Basic Reading Resources

New websites and resources appear all the time, so we decided to update a list of our favorites!  We believe that children with visual impairments or other special needs are CHILDREN FIRST and, thus, many general reading tips apply to ALL children.

Websites

Reading Is Fundamental

Reading Is Fundamental is an American non-profit organization, which is committed to a literate America by inspiring a passion for reading among all children, providing quality content to make an impact and engaging communities in the solution to give every child the fundamentals for success. 

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Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project offering information and resources on how young children learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.  Includes resources in Spanish.

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Colorin Colorado

Colorin’ Colorado is a free bilingual website that provides information, activities and advice to educators and Spanish-speaking families of English language learners (ELLs).

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Additional Websites

• Australia Literacy and Numeracy Foundation https://alnf.org

• International Literacy Association  https://www.literacyworldwide.org

• Learning A-Z https://www.learninga-z.com

• LD Online http://www.ldonline.org/

• National Center on Improving Literacy (USA) https://improvingliteracy.org/

• National Council of Teachers of English (USA) https://ncte.org

• National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (USA) https://www.nichd.nih.gov; Many publications on literacy organized by age level

• National Literacy Trust (UK) https://literacytrust.org.uk

• National Reading Panel https://www.nichd.nih.gov/research/supported/nrp; This project is no longer current, but it features numerous publications that may be of interest.

• Read Naturally https://www.readnaturally.com; Research-based reading interventions for fluency, phonics, vocabulary, spelling, phonemic awareness, and assessment.

• Reading A-Z https://www.readinga-z.com

• Tar Heel Reader https://tarheelreader.org; A collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces, including touch screens, the IntelliKeys with custom overlays, and 1 to 3 switches.

• What Works Clearinghouse: Literacy (USA). https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/FWW/Results?filters=,Literacy#

Curriculum

These are some sample curricula from English-speaking countries around the world and it is not intended to be a comprehensive list.  Some countries, such as Australia and the UK, have a national curriculum, while others, such as the United States and Canada, do not.  Please consult your local authorities to find out what the standards are in your area.

• Australian Curriculum: Literacy https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/literacy

• Common Core State Standards (USA) https://www.thecorestandards.org/read-the-standards

• India Literacy Project https://www.ilpnet.org/

• The National Curriculum (United Kingdom) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/425601/PRIMARY_national_curriculum.pdf

• Ontario Ministry of Education (Canada) https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/; Canada does not have a national curriculum and this is an example from one of the provinces.

• Read, Write, Think https://www.readwritethink.org; The mission is to provide educators, parents, and afterschool professionals with access to the highest quality practices in reading and language arts instruction by offering the very best in free materials.

• Texas English Language Arts and Reading Curriculum (USA) https://tea.texas.gov/academics/subject-areas/english-language-arts-and-reading; This is just one state’s example of the English Language Arts and Reading Curriculum.  In the United States, every state has standards for children of all ages.  Look for the standards for your state or region.