As part of a series exploring effective strategies for school improvement and dropout prevention, this monograph focuses on early childhood education and reading/writing programs, and compiles strategies to help families engage in meaningful literacy activities. The monograph describes and defines family literacy, provides a research basis for family literacy programs, and offers strategies for family literacy. Following an introduction outlining reasons for the phenomenal growth in family literacy programs and elaborating on the overlap between literacy, family literacy, and emergent literacy, the monograph presents examples of literacy activities in home and institutional settings to illustrate the individual nature of family literacy. The monograph's rationale and research basis for family literacy activities focuses on families' influence on children's literacy, factors promoting family literacy, reading and writing materials in the home, daily routines supporting literacy, regular writing routines, and environmental print in the home. Assessment strategies are delineated to assist families in determining if they are involved in authentic family literacy activities. The monograph next describes characteristics of homes that support family literacy and emphasizes that parents of all ethnic backgrounds, education levels, and socioeconomic status can be successful in creating effective literacy environments. Suggestions for reading to children from infancy through primary school age are included. The benefits of intergenerational and culturally diverse literacy programs are also detailed. Finally, the monograph notes that when teachers bond with parents in their classrooms, opportunities for family literacy events unfold and offers strategies for building parent-school literacy connections at the early childhood and elementary levels. A list of family literacy resources is included for teachers and parents. A family literacy assessment tool is appended. (Contains 22 references.) (KB)