Engagement Activity Templates for PALs
We know that no one of our district’s schools is the same, but this list contains a variety of ready-to-go family engagement “kits” can be adapted for implementation in your child’s school. The goal is to be as inclusive and culturally-responsive as possible, so that families from every background can get engaged. Have an idea? Share it with us! Email the Family and Community Engagement team at JosephK@grps.org or MascoJ@grps.org.
Taste Buddies event, modified so that a PAL or other school leader can lead the implementation
As a PAL- or caregiver-led activity, word about this event will go even further, and be even more culturally relevant to represent the building’s families. For example, PALs can reach out to parents to share family recipes (ideally on the simpler side), or even try a family-led course, with support and guidance from the FACE team.
Learn more about Taste Buddies by following this link!
Caregiver-led heritage month activity
Language activity
A parent who speaks a less common language comes to the classroom and shares the basics of their language with the class. For example, during Hispanic Heritage Month, a parent who speaks Mam or Kanjobal could come; Black History Month could feature a speaker of Swahili or Kinyarwanda; Native American Heritage Month could feature a speaker of a local indigenous language; and Asian and Pacific Islander Month could feature a speaker of Tagalog or Thai.
This is a great way to engage families in a culturally-responsive way!
Learn more about culturally-responsive family engagement by reading this great article from Learning for Justice.
Craft activity and artisan display
During cultural heritage months such as Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, Asian and Pacific Islander Month, and Native American Heritage Month, PALs and other parent leaderships groups recruit parents/caregivers who create artisan crafts/clothing, cuisine, or hair styles to come into the school and show off their skills in a resource fair-style setting. All families are invited to stop by the event and engage with the other parents, then create a craft or pick up a recipe book to bring home.
Family Trivia Night or Board Game Night
Trivia is a fun way to draw families into our schools, as well as get teacher buy-in to the importance of family engagement. One fun idea is to have teachers and school staff submit trivia questions with content from the common curriculum or from the school “rulebook.” You could even have parents submit trivia questions! Teachers or after-school staff can have the students work on developing their own game. Then, when families come to the school, they have a variety of games to choose from, or they can play the game their child created with another family.
“Train the Trainer”- style book study
This is an AWESOME way to stimulate critical conversations around the importance of family engagement.
Family Movie Night
A great idea that can be modified to fit the needs of any school, at any grade level! Fun idea: organize a popcorn and movie treat drive-thru where families are given discussion questions and other prompts to support at-home learning and bring the class curriculum full-circle.
Family engagement around March is Reading Month
National Reading Month is celebrated in March to honor Dr. Suess’s birthday. Every March, schools place a larger emphasis on reading to celebrate this month. Reading is one of the best habits children can develop; it strengthens the mental muscles, helps to improve comprehension and analytical abilities, and increases imagination, and boosts memory.
Tons of directions PALs and parent leadership groups can take with this idea!
Holiday and/or Spring Break Family Engagement Kits
Preparing these take-home kits could be a fun way for PALs to team up with one another and assemble some engagement kits to hand out to families ahead of longer breaks.