General Literacy Websites for Parents / Guardians (10-12)

General Literacy (for Parents / Guardians)

  1. All About Adolescent Literacy – http://www.adlit.org/ – It is a national multimedia project offering information and resources to the parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers in grades 4 – 12.
  2. BBC Bitesize – https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zqxhfg8 – BBC has education-related webpages in the areas of reading, writing, and spelling and grammar. Students can play games, read, watch videos and take quizzes on various literacy topics.
  3. BrainPOP – https://go.brainpop.com/family20/a – It is hands-off for parents and hands-on for kids. Add up to two learners per account and view each learner’s Timeline for a summary of their explored topics, badges collected, and learning progress. There are some free sections but most of the website pushes for a subscription. Side note: There is a special website for ELL students – https://ell.brainpop.com/.
  4. Education Quizzes – https://www.educationquizzes.com/parents/ – Every time a child plays one of the quizzes, they will recall information they’ve already learned (it’s a formula called Active Recall). Doing quizzes makes students think. The more they think, the more embedded the knowledge becomes. That’s why quizzes are the best practice to improve the exam performance and learning retention of a child.
  5. IXL – https://ca.ixl.com/international – From phonics and reading comprehension to writing strategies and more, IXL helps learners develop the communication skills needed for success. Using insights from the Real-Time Diagnostic, IXL creates a personalized action plan for each student. Track individual students’ growth toward milestones, whether they’re working ahead or part of an intervention program. 
  6. Learn English Teens (British Council) – https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/ – Brought to you by the British Council, the world’s English teaching experts. We have lots of free online games, songs, stories and activities for teens. For parents, we have articles on supporting children in learning English, videos on using English at home and information about English courses for your child.
  7. Media Smarts – https://mediasmarts.ca/parents – Raising public awareness of the importance of “media smarts” for children and youth is one of the key mandates. To reach parents and people who work with children and youth by developing extensive awareness campaigns and online resources. They have worked with partners, including police, Girl Guides of Canada, Canadian Paediatric Society and libraries, to develop community-based programs. 
  8. National Center on Improving Literacy – https://improvingliteracy.org/family – A partnership among literacy experts, university researchers, and technical assistance providers, with funding from the United States Department of Education. Their mission is to increase access to, and use of, evidence-based approaches to screen, identify, and teach students with literacy-related disabilities, including dyslexia.
  9. Read.gov (Library of Congress) – http://www.read.gov/educators/ – The treasures of the Library of Congress provide countless ways for young people to discover the joy of reading. This webpage suggests activities that can be done with younger and older children to encourage literacy.
  10. Reading is Fundational (Literacy Central) – https://www.rif.org/literacy-central/parents – This award-winning digital library hosts over 10,000 resources directly tied to the books teachers, caregivers and community partners turn to everyday. Organize all of the book resources in one place, create and share book lists, find helpful reading tips and strategies and track student reading progress.
  11. ReadWriteThink – Providing activities, games, tips, printouts and podcasts to parents of children at the primary level.
  12. The Learning Exchange – https://tleliteracy.com/ – A not-for-profit literacy organization providing student literacy resources and free, 1:1 or group tutoring to adults in need. TLE is committed to lifelong learning and the promotion of literacy awareness.
  13. Words for Life: Zone In – https://wordsforlife.org.uk/zone-in/ – Tips on boosting your reading, writing, speaking and listening skills for young adults. Words for Life is created by the National Literacy Trust and supported by UK publishers with funding for its creation from the DfE and Kindred2.



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