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Mini Ethnography

Sierra Roberts

Dr. Daniel Najork

ENG 327: English Studies Research

22 June 2022
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Sierra Roberts

Dr. Daniel Najork

English 327

22 June 2022

Mini Ethnography

Introduction:

The topic I have chosen for this assignment is family literacy. I have a 3-year-old and

a 1-year-old at home and decided to observe them and the literacy spaces that we occupy.

For now, those spaces are mostly home and the library, but for others it can be a

preschool or day-care setting, a grandparent’s house, a friend’s house, a hospital, or

anywhere that is visited for periods where literacy becomes an activity.

The big question I had for this assignment is “What does literacy look like for pre-

readers, and what is its purpose?” I have chosen to observe my family’s literacy habits

because it is a group that I am already a part of that I feel I can benefit from learning more

about. Not only do I benefit from gaining new knowledge about my children’s literacy

and how my family’s literacy affects them, but it can also benefit my children. I may see

areas that I can improve upon or learn more effective strategies that I can implement into

our routine.

I hope to learn anything that I have not noticed before that can possibly benefit them,

and I hope to get a better understanding of the purpose of literacy at their ages. This

inquiry is relevant to all parents and caregivers because it may uncover information about

their pre-readers that they did not notice previously.

Assumptions & Early Hypotheses:

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Going into this project, I felt that I could already answer the question I was asking:

What does literacy look like for prereaders and what is its purpose? I was sure I knew the

answer but was hoping to discover more information that I had not previously noticed.

The assumption I made was that literacy for prereaders is mostly composed of adults in

their immediate surroundings reading picture books or helping them practice letter-

writing. I would have said that the purpose was to help them spark an interest in reading

and writing.

A journal that I found titled “Young Children’s Initiation into Family Literacy

Practices in the Digital Age” brought in a new aspect of children’s literacy that I had not

been recording in my field notes, which was digital literacy practices. After reading

through the article, I realized that I had been exposed to this throughout the course but

thought that my children just did not participate in a lot of digital literacy. The journal

broke digital literacy down into many activities that I had not previously considered

literacy activities, for example singing and talking to the television, watching television

on own or with others, using a phone to talk to an imaginary person, using a phone to

engage in a video call, and using an electronic toy (Hannon et al.). I wish I had been

recording these actions the entire time, however, I added them to my field notes as soon

as I read more in depth about it. According to the study done by Hannon et al. on

children’s digital literacy, “children moved fluently across media in their meaning-

making practices and, in some cases, were more confident than parents in this regard.”

This article informed my research by highlighting the fact that literacy tools come in

many different forms. Reading and writing are not the only forms of literacy, and for

prereaders, technology can be an important aspect of literacy.

Another journal I found explored the correlation between family literacy practices and

“oral vocabulary and early written language skill” (Barron et al.). This journal highlights
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some of the important features of exposing young children to written text. According to

their findings, “the activities that parents initiate in the home to involve their children

with printed information and children’s feelings about literacy related activities are

related to children’s level of achievement of letter–name and letter–sound knowledge”

(Barron et al.). It showed that certain things like having a lot of books at home, reading to

children often, taking trips to the library, etc. are all important aspects of getting children

interested in reading, and that they do in fact have a positive influence on their

performance as literary beings. This informed my research by proving that literacy

activities for prereaders do make a difference. Reading to young children and exposing

them to a large amount of vocabulary will matter for their futures.

The last study that I read relating to this topic was done on three different age groups

under 5-years-old. They were all prereaders, and the point of the study was to identify

what young children know about book reading before they learn to read. In their journal

titled Prereaders’ Knowledge About the Nature of Book Reading, Farry-Thorn and

Treiman state that “children’s early concepts about print and reading play an important

role in the development of literacy skills”. But they wanted to go deeper to figure out

what young children are actually learning from this reading play. It was discovered that

children as young as 3-years-old could recognize that the pictures in books are different

from the letters and words, however younger children did not recognize that the words

rather than pictures were needed for reading (Farry-Thorn and Treiman). This research

provided me with more insight on how children’s brains work while reading. It is

important that older prereaders start learning that words have meaning, and that it is not

the pictures that are being read. This is why using your finger to follow the words you are

reading is a helpful technique for them.

