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5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month

5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month

5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month Whether you celebrate Black History during February or during the entire year, below are 5 different ways to recognize the history of African American and Black individuals. If you are looking for Black History Project...

Booklist-Fiction & Nonfiction Books with LGBTQIA characters and authors

Booklist-Fiction & Nonfiction Books with LGBTQIA characters and authors

Photo by Michael Burrows from Pexels  YA books with LGBTQ authors. Fiction and nonfiction booklist A booklist with modern-day stories that discuss gender and sexuality for teens and young adults.  8-12, MIDDLE GRADE READERS NON FICTION 1. The Gender Wheel by Maya...

Booklist-Fiction & Nonfiction Books with Asian youth

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels YA & Children's books with Asian characters Books with Asian main characters Asian writers books Below is a list to recognize the stories about Asian lives and Asian...

Booklist-Fiction & Nonfiction Books with Black Youth

Children's books featuring Black authors or Black characters. Black authors nonfiction Young Adult books by Black authors To celebrate African American and Black authors or characters, a list has been compiled for young readers-middle grade-high school grade readers....

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5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month

5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month

5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month Whether you celebrate Black History during February or during the entire year, below are 5 different ways to recognize the history of African American and Black individuals. If you are looking for Black History Project...

Start to Read, 60 Easy Tips & Lessons

Start to Read, 60 Easy Tips & Lessons

Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels   Help my child read fluently Help my child read Help my child read and write Looking for ways to teach your child to read, below are 60 different tips. A list of suggestions to help your child read fluently, to encourage them...

Reading Books for Academics and Pleasure

Reading Books for Academics and Pleasure

Critical reading English for academic purposesEncouraging reading at homePleasure of reading books Ensuring that your child reads for fun or reads for school or academics requires stamina and balance. Particularly, these experiences include different books, skills,...

Understanding Assessing and Teaching Reading

Understanding Assessing and Teaching Reading

Developing Diagnostic Assessments to Improve Data-Driven Instruction Linguistic, Prior Knowledge, Cognition, and Observations involved in assessment creation. Hearing the words: assessment, evaluation, and data can give you a variety of emotions, ideas, and memories....

How to Read Different Nonfiction Books

How to Read Different Nonfiction Books

Reading Nonfiction Picture Books Reading Nonfiction Using Text Features Reading Nonfiction with 0-10 year olds Reading Nonfiction stories introduces new vocabulary words, truthful ideas, and new information about our world. Nonfiction can be defined as, informational...

Juneteenth Learning for Kids-Reading Activities

Juneteenth Learning for Kids-Reading Activities

Topics about Juneteenth Vocabulary words and questions about Juneteenth Successful Black Parenting Magazine provides 19 suggestions on Real Learning Activities for Families About Juneteenth. “These activities are suggestions. Take them and customize them for the age...

Booklist: Juneteenth Books for Children

Booklist: Juneteenth Books for Children

Booklist: Books about the Juneteenth holiday and what it means for African American communities. Juneteenth is a holiday to celebrate the end of enslavement. After enslavement was Reconstruction. After and during Reconstruction the Black Codes were established. A...

What is Literacy?

What is Literacy?

Literacy is the ability to demonstrate your language through reading, writing, speaking, viewing and listening. A literate learner, an individual needs the knowledge, resources, and tools to effectively utilize the language that they are attempting to learn What is...

Reading Strategies to Motivate Struggling Readers

Reading Strategies to Motivate Struggling Readers

Reading Strategies to help your child to read. Make reading realistic so they can see how to use it in their lives Reading Strategies for Struggling Readers You might be wondering why your 8-year-old struggles with reading or even why your fifteen-year-old struggles...

Virtual Teaching 2021

Virtual Teaching 2021

The ubiquitous field of online teaching and learning has been taken by force. It has been introduced from private institutions, businesses, and many more. Now that hybrid teaching or even 100% virtual learning is in place it is most important to keep youth motivated...

Reading Pictures with Struggling Readers

Reading Pictures with Struggling Readers

Using images to build reading comprehension.   Images add more information to the vocabulary word because they refer to what the word actually is. Teaching your child how to read is a marathon. You might be feeling overwhelmed at times or even at ease. Whatever the...

Black History Facts about Civil Rights Leaders

Black History Facts about Civil Rights Leaders

As we look into celebrating Martin Luther King's holiday, we should remember the individuals who fought alongside him to bring African Americans justice, equality, jobs, freedom, and so much more. Unknown organizers, freedom riders, activists, and marchers...

