This toolkit helps families learn how to effectively advocate for children’s literacy needs and the use of evidence-based literacy practices in school and early childhood settings.
You will learn:
- How and what to advocate for
- Tips for communicating about children’s literacy needs
- What to do when advocacy is difficult
This toolkit includes:
- Online Tutorial
- Research Briefs & Infographics
- Resources for Parents & Families
Get Started
Online Tutorial
This tutorial includes a self-advocacy and family track. In the family track, parents and family members will learn why advocacy is important, how to advocate for their child’s literacy needs, and what to do when advocacy is difficult, all in an interactive online experience. In the self-advocacy track, students will learn about self-empowerment, understanding their learning challenge, and advocating for themselves. Approximate tutorial length per track: 30 minutes
Supplemental Materials
Download and print these infographics with ideas or questions linked to the tutorial.
A literacy advocate supports or speaks out for someone else’s educational needs or rights in reading, writing, and language. As a family member, you know your child best. You have seen your child’s literacy skills progress over time. You can embrace your role as an advocate and learn how to work together with your child’s school toward common goals.
Advocacy comes in many forms and can be done in a variety of ways. Whatever path you choose, have a navigation system to follow and forecast your child’s literacy growth.
You and the school rely on each other to meet the literacy needs of your child. So, working together can solve conflicts early. Knowing where to turn when you need information or support can help too.
Why Advocacy is Important
Embrace your role as an advocate and learn how to work with your child’s school toward common goals.
Big Ideas
- Understanding what advocacy is prepares you for being a strong advocate for your child’s literacy needs.
- Establishing a strong family-school partnership opens doors for advocacy and encourages your child’s success.
- Advocacy can occur on an individual basis, such as advocating for the specific needs of your own child, or at the group level, such as advocating for a group of students with similar needs.
You and the school share responsibility for your child’s language and literacy learning. Collaborate with your school to make decisions about your child’s literacy education right from the start. Your child benefits when you and the school work together to support her literacy development. Working together promotes faster development and catches trouble spots early.
Use this Student Language and Literacy Profile guide to introduce your child to new teachers, related services providers, administrators, and others.
Topic: Advocacy, Reading Disabilities
This informational sheet includes tips for communicating at a meeting and written communication and six skills to be an effective advocate.
Topic: Advocacy
This informational sheet includes tips for communicating at a meeting and written communication and six skills to be an effective advocate.
Topic: Advocacy, Spanish
How to Advocate for Your Child’s Literacy Needs
Learn multiple ways to advocate for your child’s literacy needs and be better prepared to work with your child’s school to ensure his or her needs are met.
Big Ideas
- Advocacy comes in many forms and can be done in a variety ways.
- To advocate well for your child’s literacy needs, it helps to have a strong understanding of how children learn to read.
- Knowing more about evidence-based practices and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) can equip you for more productive and targeted conversations with school staff about your child’s literacy learning.
Some of the most important pre-literacy skills begin in infancy. This timeline shows examples of the milestones children meet on their path to fluent reading.
Topic: Advocacy, Beginning Reading
This infographic provides an overview of intensive intervention.
Topic: Interventions
This information sheet suggests questions about interventions, making progress, and assessments you might ask your child's school before, during, or after an IEP meeting.
Topic: Dyslexia, Advocacy
This document outlines joint principles that have been developed in partnership by a group of organizations.
Topic: Advocacy
Read this infographic to learn common assessment terms used in reading.
Topic: Screening
This update provides information to parents on how to interpret three common types of assessment their child takes: classroom, district and school interim, and state annual assessments.
Topic: Assessments
This document distills the latest research findings into 10 easy-to-follow recommendations that states, school districts, and schools can use to improve reading intervention. Also included is a list of research evidence supporting the recommendations.
Topic: Reading Disabilities, Interventions
This informational sheet outlines five considerations for literacy practices for struggling readers.
Topic: Advocacy
This informational sheet outlines five considerations for literacy practices for struggling readers.
Topic: Advocacy
This resource from the Right to Read Project gives questions to ask your child's school about reading instruction, gives examples of encouraging signs, and signs that there might be a problem.
Topic: Evidence-based, Instruction
Talking to the doctor is the first step toward getting help for your child if you are concerned about his or her development (how your child plays, learns, speaks, acts, or moves).
Topic: Advocacy
Talking to the doctor is the first step toward getting help for your child if you are concerned about his or her development (how your child plays, learns, speaks, acts, or moves).
Topic: Advocacy, Spanish
What to Do When Advocacy is Difficult
Learn strategies for when advocating becomes difficult.
Big Ideas
- It is common to feel uneasy being an advocate for your child’s literacy needs.
- Disagreements are a natural part of working together.
- You and the school rely on each other to meet the literacy needs of your child.
This brochure offers specific communication skills that may be helpful to parents as they develop and maintain partnerships with their child's school.
Topic: Advocacy, Reading Disabilities
Here are 10 stay-calm phrases you can use to redirect conversation and defuse tense situations.
Topic: Advocacy
This fact sheet overviews the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.
Topic: Advocacy
This webpage overviews the federal regulations for IDEA 2004 section Subpart E called Procedural Safeguards.
Topic: Advocacy, Reading Disabilities
This webpage overviews the federal regulations for IDEA 2004 section Subpart E called Procedural Safeguards.
Topic: Advocacy, Reading Disabilities, Spanish
The Center for Parent Information and Resources offers this guide as a road map to help bring stakeholders together, suggests strategies to help them engage in dialogue, and discusses best practices to help them work together to benefit the local community.
Topic: Advocacy
Facilitator's Guide
The purpose of the facilitator guide is to provide information and materials to effectively facilitate the Advocating for the Literacy Needs of Children Tutorial in-person as a workshop series and enable participants to achieve the learning objectives.
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The research reported here is funded by awards to the National Center on Improving Literacy from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, in partnership with the Office of Special Education Programs (Award #: S283D160003). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of OESE, OSEP, or the U.S. Department of Education. Copyright © 2024 National Center on Improving Literacy. https://www.improvingliteracy.org