Methodology:
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I used a few different methods to collect information for this research: field notes,

interview, and qualitative research. I made observations by watching my children in the

literacy spaces they occupied throughout the week, which were our home and the library.

I observed, took my notes, and took photos on my phone while they were acting

independently. If they asked me to participate I did, then I wrote my notes as soon as I

was given a chance. I tried to record everything I could, even if I didn’t think it was

completely relevant (I may find it to be later). I also tried to observe anyone else

participating in even a small part of their literacy. The photos I captured are of the library

we visit and my children looking at books on their own (I ccouldn’t take a photo of

myself reading to them).

For my field notes I decided to use a pen and a paper notebook. This wasn’t my ideal

choice. I would have loved to use my laptop to save time, but I was terrified of my 1-

year-old jumping in my lap and pressing a button that deletes everything. Because of this,

I was taking notes as rapidly as I could, and sometimes had to take them after the fact.

However, I feel that I did a great job remembering the details and recording them

accurately. I noticed a few things throughout my notetaking. The first is that I try to let

the children choose when they want to read or practice writing. I may ask them if they

would like to, but I never push it. I do not want it to feel like a chore, but rather

something they enjoy. Another thing I noticed is that I do not read to my 1-year-old the

same way that I do my 3-year-old. Before this project I thought that I did, but I realized in

my notes that I am louder, more repetitive, and much more animated for the 1-year-old.

She doesn’t have the same attention span as her sister, so these actions hold her interest

better. With the 3-year-old, I explain what new words mean and we discuss what we are

seeing in the pictures. The last piece of significance that I noticed from my notes is that
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books are introducing the children to a lot of vocabulary that they would otherwise not be

exposed to.

According to Early’s Lecture on Field Notes, it is a “[simple] way of observation

using writing.” That is exactly why I chose this method. I was given a plethora of

information on family literacy just by sitting back and observing my family while I

recorded everything they were doing. Not only did it push me to observe more in-depth,

but I was able to refer to my notes for pieces of information I had forgotten. It also

allowed me to read through my children’s literacy actions and notice pieces of

information that did not previously stand out to me. I was able to interpret segments of

data that I did not think were significant from the start.

The interview I conducted was informal and asked open-ended questions via email. I

decided to interview my friend Rhiannon Weston because I felt she would have great

input on the topic. She has a similar family structure (a 3-year-old, a 1-year-old, and an

infant), so I thought it would be interesting to see if we have similar or different family

literacy practices. I was thinking that it could give us more data on this broad topic,

instead of having information from just the one family. Before I conducted the interview,

I figured she would agree. However, she is very busy, so I texted her and asked her

permission to use her for the interview and to see if she was willing to really take time

answering the questions. I told her that I would be using her name, but that I wouldn’t

provide any information about her that does not relate to the interview. Once I received

her permission, I typed out my interview protocol and emailed it to her. We have a 9-hour

time difference because I live in Germany right now, so I sent the questions before I went

to sleep and woke up with the answers in my email. I texted her to say thank you as soon

as I checked my email, but the thank you was very informal because she is a close friend.
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I was just letting her know that I received the email and appreciate that she took time for

this.

What I noticed about the interview is that Rhiannon places importance on making

literacy enjoyable for her kids, just as I do. When asked what values she tries to instil in

her children she replied, “I try to get my kids to see how fun reading can be”. I’m

wondering if this is something that has been emphasized to our generation at some point,

because my parents, her parents, and others’ parents that I have spoken to seem to have

practiced literacy in a different way. According to the interview, reading in their

household “is an all day sort of thing that's just a normal part of [their] playtime routine”

rather than having time set aside to sit down and read. It also seems that it is only

sometimes a part of their bedtime routine. I’ve noticed from paying closer attention

throughout this project that it is also only sometimes part of our bedtime routine. I used to

consider it a part of our bedtime routine, but I’ve noticed that I do not stress it if the

children are not in the mood. Another thing I noticed about the interview was the

differences between our households. It seems that Rhiannon does not have many other

people participating in her children’s literacy. When asked, “How do others

(grandparents, your husband, friends, etc.) contribute to your family’s

literacy?”, Rhiannon answered that her mother is the only person who buys books for the

children and the only other person who reads to them.

