Parent Resource Hub

Primary (Grades K-3)

Information for Parents

ABC Literacy
This resource from PBS Kids provides tips for helping to develop your child’s literacy skills, for ages 2-8.

Blendable Sounds
As children are learning the sounds associated with letters, it’s important that the pronunciation of the sounds are blendable. This video provides an example of how to pronounce the sound associated with each letter of the alphabet.

Cultivating Readers: Making Reading Active and Fun
This guide from the National Center for Family Literacy is designed to help parents support their young readers.

Curriculum Information for Parents
The Florida Center for Reading Research has a guide for parents to understand expectations of literacy development in grades K-5.

Helping Your Child Become a Reader
This resource from the Florida Department of Education contains language-building activities that you can do with your child to help the skills needed to become a reader.

Homeschool Hideout
This blog lists 150+ Educational Shows on Netflix, arranged by topic.

How to Raise a Reader
This guide from the NY Times provides simple, sensible tips on how to ensure that your child gets a good start in reading.

National Center on Improving Literacy
The National Center on Improving Literacy has a Parents & Families section geared toward helping your child read and write with practical ideas and strategies based on what works.

Parents’ Guide to Student Success
This guide from the National PTA outlines what to expect at different grade levels and how to support your child.

Put Reading First
This parent guide summarizes the National Reading Panel’s findings about how to help children learn to read. It lists important things parents should see teachers doing at school, and provides suggestions for how to help a child at home.

Read. Write. Think.
Read, Write, Think has a whole section devoted to helping parents come up with great home learning activities for kids (K-12).

Reading is Fundamental
Reading is Fundamental has a range of parent resources, including activities, puzzles, and videos to support children’s literacy development.

Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets has a wealth of information to help parents address their child’s needs in all areas of literacy.

Reading Tips for Parents
This brief guide from the US Department of Education has simple reading and writing tips for and parent of young children.

Rhode Island Department of Education: Games to Support Early Literacy Skills
This resource from the Rhode Island Department of Education contains games and activities to strengthen the skills of emergent readers. The various activities focus on the development of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and background knowledge.

Shining Stars: Kindergartners Learn to Read
Shining Stars: First Graders Learn to Read
Shining Stars: Second and Third Graders Learn to Read
These guides from the National Institute for Literacy will take you through some of the things you can do as you as your child learns to read.

Story Mentors
Story Mentors is an online intervention library for beginning and struggling readers. The resources include beginning readers, mentor guides, and at-home resources.

Supporting Your Child’s Reading at Home
This resource from the Regional Educational Laboratory provides parents with information on how they can support foundational reading skills at home.

Talking is Teaching
Talking is Teaching has a wealth of resources to help parents of young children promote strong language skills.

Virtual Field Trips for Elementary
Use these PBS LearningMedia virtual field trips and short video clips to introduce your child to many new concepts. Knowledge about the world is an important contributor to reading comprehension!

Activities for Students

Accessibyte
Funky and fully accesible apps for users who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, dyslexic, or have other reading difficulties, now made free during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baldwin Library of Historical Children Literature
The Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature at the University of Florida provides digital access to thousands of classic titles. Explore some of your child’s favorites.

Bananagrams
Bananagrams is a fun word-building game for the whole family, and now they have a free app, so you can play electronically.

The Big List of Children’s Book Writers Doing Virtual Author Activities
This resource from We Are Teachers details a wealth of online read-alouds and activities for students of all ages.

Core Knowledge Language Arts
The Core Knowledge Foundation provides free, downloadable materials in various subject areas, including language arts. Activities are provided for Pre-K to Grade 5.

Daily Newsletter from PBS Kids
PBS Kids’ new weekday newsletter offers activities and tips you can use to help kids learn and play at home.

The Indianapolis Public Library
The Indianapolis Public Library has a collection of hundreds of free videos of books being read aloud.

International Digital Children’s Library
The International Children’s Digital Library provides books (in several languages) that students and parents can read online.

Into the Book
Created by PBS Wisconsin Education, this site offers learning resources and online student activities for elementary students and teachers.

Junior Ranger Program
The Junior Ranger program of the National Park Service has downloadable books and activities to engage children and help them learn about the natural world around them.

Just Books Read Aloud
Just Books Read Aloud is just what it sounds like–videos of books read aloud. The books are read by volunteers, so the quality varies, but there are many to choose from.

Khan Academy Kids
Khan Academy Kids offers a free app with fun, educational activities for kids ages 2-7.

Molly of Denali
Molly of Denali from PBS Kids includes videos, games, printable activities, and informational text.

Mystery Science
Mystery Science offers a set of science lessons, now made free during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nessy
Activities for kids and guidance for parents of students with dyslexia.

Reading Bear
Reading Bear provides access to free phonics and vocabulary games and activities

Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets has a wealth of information to help parents address their child’s needs in all areas of literacy.

Reading with Ms. Colleen
Reading with Ricke
UFLI’s very own Colleen Pollett and Alyssa Ricke have developed YouTube channels where they post read-alouds and lessons in fundamental reading skills. Check them out!

Scholastic Learn at Home
Scholastic offers a wide range of free, learn-at-home activities for kids of all ages.

Sesame Street
Did you know that Sesame Street has online games and activities to support your child’s language and literacy development?

Sheppard Software
Sheppard Software has hundreds of free, online, learning games in many subject areas for kids (and adults!). Many of these games are great for knowledge building, which helps kids get better at comprehending what they read.

The Spanish Experiment
The Spanish Experiment offers well-known children’s stories translated into Spanish and spoken by a native Spanish speaker. Great for kids… and adults too!

Starfall
Starfall has a variety of games and activities for reading as well other subjects.

Storyline Online
Storyline Online is THE place to go to hear celebrities read children’s books aloud!

Storytime from Space
Hear astronauts read stories from the International Space Station!

Stuck in Your House? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take On Your Couch
Travel the world from home with this exciting resource from Travel and Leisure.

Student Center Activities
Developed for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, these activities from the Florida Center for Reading Research include fun games that support literacy development.

Tween Tribune
Tween Tribune is a free web site from the Smithsonian Institution with reading resources on many topics written by kids and professional journalists.

Unite for Literacy
Unite for Literacy has a great collection of free online books for younger kids.

Virtual Field Trips
Over 30 Virtual Field Trips with links to each one.

Vooks
Vooks offers a year of free access to their collection of animated storybooks.