General Literacy Websites for Parents/Guardians (4-6)

General Literacy (for Parents / Guardians)

  1. ABC Teach – https://www.abcteach.com/ – Many resources organized under the categories of handwriting, language arts, reading, reading comprehension and phonics. There’s an “ABC Tools” section allowing educators to generate worksheets and interactive whiteboard activities available with a paid membership. Free resources available as well.
  2. 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.
  3. BBC Bitesize – https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zv48q6f – 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.
  4. Book Adventure – https://bookadventure.com/ – Suitable for students in grades K-8, Book Adventure has a dual mission in the world of online reading education. First, the service is designed to help early learners master the basic concepts of reading comprehension and the principles of literacy. Second, to encourage a lifelong passion for learning. Each “adventure” excites children about reading and gives them a new goal that will push them toward more independent reading outside the bounds of each lesson.
  5. Bookopolis – https://www.bookopolis.com/ – Use Bookopolis to set up a safe, private social network for reading or in-class assignments. Students can browse and discover books that interest them. For students who don’t know where to start, teachers can provide recommendations. After students are done reading, they complete their review of the book with a book report. Teachers can comment on the reading logs, reports, reviews and track student reading by group or by individual.
  6. 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/.
  7. Carl’s Corner – http://www.carlscorner.us.com/ – This website has been created to provide resources and materials for classroom teachers, reading and resource specialists, speech therapists, parents and students in the area of language arts.
  8. Children Learn to Read by Reading – https://www.mrsjudyaraujo.com/ – Pinpoints five different problems students (up to Grade 5) may have – phonological/phonemic awareness, word decoding/phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension – and a list of strategies for parents to help at home.
  9. Dreamscape – https://www.playdreamscape.com/parents/ – Get real-time insights into your child’s learning progress with a free Dreamscape Parent account. View reports on skills your child has mastered or struggled with to make informed decisions about instructional time. Assign questions to your child based on skills or genres they love. View reports on skills your child has mastered or struggled with to make informed decisions about instructional time.
  10. EdHelper – https://www.edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension.htm – An online subscription service that provides printable worksheets for teachers and homeschooling parents. There is an ability to create, save, and edit word lists that can be used to make personalized reading, spelling, and vocabulary worksheets and puzzles.
  11. English Worksheets Land – https://www.englishworksheetsland.com/ – English Worksheets Land is the creation of two dozen teachers. Every month, new worksheets are created for grades K-8. Many of the worksheets are offered for free but to make the most of the wealth of information, a paid membership is necessary. 
  12. Fact Monster: All About Books – https://www.factmonster.com/culture-entertainment/journalism-literature – Interesting links to various types of information about books to help engage young readers with the help of their parents.
  13. 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. 
  14. Jumpstart – https://www.jumpstart.com/parents/worksheets/reading-worksheets or https://www.jumpstart.com/parents/worksheets/english-worksheets – JumpStart.com is a groundbreaking evolution in children’s learning, as it is one of the first learning games delivered in a browser with high-quality 3d graphics and advanced gameplay. It is worth exploring the website. Not all of the resources are free so, if you want to dig deeper, you may want to purchase the membership.
  15. K5 Learning – https://www.k5learning.com/ – Worksheets and workbooks are provided in PDF format for students in grades K-5 in the areas of reading comprehension, story structure, spelling and grammar.
  16. Khan Academy – https://www.khanacademy.org/ela – This program is currently in beta format so there only three subjects per grade (gr. 2 – 9) at the moment but each topic utilizes sections like building knowledge, close reading, applying vocabulary knowledge and reading for understanding to help with developing literacy skills. There is a section about grammar as well, but it is not grade-specific.
  17. Learn English Kids (British Council) – https://learnenglishkids.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 children. 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.
  18. 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. 
  19. Mighty Book – https://www.mightybook.com/parents.html – There is a nice mix of books, comics, songs, and games. Some of the content is original but it is also based on classics (e.g. Beatrix Potter stories). Everything is illustrated, animated or read aloud for students. The parents page has been posted here.
  20. 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.
  21. Night Zookeeper – https://www.nightzookeeper.com/en-ca/parents/ – Fun, engaging games that increase vocabulary and improve spelling. Puzzles and challenges that develop grammar and structure skills. Inspiring prompts and story creation lessons that spark imaginations.
  22. OxfordOwl: English – https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/ – Select activities on grammar, vocabulary, spelling, writing and even handwriting. There is a separate tab for reading activities.
  23. OxfordOwl: Reading – https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/ – There is a guide to learning phonics, a free eBook library, expert advice for struggling readers, tips on developoing comprehension skills and much more.
  24. 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.
  25. Reading Eggs – https://readingeggs.com/ – This program focuses on a core reading curriculum of skills and strategies essential for sustained reading success. It completely supports what children learn at school and will help to improve your child’s school results. Emerging readers will learn through phonics, spelling, vocabulary, and reading practice.
  26. 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.
  27. Reading Rockets – https://www.readingrockets.org/audience/parents – Offers a wealth of research-based reading strategies, lessons, and activities designed to help young children learn how to read. Resources assist parents, teachers, and other educators in helping struggling readers build fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.
  28. ReadWriteThink – Providing activities, games, tips, printouts and podcasts to parents of children at the primary level.
  29. Scholastic Parents – https://www.scholastic.com/parents/home.html – Popular academic website has dedicated a section completely to parents as a way of helping out their children in literacy with ideas, activities and recommended reading lists. Some sections may require payment.
  30. Spellodrome – https://www.3plearning.com/software/spellodrome/ – Designed by educators, Spellodrome encourages independent learning and the development of critical spelling awareness. Whether it’s a live spelling challenge, mastering wordlists, or a crossword to introduce word meanings, Spellodrome engages your child through an array of learning challenges. For students from Kindergarten to Grade 8.
  31. The Children’s Book Review – https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/ – A resource devoted to children’s literature and literacy including published reviews and book lists of the best books for kids of all ages. Author and illustrator interviews available and literacy-based articles to help parents, grandparents, caregivers, teachers and librarians.
  32. 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.
  33. Word Game Time – https://www.wordgametime.com/ – This website was created to help kids succeed with the goal to provide a fun educational playground for students in K-7 to excel in spelling, typing, reading, geography and language arts. The games relying on Flash Player are not currently working as it is no longer exists.
  34. Words for Life – https://wordsforlife.org.uk/ – Words for Life is created by the National Literacy Trust, funded by Kindred², the Department for Education, and supported by UK publishers. It provides parents, children and young people (up to grade 7) with activities and support to improve their language, literacy and communication skills from home.



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