I chose interview as a research method for a couple of reasons. First, I felt that adding

another parent’s perspective on family literacy could add more dynamic to my project.

Second, I was interested in learning another family’s outlook on literacy. I mention many

times throughout this project that one of the most important roles of a caregiver is to give

a child a positive outlook on literacy. Whether we practice literacy in the exact same way
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or not, I was interested to see what Rhiannon’s attitude towards family literacy is and the

tone of her children’s reading time. According to Early in the video Interview as a

Research Method, “Interviews are a way to understand individuals on their own terms and

learn how they make meaning of their lives, experiences, and cognitive processes.” By

interviewing Rhiannon, I was able to gain insight into how she sees her children’s reading

time and the meaning she makes from it.

The research I have done for this project is an example of qualitative research because

it has nothing to do with numbers or statistics. Instead, this ethnography is a look at one

of the “stories behind the numbers” (Mayan). It is about the “hows” and “whys” of family

literacy, instead of performance statistics, and that is shown through my observations of

my children’s reactions to and involvement in literacy. I chose qualitative research as a

method because although the pre-existing research is vital, I wanted to see how literacy

operates in my own family. According to Maya, “By studying naturally occurring

phenomena, qualitative researchers attempt to interpret or make sense of the meaning

people attach to their experiences or underlying a particular phenomenon.” By using

qualitative research as a method, I was able to show an individual perspective of the

workings of family literacy.

Data Analysis:

The observations I have made throughout this process have taught me a few things.

First, it solidified part of my early assumption. Literacy for prereaders is composed of

adults reading to children and teaching them to write, and it is important because it sparks

an interest in learning and literacy. The data I have collected, however, adds more to this.

Literacy tools for prereaders, or for any age really, are not just print and writing.

Technology is also a source of literacy learning, and that is shown through my children’s
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interaction with the television, my phone, their electronic toys, and their use of other toys

to imitate technology. Their interest in electronics, and the amount of reading they ask me

for (instead of my pushing to read to them), shows that involving them in these activities

frequently will create an interest in them and in learning.

The interview I conducted emphasized that it is important to make reading fun for

children. Not only did my interviewee show that she uses reading as a form of play, but

she also compared it to her experience with literacy as a child. She mentioned that

growing up, reading was only a part of her bedtime routine to get her sleepy. While she

was still interested in reading, it didn’t always take on the same tone that reading for play

does. She also said that she held back immensely on writing for personal enjoyment

because she was criticized by her family. Had this child who was already interested in

writing not been criticized, she could have learned more and produced more writing

growing up. It wouldn’t have all just been for school. If she had been encouraged to

pursue this passion, who knows how different her outlook would have been.

The data as a whole helped me understand that it is important to expose children to a

variety of literacy sources. Reading is great, but they also learn through technology. In the

study conducted by Hannon, Peter et al., it is clear that literacy is taught through a variety

of tools, and technology contributes to this. Once I was exposed to this study, I started to

pay closer attention to my children when they were using technology. Through my

observations and field notes, along with conversations with my 3-year-old, I realized that

she learns a lot of vocabulary and fun facts from her television shows. She already knows

more about ocean creatures than I do! I also noticed that my 3-year-old is aware that the

words in a book are separate than the pictures. For example, she will point to the picture

of an animal on a page and ask me if the book says anything about that animal. The study

conducted by Farry-Thorn and Treiman mentions that children start to notice this around
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3. This is very different than my 1-year-old, who points at pictures on a page and says

“That. That.” Both the aspect of technology as literacy and the fact that children need to

learn the concept of words being separate from illustrations was very surprising to me.

