Literacy Links for Educators

Within this page you can find links on creative ways to engage kids in books, learning to read, and writing. Although they are geared for the classroom, parents are educators, too, and many of the ideas will work well at home … particularly those designed to bring reading to life.

see also: Multi-media Literacy

General Resources

20 Questions and Answers about Dyslexia that Teachers Can Use to Reshape Instruction – Dyslexia can go undetected, and you’ll find resources that can help. This article on the Reading Rockets Website is helpful not just for educators, but parents, as well.

100 Incredibly Useful YouTube Channels for Educators – You’ll find links to everything from National Geographic and the various Smithsonian institutions to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) and the Anaheim Ballet.

Author Name Pronunciation Guide – TeachingBooks created this great resource to help you correctly pronounce an author’s name.

Back to School: Booklists, Book Reviews and Other Resources Elaine Magliaro has put together an incredibly comprehensive list for jumping into a new school year @ Wild Rose Reader

Book Talk: Checklist for Children’s Literature by Kathy Stemke @ Educationtipster

Children with Print Disabilities: Dyslexia Resources By the American Library Association, American Library, Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) provides a toolkit for educators and librarians on ensuring access to all readers.

Choosing Books that are Just Right by Melinda Parks @ Learn NC, found via The Big Fresh, the Choice Literacy Newsletter, 5 February 2010

Education Oasis – There are lots of great links on this website, including a day-by-day calendar of events with curriculum ideas, children’s book reviews, and tons of other resources.

How to Get Picture Books With Beginning Reader Features into the Hands of Independent Readers – by Misti at Guessing Geisel

How We Set Up Book Clubs in Middle School by Pernille Ripp. Pernille explains the factors that have influenced the current structure of her book clubs, as well as step-by-step help on how to create one in your classroom.

INK Think Tank: Nonfiction Authors in Your Classroom. The main feature of this website is a FREE, searchable database of hundreds of in-print books all written by the 22 award-winning I.N.K. authors. Now you can find lists of books for all grade levels covering content mandated by National Education Standards and your state curriculum.

Making Time for Literacy Chit-Chat to Support Book Choice by Franki Siberson @ Choice Literacy. In this article, Franki talks about how she uses classroom time to engage her students in talking about books. She offers a list of questions to help get those chats started.

Light the Spark of Literacy – This is Cathy Puett Miller’s blog for engaging teachers in promoting literacy. From the blog: “A blog for teachers who want to share and learn about getting kids to fall in love with reading and writing. We will also share about the importance of lighting sparks with families to include them in the process.”

The Power of Puppets by Lisa @ Two Learning Journey. This is a first-hand description of using puppets to engage students. Lisa is a reading support teacher.

Promoting Print Awareness by the Texas Education Agency @ Reading Rockets. This is a set of guidelines for engaging young students in the process of understanding that language has meaning.

Reading Rockets! Ed Extras is a monthly feature that presents a one-page article about learning. There are a variety of forms and it is available in English and Spanish.

Resources to Help Immigrant Children and English Learners by Lectura Books (August 2014). Use this post as a starting point to learn more about the Latino Family Literacy Project.

Rethinking Reading Levels: Some Practical Advice from the Experts by Laura Lambert (Read Brightly). This interview with Nancy Knapp and Paula Schwanenflugel shares their experience – and affirmations – about using levels as a tool, but letting the reader lead.

TeachingBooks.net – This is a School Library Journal microsite where you can find links to author programs, author websites, and book guides.

Tools for Literacy Programs – The National Center for Family Literacy created this FREE catalog in the Free Teacher’s Resources section of the website. The catalog is a user-friendly publication with literature organized into component and topical areas with full citations, summaries and findings provided. From the NCFL: “It is a useful tool for those currently working in family literacy, as well as for those interested in learning more!”

Video Book Trailer Resource Links by Keith Schoch @ Teach with Picture Books

What to Say on Parent/Teacher Night – Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan have a great article at the Choice Literacy about topics teachers can share — and ideas on how to convey them — during the annual “back to school night.”

Every Child Reads – A podcast interview with Donalyn Miller, author of The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. Donalyn offers ideas for encouraging reading in school and at home. (August 2009)

Grammargator – This is a free grammar guide for teachers in a PDF format.

Learning Global Awareness, Part 1 and Part 2 – Moms Inspire Learning

https://pamelakramer.com/2021/08/17/nonfiction-picture-books-that-will-teach-children-as-they-entertain/ by Anna M. Lewis at Interesting Nonfiction for Kids (I.N.K.)

Picture Books for Teaching 6 Traits of Writing by Ms. Baar, La Villita Elementary Library

Poetry Foundation Learning Lab – This set of pages on the Poetry Foundation website offers tips, articles, and examples of ways for educators to use poetry and immerse kids in this form of literature.

Read Alouds for Building Community Early in the Year – This is both a podcast and transcript of a discussion with Mary Lee Hahn of A Year of Reading. You’ll find it at Choice Literacy.

Some Rules We Need to Break in our Reading Classrooms – You’ve heard them “read X pages before abandoning a book, or “you are too old to read this book.” Pernille Ripp takes the 11 most popular rules to be reconsidered in today’s classroom.

StoryStarters by Mark @ This Teaching Life (August 2009) – Mark talks about Scholastic’s StoryStarters program and offers ideas on ways to use it in the classroom to help students in grades 1 to 4 overcome writer’s block.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Slump: How to Help ELL Students Leap to Success by Kristina Robert on Colorin Colorado.

Teach With Picture Books – Frequently updated picture book resources, and activities for teachers and home schoolers, by Keith Schoch, teacher and consultant. “The main purpose of this site is to help teachers and homeschooling parents in grades 3-8 use picture books to enhance their instruction.”

Teaching With Picture Books – Also by Keith Schoch, “thirteen reasons why upper grade teachers should be incorporating picture books into their daily curriculum.”

To Improve Reading, Focus on Writing by Bita Nazarian and Jaime Balboa @ EdSource.org. Research shows that writing skills help students become better readers and ultimately understand all subjects better. This article includes ideas for incorporating writing within the classroom and accros disciplines.

Writing Fix, – A Northern Nevada Writing Project. Teaching writing through picture books. Lessons focus on the 6+1 writing traits.

Literacy Links for Educators

General Resources

ELL and ESL

Literacy in the Digital Age

Cross-Curriculum Language Arts