Oral Reading Fluency

Oral Reading Fluency

Reading can be a joy for some and a chore for others, and that largely depends on a reader’s skill and ability. If you aren’t a strong reader, you might not enjoy reading as much as someone who has strong reading comprehension skills or who read a lot when they were...

Evaluating Literature with BIPOC

Evaluating Literature with BIPOC

When you choose literature featuring Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), it is important to know how “deep” you want to get into the content. Readers can read from identifying elements about the culture to becoming emotionally there with the events taking...

Making the argument for children’s literature that represents BIPOC

Making the argument for children’s literature that represents BIPOC

Growing up, what was your favorite book? Did you have one? Was it a common classic, like “Goodnight, Moon” or “The Giving Tree”? Or something unique to your upbringing?  Who was the main character in your favorite book? Did they remind you of yourself? Did they look...

Democratizing Artificial Intelligence with POC

Democratizing Artificial Intelligence with POC

We’ve all been there: we’re in the car or doing chores at home when we think of a song we want to listen to on our smartphone. So, we say “Hey Siri” or “Hey Google”, to put in the request and keep doing what we’re doing. But Siri and Google don’t pick up on what we...

Why I Celebrated With a Kiowa Tribe

Why I Celebrated With a Kiowa Tribe

Tents, chairs, flags, ancestral clothes, and a dedicated circle of Kiowa men and women gathered to honor their ancestral tribe. One by one the dancers methodically moved into the circle to the rhythm of the drums. Left-right-left-right dancers stomped continuously as...

National S.T.E.A.M Day

National S.T.E.A.M Day

  National STEAM Day was November 8th. We are providing books and STEAM activities that your Pre-K, Elementary, or Middle Grade reader can do for 21+ days. Enjoy these stories that feature real world activities and diverse scientists in STEAM. STEAM stands for...

Teen Books on Social Justice

Teen Books on Social Justice

With racial injustice and social turmoil brought upon Black Americans, it is our hope that these books can provide clarity, inspiration, and better understandings. There is no ignoring what has occurred to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Berry, Emmet Till, and the...

Learnings from Trinidad & Tobago Educators

Learnings from Trinidad & Tobago Educators

Trinidad & Tobago Training: Learnings & Reflections How We Can Learn From One Another Ending Cultural Opposition & Biases  I had the honor of visiting Primary (Elementary) and Secondary (High School) schools in Trinidad & Tobago in 2019. Educators on...

Discussing racism and equity in the classroom

Discussing racism and equity in the classroom

I interviewed three educators to gain their perspectives on how other educators can discuss equity and race in their own classrooms. You can connect with each of them through their social media platforms.  Crystal Everett @CrystalCalledit (Twitter)Real World Learning...

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency Having a reader who is struggling can take time and has ups and downs. Have you heard, “Th, theee, ddooor is re real?” “Today Reggie decid to have a fun day. They plae with evvveryy.” If this sounds familiar where your child...

How To Tell A Comedic Story & Love Literacy

How To Tell A Comedic Story & Love Literacy

I loved it when Mr. Clarence Lomax cupped his right hand around his nose and pointed towards the wall saying, “Mr. Lomax, to my office. I am going to call your mother.” At that moment he was taking me back to his days as a teenager at his school. I imagined brick...

Reading Books for Academics and Pleasure

Reading Books for Academics and Pleasure

Critical reading English for academic purposesEncouraging reading at homePleasure of reading books Ensuring that your child reads for fun or reads for school or academics requires stamina and balance. Particularly, these experiences include different books, skills,...

What is Literacy?

What is Literacy?

Literacy is the ability to demonstrate your language through reading, writing, speaking, viewing and listening. A literate learner, an individual needs the knowledge, resources, and tools to effectively utilize the language that they are attempting to learn What is...

5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month

5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month

5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month Whether you celebrate Black History during February or during the entire year, below are 5 different ways to recognize the history of African American and Black individuals. If you are looking for Black History Project...

Start to Read, 60 Easy Tips & Lessons

Start to Read, 60 Easy Tips & Lessons

Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels   Help my child read fluently Help my child read Help my child read and write Looking for ways to teach your child to read, below are 60 different tips. A list of suggestions to help your child read fluently, to encourage them...

Reading Books for Academics and Pleasure

Reading Books for Academics and Pleasure

Critical reading English for academic purposesEncouraging reading at homePleasure of reading books Ensuring that your child reads for fun or reads for school or academics requires stamina and balance. Particularly, these experiences include different books, skills,...

How to Read Different Nonfiction Books

How to Read Different Nonfiction Books

Reading Nonfiction Picture Books Reading Nonfiction Using Text Features Reading Nonfiction with 0-10 year olds Reading Nonfiction stories introduces new vocabulary words, truthful ideas, and new information about our world. Nonfiction can be defined as, informational...