Conclusion:

Going into this project, it was important to me that I find out what literacy looks like

for prereaders, and what its purpose is. I found through research, my interview, and my

observations that literacy for prereaders can look like many things: adults reading books

to them, writing practice, television shows, activities on tablets, use of electronic toys,

mimicking reading or technology use through play, video chats on the phone, etc. I also

found that the purpose of literacy in prereaders is to excite them about literacy and

learning, to prepare them academically for the future, and to teach them a variety of

vocabulary. However, one question remains unclear. Which forms are literacy are more

or less effective? Deeper examination into this topic would absolutely be relevant but

would take much more time than we had for this research project.

Photographs:

Figure 1: This Photo is from the children's section of the library my children and I frequent in Wiesbaden Germany, on 8 June
2022. This photo was taken to show the setup of a space I observed during this project.
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Figure 2: This is a photo of my 1-year-old, Sophia, looking at a book in the library on 8 June. She pulled the book off the shelf
and became interested in the pictures.

Figure 3: This is a photo of my 3-year-old, Julianna, at the library on 8 June, showing me the book she found because she
was very proud that she asked the librarian for help by herself.
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Figure 4: This is a photo of Julianna at home on 8 June, looking at one of the library books she picked out because she was
still excited from going to the library earlier that day.

Field Notes:

Below is a typed copy of my field notes. I wrote them out in a notebook but thought they

might be more legible and take up less space if typed.

8 June

12:00pm- 2:00pm:

Today I am doing classwork while the kids sleep. Sometimes I do it while they’re

awake, but nap time gives me a quiet, productive space.

J just woke up. She came out of her room and wants to sit with me while I work.

I am reviewing videos from older modules in addition to the ethnography

guidelines/rubric. Asked her if she wants a headphone. She said no.

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2:20pm- 3:40pm:

We arrived at the library. S was very excited to see where we were. She was jumping

up and down and babbling.

There was a “new arrivals” shelf at the entrance. It had kids books this time. J ran up

excitedly and said, “can we get this one!?” It is called “Hello, Puddle” by Anita Sanchez.

We put it in our bag and returned last week’s books.

Entered kids’ section and closed doors. S went straight to a table w/colouring supplies

and grabbed some markers. She is colouring on some already-coloured pages and fer

face.

J ran to two kids sitting on the couch w/tablets. They sparked up a convo about

tablets.

J brought me a book “The Girl Who Heard Colors” by Marie Harris. She said, “Can

we get this book because I like it?”

She brought another, “ABC Yoga” by Christiane Engel. She said, “I’m getting this

one because I have a yoga mat.”

She brought “Are we There Yet?” by Nancy Crystal. I told her that’s enough books

and she said “NOOOOOO! A couple more. I’m going to get a Pete the Cat book.”

The librarian is in here, and she went and sked her where they’re at, then she brought

one to me.

She asked if she can play now, and grabbed some magnatiles.

S walked over to the Legos and said “want some. Want some.”

She left Legos immediately and grabbed a book to look at.

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There are two kids fighting, two looking for books.

J asked me to read the Pete the Cat book.

S played with another kid, J listened to the book. After, she tried to join in playing.

J wasn’t included and asked to read all the books. Boy asked her to play Legos, so she

did that instead.

S is standing on the couch figuring out what else to do. She settled on activity cube.

J and two kids converse entire time they’re playing Legos.

S asked for snack and sat down to eat.

J asked to read all the books.

We read and the boy’s mom read to him.

S sat for a while, but the books were too lengthy.

I noticed myself asking questions between boring parts, explaining things she

probably doesn’t know, imitating sounds that don’t need to be read, and interacting (like

tickling her when it’s mentioned in the book).

S grabbed a few books then started colouring.

J asked for a snack mid-read. We read all 5 books and now she is finishing her snack.

