What children learn and experience during their first year of elementary school has been shown to predict their future academic success.
At the same time, a child who is being formally introduced to writing already has a wealth of everyday experience within his or her family and community that can be used to support formal learning.
This report presents a study conducted with schools, community stakeholders and families.
This report presents a study conducted with schools, community stakeholders and families with the goal of developing consistent practices to support the learning of writing skills in Grade 1 students in underprivileged communities.
Using a research-action approach, the research team coordinated collaborations between teachers and community stakeholders in order to create a support system (including group discussions, topics for discussion, problem-solving options, activity formats and objectives, supportive activities and materials) to enhance the ability of parents to help their children learn to write.
119 parents of 145 students took part in meaningful writing activities in their child’s classroom. Teachers and community workers led the activities and observed the progress of the parents’ ability to guide their child in applying the writing strategies learned in the classroom.
Main researcher
Guadalupe Puentes-Neuman, Université de Sherbrooke
Deposit of the research report: April 2015