Literacy Activities

Your children continue to develop as readers. They are gaining many reading skills that need to be practiced throughout the year. Here are some great reading lists, apps, and web sites to help your young readers continue on their journey to literacy.

Explore the Wonderopolis for thousands of high-interest nonfiction “Wonder of the Day” articles.

ONLINE LIBRARIES

Introduce stories from around the world!

The International Children’s Digital Library, an amazing (and growing!) collection of international children’s books available to read online in their original languages.

Big Universe is another online library of fiction and nonfiction books for kids 0-12. The site also offers adults and kids the chance to create and publish their own stories.

AUDIO BOOKS

As an alternative to print, especially for kids with learning disabilities that make reading a struggle.

You can now download stories to iPods and other mobile devices, perfect for car rides or a lazy hot afternoon.

Learning Ally -provides FREE audio books for kids to listen over the summer. Find lots more ideas and resources for accessible print on the blog, Aiming for Access.

Tales2Go offers high-quality kids’ books through a mobile streaming service. Choose from a three month subscription for $29.99 or an annual subscription for $99.99

AudibleKids (an Amazon company) has an extensive collection of downloadable books, and some of them are free through a partnership with RIF. FREE 30 day trial!

Browse our list of Favorite Audio Books (available for purchase through Amazon) and find even more titles on Book Finder.

Suggested Apps for Literacy

Print Awareness

Apps that help young children build a better understanding of letters and sounds, the left-to-right nature of reading, and recognizing that print differs from pictures.

Phonics

Apps that help young children practice basic phonics skills. including recognizing the letters of the alphabet, learning uppercase and lowercase letters, and word building.

Spelling

Apps developed to help young kids practice spelling and vocabulary. You’ll find crosswords, a spelling bee, Boggle-style games, word builders, and more.

Comprehension

Apps that provide practice with specific comprehension skills, including sequencing, differentiating between fact and opinion, developing word awareness, as well as several mind mapping apps.

Vocabulary

Apps that engage young children in crossword and Scrabble-type games. Other apps focus on specific word meaning skills by highlighting word opposites, synonyms, and homophones.

Writing

Apps that help young children with all of the steps of the writing process — from handwriting skills to sentence construction to planning and drafting a story.

PBS Between the Lions

Arthur by Marc Brown online

Storyplace

Storyline Online

Jan Brett’s Website

Lil’ Fingers Storybooks