Fall 2025      Volume 53, Number 4

Family Engagement in Literacy: The Case for Parents Reading Aloud to Children
By Laurie Elish-Piper

Document: Column  

Introductory Paragraph:  This will be my last “Family Engagement in Literacy” column for the Illinois Reading Council Journal. When I started writing this column in the Spring of 2008, I had no idea I would write, co-author, and mentor other educators to write columns for 17 years. It has truly been my honor to use this column as a platform to share ideas, trends, challenges, strategies, and advice about how and why to engage with families to support children’s literacy development, engagement, and motivation.  When I was considering the focus for my final column, I encountered an Education Week article by Elizabeth Heubeck (2025) entitled, “Fewer Parents Are Reading Aloud to Their Kids. Why that Matters.” Because of that article, I decided to go back to the very beginning and focus on how and why reading aloud to children matters and how educators can encourage and support this practice in their students’ families.

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.53.4.2025.48

Page Numbers:   48-51