UW-Whitewater helps grow Jefferson County Literacy Council’s 'Rooted in Reading' program
March 8, 2010
Incorporating reading at home can be difficult for parents whose first language is not English. The Jefferson County Literacy Council and the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater have teamed up to foster reading at home.
The partnership, which began in 2008, has been successful and recently helped the Jefferson County Literacy Council receive the Wisconsin Cares About Kids Award for its "Rooted in Reading" program. "Rooted in Reading" works with families with three- to five-year-olds to develop literacy skills and create literacy-rich home environments.
Giuliana Miolo of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department and Jodi Parys, an assistant professor of Spanish, decided to expand and improve the Council's "Rooted In Reading" program in fall 2008. Miolo, Parys and approximately 45 UW- Whitewater students share their time, skills and desire to help grow the program.
Jill Ottow, executive director of Jefferson County Literacy Council, said that the program could not have achieved such an award or success without UW- Whitewater's involvement.
The "Rooted in Reading" program faced problems with inconsistency in volunteers and a lack of expertise when it was piloted in 2006. With UW- Whitewater's consistent help and specialized skills, "Rooted in Reading" has become an effective program.
Miolo's graduate students create packets of material that correspond to a particular children's book and participate in "Family Literacy Night," which helps parents learn effective ways to communicate with their children.
"Family literacy nights give us hands-on experience with children and adults and are also a lot of fun," said Ashley Smith, a first-year graduate student in speech pathology.
Miolo's students create questions, a list of vocabulary and rhyming words, as well as other activities to go with the books. Parys' undergraduate students practice their bilingual skills by translating the material from English to Spanish.
For those parents who cannot read English, bilingual recordings of the books are made available for parents to take home.
"Encouraging family reading, regardless of personal or social setbacks, is our goal," said Miolo.
"Creating valuable resources for parents and children to connect with while reading forced us to think outside the bubble and challenged us to think about how we looked at words," said Smith. "For example, creating rhyming words in English does not necessarily mean that they will rhyme in Spanish. We had to work collaboratively with the translators to tailor the words to fit both the English and Spanish language."
"It's a win-win for everyone involved," said Miolo.
Students get valuable experience beyond the classroom and expand their intercultural knowledge. They can also practice creative and critical thinking, develop effective communication skills by working collaboratively and have an opportunity to increase their sense of individual and social responsibility.
"Knowing that our hard work has paid off, that we have made a difference, is very rewarding," said Smith.