The Motheread/Fatheread® classroom:

During every class led by a trained Motheread/Fatheread® instructor, parents read and study a particular children's book. Books in the Motheread/Fatheread® curriculum are multicultural and have been selected because they are rich in content that lends itself to family discussion.

Participants use selected books to explore the stages of early childhood development, addressing the following topics: expressing needs and feelings, establishing independence, understanding what families value, sharing and cooperating, and "self possibilities."

In class, parents get to know the characters and the life themes in the books, and explore those themes in their own lives. Then they practice specific techniques for reading aloud and sharing the book with a child.

Many of the parents have never read aloud. The Motheread/Fatheread® instructional approach is designed to build parents' confidence and provide a fun and nurturing environment where they can try out things that might at first feel strange or silly-like using one's voice to engage a child's attention. For each book, parents are encouraged to think about questions they can ask their child after they have read together. They are also given a "storysharing" sheet to take home and share with their families.

By asking questions and discussing what they have read together, parents build their children's critical thinking skills. Parents are also taught, and practice in class, specific parent-child activities for each book that extend the fun and the educational value of reading together. Finally, in every class, parents read a small piece of adult literature and work on their own reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.

Classes are usually organized in cycles of six to twelve meetings, with about eight to twelve parents and caregivers as students in each class cycle. Motheread/Fatheread® classes are small since research shows that adults learn best in small groups where learning is reinforced through the resulting social network.

A class near you:

Motheread/Fatheread® classes are held in partnership with local programs that are skilled in delivering services to parents and children. These include community colleges, public housing communities, schools, correctional facilities, child care centers, family resource centers, and churches. These agencies provide class sites and recruit students.

To find Motheread/Fatheread® classes near you, contact Dena Wortzel, dwortzel@wisc.edu,
608-263-5593.