Teacher Survey

National Institute for Literacy

Teacher Survey

A. Information about You

1. Please check the grade level category of students you primarily work with this year:

Grade Level
O	Kindergarten
O	1st Grade
O	2nd Grade
O	3rd Grade
O	Other: ______________________________

2. In which one of the following geographic regions of the country do you teach?

Geographic Region
O	Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT)
O	Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI)
O	South (AL, AR, DC, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV)
O	West (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)

3. How many years have you been teaching?

Years Teaching
O	less than 1 year
O	1 to 3 years
O	4 to 6 years
O	7 to 10 years
O	11 to 14 years
O	15 years or more

4. How often do you use National Institute for Literacy publications that parents or family members could use to help K-3 children learn to read?

Frequency of Use of National Institute for Literacy Publications
O	Not Very Often
O	Somewhat Often
O	Very Often
O	Don’t Know

5. How important is it for you to have evidence-based publications, like those produced by the National Institute for Literacy, that parents or family members could use to help K-3 children learn to read?

Importance of Evidence-Based Publications
O	Not Very Important
O	Somewhat Important
O	Very Important
O	Don’t Know

B. Information about Distribution of National Institute for Literacy Publications

1. Please indicate whether you received a sufficient number of each book for your students.

Number of National Institute for Literacy Books You Received
	Too Many	Not Enough	Enough
a. Dad’s Playbook	O	O	O
b. Big Dreams	O	O	O
c. Shining Stars K	O	O	O
[or] Shining Stars 1	O	O	O
[or] Shining Stars 2-3	O	O	O

2. How did you use the model letter addressed to parents (in Spanish or English) that was included with the publications you received?

Use of Model Letter
O	I used the appropriate letter and placed it with the Institute materials that went home with the students.
O	I modified the letter and placed it with the Institute materials that went home with the students.
O	I modified the letter in an email I sent directly to parents.
O	I gave the model letter(s) to the reading specialist to use.
O	I used the letter I typically use to communicate with parents.
O	I did not send the letter home with the Institute materials.
O	Other (please specify):

3. Did you use the model letter in Spanish that was addressed to parents?

Use of Spanish Model Letter
O	Yes
O	No

4. Please select the item that best describes how you distributed National Institute for Literacy books to the students and their parents or family members.

Method of Distribution
O	I sent reading materials home by student with cover letters addressed to parents or family members.
O	I sent reading materials home by student after sending an e-mail to parents.
O	I sent reading materials home with the parent after a school meeting with the parents.
O	I did not send reading materials home by students; another school staff member (e.g., a reading specialist or librarian) sent them.
O	I did not send reading materials home yet.
O	Other (please describe):

5. In which of the following ways did you have opportunity to use the books in activities with parents?

Use of Books with Parents
O	Parent/teacher conferences.
O	Family literacy activities at school.
O	Workshops.
O	Reading activities I created for parents to do with their child.
O	Parent volunteers or coordinators used the books with students.
O	Other (please specify):

6. As an educator, do you think that National Institute for Literacy publications were written at an appropriate level so parents could better understand how their K-3 child learns to read?

Writing Level of National Institute for Literacy Books for Parents
	Too difficult for my students’ parents	Appropriate level for my students’ parents	Too easy for my students’ parents
a. Dad’s Playbook	O	O	O
b. Big Dreams	O	O	O
c. Shining Stars K	O	O	O
[or] Shining Stars 1	O	O	O
[or] Shining Stars 2-3	O	O	O

C. Your Perspective

1. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements (choose a response in each row).

Strongly Strongly

Disagree Agree

a. The letter that accompanied the books with information about the research in the books was useful to me.	O	O	O	O	O
b. The ideas and suggestions for directing my students to take the books to their parents or family members were helpful to me.	O	O	O	O	O
c. The ideas and suggestions in the books reinforce what my school tells parents about how their children learn to read.	O	O	O	O	O
d. The information provided in the books gave me new ideas about ways to engage parents in reading with their K-3 children.	O	O	O	O	O
e. The books provided by the National Institute for Literacy are the type of books I want my students’ parents to use to help their K-3 student learn to read.	O	O	O	O	O
f. Parents or family members of my students have received books published by the National Institute for Literacy before.	O	O	O	O	O
g. The books provided by the National Institute for Literacy will help my students’ parents learn how K-3 children become better readers.	O	O	O	O	O
h. I want my students’ parents to receive books provided by the National Institute for Literacy in the future.	O	O	O	O	O
i. Overall, this was a good way to distribute resources that promote how children learn to read.	O	O	O	O	O

2. What additional information or assistance could have been provided you in order to distribute to parents National Institute for Literacy publications about how K-3 children learn to read?

3. What other evidence-based information about K-3 student reading would better equip you to help parents understand how children learn to read?

Use of Books with Parents
O	Research on the cognitive processes of how children learn to read.
O	Research on various assessments used to measure a child’s early reading strengths or weaknesses.
O	Research about practices for teaching reading to non-English background students.
O	Research about teaching reading to students with learning disabilities.
O	Other (please specify):

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