Booklist: Inspired by #BrownBoyJoy

Booklist: Inspired by #BrownBoyJoy

Derrick Barnes wrote I Am Every Good Thing to celebrate the experiences of black boys. The imagery captivates a brown boy’s experiences of skating, swimming, and growing into a future leader. Barnes stated, “I wrote this book for Black boys and the people that love...

Booklist: Nature Books for Children

Booklist: Nature Books for Children

Books about Earth & Climate Change Books for Kids Nature Books for Children Enjoy these picture books about nature that your child might love to read. These books range from riddles, fiction nature books, and non-fiction books. With broader topics about healing...

Juneteenth Learning for Kids-Reading Activities

Juneteenth Learning for Kids-Reading Activities

Topics about Juneteenth Vocabulary words and questions about Juneteenth Successful Black Parenting Magazine provides 19 suggestions on Real Learning Activities for Families About Juneteenth. “These activities are suggestions. Take them and customize them for the age...

Booklist: Juneteenth Books for Children

Booklist: Juneteenth Books for Children

Booklist: Books about the Juneteenth holiday and what it means for African American communities. Juneteenth is a holiday to celebrate the end of enslavement. After enslavement was Reconstruction. After and during Reconstruction the Black Codes were established. A...

5 Strategies to Teach your Toddler Sign Language

5 Strategies to Teach your Toddler Sign Language

Sign language can support oral language development. American sign language is a visual language where the signer and viewer(s) communicate with their hands, fingers, and facial expression.    Sign Language is a visual language developed from generations of signers...

Booklist: Black & Brown Teen Fantasy Books

Booklist: Black & Brown Teen Fantasy Books

Booklist Inspired by Gilded Ones by Namina Forna Looking for good graphic novels or novels for your teen? Discover young adult fantasy books written about a Black or Brown teen. 1. The Gilded Ones, by Namina Forna, (2020) Deka lives in an unknown land and learns that...

What is Literacy?

What is Literacy?

Literacy is the ability to demonstrate your language through reading, writing, speaking, viewing and listening. A literate learner, an individual needs the knowledge, resources, and tools to effectively utilize the language that they are attempting to learn What is...

Reading Strategies to Motivate Struggling Readers

Reading Strategies to Motivate Struggling Readers

Reading Strategies to help your child to read. Make reading realistic so they can see how to use it in their lives Reading Strategies for Struggling Readers You might be wondering why your 8-year-old struggles with reading or even why your fifteen-year-old struggles...

Reading Pictures with Struggling Readers

Reading Pictures with Struggling Readers

Using images to build reading comprehension.   Images add more information to the vocabulary word because they refer to what the word actually is. Teaching your child how to read is a marathon. You might be feeling overwhelmed at times or even at ease. Whatever the...

How to Teach A 4th Grader to Read a Picture

How to Teach A 4th Grader to Read a Picture

A lesson on how to read a picture with a 4th grader.  Reading images might be complicated, but using real world examples and discussions makes it easier to read images.  A parent, N.J., provided a visual-literacy lesson with her daughter in December 2020. In her...

Black History Facts about Civil Rights Leaders

Black History Facts about Civil Rights Leaders

As we look into celebrating Martin Luther King's holiday, we should remember the individuals who fought alongside him to bring African Americans justice, equality, jobs, freedom, and so much more. Unknown organizers, freedom riders, activists, and marchers...

Books About Peace

Books About Peace

Our nation is in turmoil and we need to think about the wonderful things that we have. Below is a list of books that builds discussions on acceptance, acts of kindness, gratitude, togetherness, mindfulness, and overcoming challenges for peace. We have listed books for...

Oral Reading Fluency

Oral Reading Fluency

Reading can be a joy for some and a chore for others, and that largely depends on a reader’s skill and ability. If you aren’t a strong reader, you might not enjoy reading as much as someone who has strong reading comprehension skills or who read a lot when they were...

Evaluating Literature with BIPOC

Evaluating Literature with BIPOC

When you choose literature featuring Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), it is important to know how “deep” you want to get into the content. Readers can read from identifying elements about the culture to becoming emotionally there with the events taking...

Children’s Stories about Hanukkah

Children’s Stories about Hanukkah

Hanukkah is a holiday celebrated in December for 8 days. The start date might change which begins each year on the 25th day of the Jewish month. This day is also spelled Chanukah. For centuries, Jewish people have had to fight for their religious freedom. Hanukkah is...

Celebrate Deaf Communities: Booklist

Celebrate Deaf Communities: Booklist

The deaf community has a rich culture. However, their language and experiences are still not fully understood. They have in the past have been called Dummy, Dumb, Disabled, and so much more. Throughout the years, however, thousands of deaf activists have pushed for...

