Book Bridges was adapted from an intergenerational literacy program model developed by Goldsmith and Handel (1990) for a community college in the United States. While the Goldsmith and Handel program is based on the use of children¹s literature, Book Bridges includes a writing component. The theoretical framework underlying Book Bridges is that the construction of meaning is the main goal of literacy instruction. To this end, Book Bridges:

1. Integrates speaking and listening with reading and writing activities, based on the premise that language develops naturally and holistically, not separately in bits and pieces and that opportunities for developing reading, writing, listening and speaking occur within the same context. Gains in one domain result in gains in the other domains;

2. Strengthens literacy development by providing authentic and purposeful literacy experiences;

3. Believes that learning takes place within a social context. When learners work in a collegial atmosphere they use more language, take more risks, and help each other learn more;

4. Teaches learners "how to learn" through instruction that begins with instructor modeling and demonstration, followed by volunteer guidance, in order to promote the internalization of strategies that learners can apply when they are reading and writing on their own;

5. Accepts the role that prior knowledge about a topic plays in meaning-making and strives to convey the idea that learners need to activate or develop their background knowledge before they read in order to increase their understanding and memory for the text;

6. Teaches that writing is a process in which writers draw upon their own life experiences, put these ideas together in draft form, share their drafts with others to receive feedback about clarity, and then re-draft, edit, publish and celebrate their writing.

In addition to reading and writing with their children, participants are encouraged to share these important principles with their children. Having seen literacy acquisition behaviours and strategies modeled and promoted within a social context, participants are urged to emulate the modeled behaviours and support their children¹s literacy development at home.

Getting Started

Once the conceptual framework for Book Bridges was established, the task was to find a home for the program. A representative from the Junior League, the executive director of Bookmates, and I, as the chair of Bookmates, visited a number of sites. Ultimately an agreement was reached with the Immigrant Women¹s Employment Counseling Services who provided classroom space and referred clients to the program. The Junior League contributed funding for the instructor¹s salary, the children¹s literature selections used in the program, transportation and babysitting costs for the participants, snacks for break time, and University release time for the writer to evaluate the program (Zakaluk, 1991).