Literacy Week: Tips for Families
January 27-31, 2025, is Literacy Week. Alberta Education defines literacy as the ability, confidence, and willingness to engage with language to acquire, construct, and communicate meaning in all aspects of daily life.
We know families play a significant role in helping their children build literacy. ABC Life Literacy refers to this as 'intergenerational learning.' When families do activities together, children learn phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and writing from the adults in their lives.
5 Tips for Families
Our teaching specialists have collected five tips for GPPSD families to help support their child’s literacy journey:
Tip: Play Games
Playing games with your child takes the stress out of learning to read. It gives them time to take breaks, have fun, strengthen their relationship with you, and experience hands-on learning.
Tip: Have Fun Travelling
Singing songs, playing games, or simply talking with your child while you travel to school, the grocery store, the fitness centre, or a friend's house is an easy way to strengthen their literacy skills—and your child will not feel like it is work!
Tip: Cook & Bake Together
Cooking and baking provide everyday ways to connect with our children and strengthen literacy skills! Food literacy will also help your child develop a healthy relationship with food. They will be able to read a recipe, know the vocabulary of ingredients and different foods, learn the science of baking, and read and understand nutrition labels.
This can lead to them understanding how to navigate a grocery store, the cost and budgeting for food (financial literacy), and the value of healthy food choices (health literacy).
Tip: Talk About Money
According to ABC Life Literacy Canada, children who learn financial literacy skills can more easily make financial decisions and manage money better. Your child learns about money at school, but there is so much more you can help them with. As a family, you can discuss money to help your child develop a healthy relationship.
Tip: Explore GPPL
Your Grande Prairie Public Library (GPPL) provides city residents with free membership cards and year-long programming for children! Your card gives you access to free books, movies, music and games, plus they have online learning resources such as learning the Microsoft Suite. Visit https://www.gppl.ca/
More Resources
The Grande Prairie Public Library has events to help you celebrate Literacy Week with your child. Find more at Literacy Week Story Time: Princesses | Grande Prairie Public Library. You can also find great things to do from abclifeliteracy.ca.
Division Information
Grande Prairie Public School Division
Email: communications@gppsd.ab.ca
Phone: 780-532-4491
