Home literacy activities have already been associated with higher test scores. However, new research from the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ’s College of Education shows these activities also provide students with tools for lifetime success, specifically the development of key long-term study and executive function skills.
The study speaks to the need for a collaborative effort between parents and teachers. This collaboration can include teachers asking parents about how they support their child’s learning at home, as well as different ways to engage a child in writing at home.
“If you make sure your child is academically engaged at home through third grade, kids go on autopilot — they know how to ‘do’ school after that,â€� said Nicole Alston-Abel ’09, a Federal Way Public Schools psychologist who conducted the study while pursuing her doctorate in school psychology at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ.