From Home to Classroom: Using Home Language to Strengthen Literacy Instruction

From Home to Classroom: Using Home Language to Strengthen Literacy Instruction

Students develop complex language systems long before they enter school. Research in sociolinguistics and the science of reading shows that literacy instruction strengthens word recognition and language comprehension when it builds on home language instead of ignoring or replacing it. These intentional home-to-classroom connections foster the linguistic flexibility students need to navigate academic texts in a variety of contexts.

This edWebinar will explore one powerful, research-backed strategy for strengthening literacy outcomes: building authentic literacy partnerships with families. In these authentic partnerships, teachers can intentionally create connections between home dialects and classroom instruction.

Rather than positioning families as helpers or volunteers, this session reframes families as linguistic experts whose knowledge can inform and strengthen reading and writing development. Participants will examine how structured partnerships between home and school can support metalinguistic awareness, dialect shifting, and academic language development.

In this session, you will explore:

• What research in linguistic flexibility and the science of reading reveals about literacy success
• How to intentionally connect classroom literacy instruction to the linguistic assets students already develop at home
• A replicable strategy for connecting family language knowledge directly to reading and writing instruction
• Examples of how this strategy builds metalinguistic awareness and dialect-shifting
• What it takes to shift from correction-based approaches to bridge-building instruction

Participants will leave with a clear strategy for moving language from home to the classroom so students expand their language repertoire without losing their voice.

This session is for leaders who want to build an asset-based literacy strategy that includes explicit instruction in linguistic flexibility. It is grounded in research and the science of reading, and it previews a strategy that connects home language and classroom instruction.