This “First Teachers” training manual details a research-based and field-tested program in which elementary school children and their families create a family portfolio album of their stories and drawings that becomes a family keepsake. The manual provides information on the goals of the program and its intended audience, and the need for schools to support parents as their childrens first teachers. The manual also describes the four learning centers visited by families at school during the program: (1) talking, at which families are provided with prompts to share stories about their lives and cultures; (2) writing, at which a story draft is written based on the childs retelling of the story; (3) drawing, at which the child represents the story in a drawing, and the family and the child talk about the drawing; and (4) computer, at which the story may be entered, edited, and printed. The manual presents the 5-step approach to launching the program through securing school commitment, recruiting participants, implementing the program, monitoring its implementation, and evaluating the program on an ongoing basis. Hints on implementing the program effectively are provided from the field-test of the program. The manual concludes with a list of 25 print and web site resources on family involvement in their childrens education. (KB)