The kids’ section is a room in the library with doors that shut. It has two toddler tables

in the middle with couches and a chair surrounding for adults. There’s a t.v., books of

course, a shelf with toys, a car rug, and a computer. Baby story time is held here, but it’s

for a younger age group than my toddler.

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J asked to play guitar. She gave it to her sister after a couple minutes and started

cleaning.

I told them it was time to go and she begged to stay. I told her we need to check out

our books. She screamed “CAN I DO IT!?”

I found a handout on child development and literacy on my way out.

8pm:

I told the kids it’s bedtime. J said, “Can we read the library books?!” I said “yeah.

Bring them.”

We got to the room to lie down, and we started reading. J was quiet and listening. S

was walking around the room, playing.

S noticed what we were doing and grabbed her favorite book “Trolls Hug Day”. She

said “Want some. Want some.” I grabbed it and said “Okay, climb up.” I told J we would

keep reading her books after.

S snuggled up and I started to read. She screamed with excitement. She pointed to

pages and said “That. That.” When it said “tickle” in the book, I tickled them both and

they screamed.

When I finished, S said “Want some. Want some” meaning “again”.

The third read-through she got up and J and I continued the library books.

When she noticed something that interested her, she would stop me and talk about it.

Once she finished, J asked for t.v. I told her no because it’s getting late.

9 June

7:30pm:
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We did not read or write today. We had a lot of errands and now it’s bedtime.

We crawled into bed and S grabbed “Trolls Hug Day”. It was the same routine with

that book as last night, but after the 5th read, she was slightly distracted, and I chucked it.

J asked for t.v., and after a long day and early bedtime, I told her okay. I try not to be

pushy about books so that they do not become uninterested.

10 June

7:45 am:

S woke up and grabbed “Trolls Hug Day”. Same routine with that book, except J got

up and didn’t listen. After 4th read I said “Okay, Time to get out of bed.

11:00am- 11:15am:

A few days ago we bought cards for all of the holidays/birthdays this month.

Me: J, do you want to sign all the birthday cards?

J: *screams* yeah!

I got them out and gave her a pen. I told her who the first one was for and to call me

when she’s done.

S is screaming because she wants to participate.

Me: People would really love if you wrote a “J” in the card.

J: I don’t want to.

Me: It doesn’t have to be perfect.

I set S up with a pen and started giving her the finished cards.

J: Okay I’ll write a “J”. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

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I sat down with them to help S and tell J who each card is for.

11:15am:

I sit down to sign cards. They are playing/ complaining about everything. They know

I’m busy, so they keep trying to get my attention, though they’ve been so independent the

rest of the morning.

11:34am-11:40am:

S grabbed a Baby Shark book w/ buttons that make music. She sat next to me and

started playing it while I finished the cards.

12:30pm:

Kids are napping, so I’m getting a head start on the Mini Ethnography while I have

some quiet time.

2:00pm- 2:10pm:

J woke up and sat in my rocking chair with me. She asked what I’m doing, so I told

her I’m typing something for my homework. She sat quietly and watched.

7:45pm:

Same routine with “Trolls Hug Day”. J listened too. We read it 3x.

11 June

10:15am- 10:27am:

J brought me “The Itsy Bitsy Bunny” to read and sat on the couch with me. She ate

her snack and watched, then put it back on the shelf.

She grabbed “Peter Rabbit” for me to read. S is interested and climbing on the couch.
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I am much more animated, loud, and repetitive with S. She watched me the entire

time instead of the book, except for pointing and saying “that” on the first page.

J brought “Fuht Dock Mal, Kleiner Hund”. We are both learning German, so it was

much more interactive.

I struggled through the book. J repeated the phrases that I understood, and we talked

about what they mean. She would repeat them multiple times, trying to remember them.

If I didn’t explain a word that stood out to her, she would ask “What does _______

mean?”.

12:30pm:

Kids are napping, so I’m working on classwork on the computer.

1:13pm:

J woke up and asked to sit with me. She is quietly watching me work.

