Family literacy advice

Over the past few years, JAME has been called upon by various sectors to advise teams of stakeholders throughout Greater Montreal on all sorts of projects related to our fields of expertise. Here are a few examples:

Transfer of knowledge related to diversity and plurilingualism in the framework of the Laval "Mes langues, mes livres" project

At the beginning of 2017, faced with the dramatic increase in the number of immigrant families with young children settling in Laval and the challenges this can represent for early childhood education settings, the partners of the "Table de partenaire lavallois en Éveil à la lecture et à l'écriture" (TPÉLÉ) decided to better equip themselves to intervene in a multi-ethnic and multilingual environment. After several searches throughout Greater Montreal, they turned to JAME for its expertise in terms of family literacy in a context of diversity and plurilingualism, as well as its training, parent workshops and pedagogical materials. Together we developed a knowledge transfer plan. To do this, JAME coordinated a steering committee that included representatives from Laval's community, libraries, coordinating offices and daycare centres, preschool educational consultants from the two school boards (CS de Laval and CS Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier), a speech therapist and a community organizer from the CLSC.

Subsequently, JAME gave two training courses on "Bilingual children in plurilingual environments: innovative practices for successful integration ". Of the 65 participants from some 30 different backgrounds who took part in the training, some 15 became "multipliers", i.e. people who could then give the training again. These multipliers received personalised support through individual meetings, support emails, and the sharing of information and tools.

The same logic was applied to the "My Child's Bilingualism" parent workshops. In addition, we have prepared sets of 30 books that are required to deliver this type of training or workshop, as well as several Children of the World ELE kits in French and English.

This knowledge transfer project was made possible by the involvement of these different partners as well as the funding granted by the "Regroupement lavallois pour la réussite éducative" (RLPRÉ) within the framework of the reading measures of the Ministry of Education.

Implementing new reading activities for 10-12 year olds at Toujours Ensemble

As part of the "Sac-à-dos" project, the Verdun-based organisation Toujours Ensemble works, among other things, on the reading skills of pre-adolescents in grades 5 and 6. In 2015, when the project was being designed, we advised them on how to develop a series of stimulating and interesting activities to not only promote learning among their young people but also to rekindle their interest in reading..

Create or improve reading corners for toddlers at the P'tite Maison St-Pierre

In 2014, for its drop-in service, the P'tite Maison St-Pierre needed to renew its accessible books for children and its animation books. The management team contacted us for advice on which books to buy within a given budget, in order to build a solid foundation for a reading corner. JAME then went on site to better understand the needs, the clientele, the existing base of the reading corner and to proceed with a research of titles, suggested to the team of educators in place. Finally, we proceeded to purchase the books selected and provided a list of suggestions for activities related to the majority of them.
If you are interested in this type of support, please contact us, we will be happy to help you!