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Underresourced communities often have limited access to print and materials to promote children's early literacy development. Recognizing that the neighborhood is a unit of social change, organizations that engage families in early reading and learning with their children, therefore, have increasingly become part of the community landscape. Recently, efforts to promote early literacy have found families in a less conventional place: the local laundromat. The authors report on a study of six laundromats in low‐income communities, three of which were transformed to include literacy‐related play centers and three of which remained business as usual. Results indicated dramatic increases in literacy‐related activity among young children as compared with control sites, demonstrating the potential of these sites to enhance children's opportunity to learn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current standards and assessments emphasize the importance of a variety of genres in students' literacy diets, which has placed increased attention on informational texts. Unfortunately, young students' current exposure to and experiences with informational texts are often limited by the texts' availability, quality, and relevance to children's lives. One way to address these issues of access and relevance is to create and use informational texts in more authentic, culturally sustaining, and productive ways. This article draws on a research study to outline suggestions for making and using culturally sustaining informational texts with young students. In this research, culturally sustaining informational texts of two genres (procedural and informative/explanatory) were developed, read, and written with standard 2 (second year of formal schooling) students in Botswana. Students who used these texts in reading and writing lessons showed increases in abilities to read and write both genres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students learn best when their out-of-school literacy experiences are incorporated into daily classroom instruction. Teachers who participate in community-based initiatives, develop relationships and acquire knowledge and skills needed for this type of instructional practice. They get to know students, families, and community cultural brokers who can share experiential knowledge that influences literacy teaching and learning. When teachers become a part of the community, they are also able to prepare students to successfully negotiate cultural borders, improve academically, and serve their own communities. This commentary is a call to action for teachers to understand the benefits of community-based initiatives and become active participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]