1:16pm:

She got up to play.

2:04pm:

They both sat down for a snack and are watching me work/ complaining about the

snack.

2:13pm:

Girls are fussing, so I stopped.

9:30pm:
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We spent almost all day outside. When we were ready for bed, J asked for 5 books. I

told her 2 and she said “okay, I’ll go to the room and pick them.”

I walked in and she said “Oh! I need to put one back so we can add Sophie’s favorite

book.” I told her how sweet that was and that we can read 3.

We were half-way through “Trolls Hug Day”. S threw a fit because J picked a touch

and feel book and she wanted that.

I stopped and started the touch and feel “You Must Never Touch a Dinosaur”. They

took turns feeling. S felt the pages as long as she wanted, then J took her turn.

We then read “It’s a Moose”. J made comments throughout. S actually laid down and

listened though it was a longer book. She pointed and said “that “at the pages.

12 June

7:30am- 8:15am:

S woke up and threw “Trolls Hug Day” at me. Same routine, but we only read it once.

I put Blues Clues on the t.v. and she snuggled and watched it.

Once she started fussing and moving, we got out of bed.

8:30am:

I put reality t.v. on while I eat and wake up. Neither child is paying attention.

I can hear S pressing buttons on her dump truck that sings.

9:14am:

I’m moving on from t.v. to making a grocery list.

9:55am- 10:25pm:
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Kids are restless, so I put music on the t.v. for them to dance. They are dancing,

staring at the t.v., and climbing on things.

10:30am- 10:33am:

S grabbed my phone, and she is “talking” on it.

4:00am- 4:10pm:

The girls video chatted with their dad. They both said hi and talked to him,

completely aware of how it works. J would do some toddler move on the ground and say

“look at me” as if he were here in person. S would say “Dada. Dada”, knowing that she’s

speaking to him, not just a phone.

S grabbed a book “I am so Big” to read with him. He watched us read. Half-way

through, S said, “want some” and turned to the first page. We restarted and she threw the

book on the ground when she was done.

7:45pm- 8:45pm:

J asked for t.v. for bed. We turned it on and both girls laid down to watch.

13 June

7:30am- 8:30am:

Girls woke up and I put on Blues Clues. They were still and watched.

Their dad called in the middle and J talked while S played.

1:00pm:

Girls are napping. I’m doing classwork on computer.

2:15pm- 3:30pm:
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J woke up and I put her shoes on and let her outside to play with the neighbours while

I work.
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Works Cited

Barron, Roderick et al. “Direct and Mediated Influences of Home Literacy and Literacy

Interest on Prereaders Oral Vocabulary and Early Written Language Skill.” Journal of

Educational Psychology. Vol 92 (3). Sep. 2000. pp. 466-477. DOI:10.1037/0022-

0663.92.3.466. Accessed 11 June 2022.

Early, Jessica. “Interview as a Research Method”. ASU Department of English, uploaded by

Daniel Najork, https://asu.instructure.com/courses/117710/pages/module-4-learning-

materials?module_item_id=8012621.

Early, Jessica. “Lecture on Field Notes”. ASU Department of English, uploaded by

Daniel Najork, https://asu.instructure.com/courses/117710/pages/module-4-learning-

materials?module_item_id=8012621.

Farry-Thorn, Molly, and Treiman, Rebecca. “Prereaders’ Knowledge About the Nature of

Book Reading.” Reading and Writing. 23 Mar. 2022. https://link-springer-

com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/article/10.1007/s11145-022-10270-w. Accessed 11 June

2022.

Hannon, Peter et al. “Young Children’s Initiation into Family Literacy Practices in the Digital

Age.” Journal of Early Childhood Research. Vol. 15 (1). 2017. pp. 47-60.

https://journals-sagepub-

com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/1476718X15582095. Accessed 02 June

2022.
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Mayan, M. J. “Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry.” Taylor & Francis Group. 2009.

https://asu.instructure.com/courses/117710/files/47547544?wrap=1. Accessed 11 June

2022.