Stories, coupons, and the TV Guide: Relationships between home literacy experiences and emergent literacy knowledge

THIS DESCRIPTIVE study documented the range and frequency of literacy practices in 20 low-socioeconomic-status homes over an aggregated week of observation and measured the emergent literacy knowledges held by 24 children, ages 4 to 6, in these homes. The analysis focused on the social domains mediated by print as well as the linguistic unit and complexity of discourse text read and/or written by the participants in the homes. The analysis also examined relationships between the types and frequencies of literacy events and the emergent literacy knowledges held by the focal children. Results revealed a description of literacy practice and literacy learning which included great variability in type and frequency of literacy events across the 20 homes. The results also suggested the following patterns of relationships between home literacy practices and emergent literacy knowledge: (a) children's understanding of the intentionality of print is related to both the frequency of literacy events in the home and to their personal focus and involvement in the literacy events, (b) children knew more about the alphabetic principle and the specific forms of written language more in homes where literate members read and wrote at more complex levels of discourse for their own entertainment and leisure, and (c) parents' intentional involvement in their children's literacy learning was higher when their children began formal literacy instruction in school. Reflections on literacy as cultural practice and the ways in which school and home learning can build upon each other are discussed.