literacy Month: Creative Ways to Involve Families in Student Learning

November is National Family Literacy Month—a perfect time for teachers and families to come together to support student learning! We reached out to our Fundations® community to find out how they engage families, and they delivered some fantastic ideas. Here are a few creative ways to help families feel connected to their children’s literacy journey.

Family Engagement Nights: Bringing Literacy to Life

I work at an urban, diverse Title 1 school, where we are always looking for ways to effectively engage with families. We love having Family Engagement Nights. One of our favorites is Eric Carle Night, where families work – and eat! – their way around the classroom, completing themed activities and enjoying snacks inspired by “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” 

We also engage families daily through the use of communication apps and take-home folders.  We share our Fundations family letters, videos with tapping and handwriting examples, and grade-level goals, so parents know what their children are working on, can see their progress, and practice Fundations at home. Our families know the Fundations Letter-Keyword-Sound prompts just like our kids do!  Engaging families is fun, impactful, and so necessary for building a strong school community.
(Tricia D., Kindergarten Teacher, PA)

Book Character Dress-Up and Read-a-Thon Extravaganza

Our school celebrated Literacy Month with a series of family-centered activities:

• Book Character Dress-Up Day – We kicked off Literacy Month with a dress-up day where students and their families dressed as their favorite book characters.
• Coffee and Conversations With the Principal – Parents and family members were invited to join us for a Fundations orientation, followed by interactive activities like a “digraph scavenger hunt” and “tap to read or spell.”
• Family “Create Your Own Book” Night – Families came together to write and illustrate their own books, which were then shared and added to the class library.
• Read-a-thon – Throughout the month, families were encouraged to set reading goals, track their reading hours or the number of books read, and celebrate milestones along the way. The class with the most reading achievements was rewarded with a pizza party!
  (Lena K., Wilson Literacy Advisor, MS) 

Invite Families to Experience Fundations in Action

One way we engage families in their child’s learning is by inviting them to school during American Education Week to observe their child’s Fundations lesson. This opportunity allows us to showcase our daily routines and activities. Parents have expressed how valuable this experience is, as it helps them better support their children with the home support packet. On this day, we’re not only teaching students but also coaching families!
(Tara B., 2nd Grade Teacher, PA) 

Themed Literacy Nights With Book Giveaways

We hosted literacy nights based around themes such as “Punch, Popcorn, and Poetry,” “Reading Under the Stars,” and “Winter Wonderland With Books.” We always partnered with local agencies to help us secure donated books to give away, adding to the excitement for families.
(Misty C., Wilson Literacy Advisor, AZ)

Fundations Fashion Show and Echo Teaching at Home

I’m passionate about phonics and wanted to make a strong connection between home and school learning. We had a Fundations fashion show where parents dressed up as sound cards, glued sounds, and we shared photos on Dojo. It was a huge hit, and we’re planning to do a school parade this year. 

Another activity was having students create their own version of Echo or Baby Echo and teach their parents at home, which increased engagement and made learning more fun. Parents were proud of their children and appreciated seeing how happy and engaged they were in class. It helped them understand what their children were learning and created a positive connection between home and school. That’s the type of learning environment I want to create in my classroom. 
(Ciara H., 1st Grade Teacher, FL) 

Trip Around the World: Family Literacy Through Culture

One of my favorite literacy events was “A Trip Around the World: Celebrating Diversity through Literacy, Art, Music, and Food.” Families shared food, stories, books, poetry, music, and art from various countries and cultures. Everyone received a passport with stamps from each country they visited. 

Other ideas that have been successful:

• Family Reading Challenges – Families log the number of books they read together, or minutes spent reading, and we give out certificates and prizes to celebrate achievements.
• Take-Home Literacy Kits – Create take-home bags with books, games, and a journal that rotate through the classroom.  After families read the book and play the game, they can document their experience in a journal through writing or pictures, which the student then shares with the class. This creates excitement around reading and promotes community building.
• Guest Readers – Invite parents and caregivers to sign up to read to the class throughout the year.
• Virtual Read-Alouds – During the pandemic, we recorded read-aloud sessions with teachers, students, and authors as guest readers for families to watch at home. (Especially fun when the readers dressed up as the main characters!)
  (Heather C., Wilson Literacy Advisor, AZ)

Literacy Cheat Sheets and Family Literacy Nights

We provide a reference “cheat” sheet for parents to use at home that explains markups and other terms to help them understand Structured Literacy. We also host Literacy Nights, where families come to learn about Fundations—and even our social-emotional support dog joins in! These are well-loved events that bring our community together.
(Ashley D., Literacy Mentor, OH) 

Morning Make-and-Take Sessions

In my former district, we hosted Level-specific Fundations Make-and-Take Sessions. Caregivers and students engaged in hands-on Fundations activities they could take home for additional practice. These were held for 30 minutes during morning drop-off and were always a hit!
(Siobhan D., Wilson Sr. Director of Customer Experience, MA) 

Weekly Family Updates to Support Learning at Home

Each week, I put our current skills and trick words into our email newsletter, as well as a link to the Home Support Pack! I tell families that their “homework” is to review the Home Support Pack and any Fundations work or Unit tests that come home in their weekly communication folder. This helps families better understand what their child is working on at school, and keeps them up to date with exactly how their child is doing!
(Hillary S., 2nd Grade Teacher, GA) 

Catch the Reading Bug: A Family Literacy Festival

Our county hosts a “Catch the Reading Bug” event where agencies sponsor tables with themes based on books. Families visit each table to learn about the book and participate in a Make-and-Take Activity. It’s a fun way for families to get involved!
(Kristi H., Wilson Literacy Specialist, NC)

Read Alouds Celebrating Family Diversity

We promoted a Read-Aloud-a-Day focused on different kinds of families. We shared a potential booklist and encouraged families to read aloud and discuss each story together, creating a beautiful way to celebrate diversity and family bonds.
(Jermal R., Wilson Literacy Advisor, GA) 

National Family Literacy Month is a fantastic time to celebrate the many ways families can support literacy at home. Consider trying one (or more) of these ideas in your classroom to help students and families connect, read, and learn together!