Stories by Jacqueline Woodson

Stories by Jacqueline Woodson

Jacqueline Woodson is an award-winning author who has written stories for young people, teens, and adults for over 20 years. Woodson writes so that "children will see experiences, they will gain empathy and their world will become bigger." Woodson's books can be...

Booklist: Indigenous Lives

Booklist: Indigenous Lives

As we celebrate the Thanksgiving, we can also celebrate Indigenous people who lived in America before America was colonized. With November being Native American's People's Month, we wanted to share books with you that celebrates their lives and culture. Below is a...

Why I Celebrated With a Kiowa Tribe

Why I Celebrated With a Kiowa Tribe

Tents, chairs, flags, ancestral clothes, and a dedicated circle of Kiowa men and women gathered to honor their ancestral tribe. One by one the dancers methodically moved into the circle to the rhythm of the drums. Left-right-left-right dancers stomped continuously as...

National S.T.E.A.M Day

National S.T.E.A.M Day

  National STEAM Day was November 8th. We are providing books and STEAM activities that your Pre-K, Elementary, or Middle Grade reader can do for 21+ days. Enjoy these stories that feature real world activities and diverse scientists in STEAM. STEAM stands for...

Teen Books on Social Justice

Teen Books on Social Justice

With racial injustice and social turmoil brought upon Black Americans, it is our hope that these books can provide clarity, inspiration, and better understandings. There is no ignoring what has occurred to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Berry, Emmet Till, and the...

Reading Graphic Novel March by John Lewis

Reading Graphic Novel March by John Lewis

The Graphic Novel series: March displayed critical moments during the Civil rights era.  John Lewis and the illustrator use the language and images to highlight the: Drama, Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Visual Literacy The trilogy of the book March is a graphic novel...

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency Having a reader who is struggling can take time and has ups and downs. Have you heard, “Th, theee, ddooor is re real?” “Today Reggie decid to have a fun day. They plae with evvveryy.” If this sounds familiar where your child...

How to Read Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

How to Read Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

How to Read Crown an Ode to the Fresh Cut, a modern-day story about a black boy getting a hair cut. A picture book story for 2nd and 3rd grade readers. Crown an Ode to the Fresh Cut celebrates the experiences of what it means to get a "Fresh Cut" in the barber shop....

Reading Strategies

5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month

5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month

5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month Whether you celebrate Black History during February or during the entire year, below are 5 different ways to recognize the history of African American and Black individuals. If you are looking for Black History Project...

Start to Read, 60 Easy Tips & Lessons

Start to Read, 60 Easy Tips & Lessons

Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels   Help my child read fluently Help my child read Help my child read and write Looking for ways to teach your child to read, below are 60 different tips. A list of suggestions to help your child read fluently, to encourage them...

Understanding Assessing and Teaching Reading

Understanding Assessing and Teaching Reading

Developing Diagnostic Assessments to Improve Data-Driven Instruction Linguistic, Prior Knowledge, Cognition, and Observations involved in assessment creation. Hearing the words: assessment, evaluation, and data can give you a variety of emotions, ideas, and memories....

How to Read Different Nonfiction Books

How to Read Different Nonfiction Books

Reading Nonfiction Picture Books Reading Nonfiction Using Text Features Reading Nonfiction with 0-10 year olds Reading Nonfiction stories introduces new vocabulary words, truthful ideas, and new information about our world. Nonfiction can be defined as, informational...

Juneteenth Learning for Kids-Reading Activities

Juneteenth Learning for Kids-Reading Activities

Topics about Juneteenth Vocabulary words and questions about Juneteenth Successful Black Parenting Magazine provides 19 suggestions on Real Learning Activities for Families About Juneteenth. “These activities are suggestions. Take them and customize them for the age...

Reading Strategies to Motivate Struggling Readers

Reading Strategies to Motivate Struggling Readers

Reading Strategies to help your child to read. Make reading realistic so they can see how to use it in their lives Reading Strategies for Struggling Readers You might be wondering why your 8-year-old struggles with reading or even why your fifteen-year-old struggles...

How to Teach A 4th Grader to Read a Picture

How to Teach A 4th Grader to Read a Picture

A lesson on how to read a picture with a 4th grader.  Reading images might be complicated, but using real world examples and discussions makes it easier to read images.  A parent, N.J., provided a visual-literacy lesson with her daughter in December 2020. In her...

National S.T.E.A.M Day

National S.T.E.A.M Day

  National STEAM Day was November 8th. We are providing books and STEAM activities that your Pre-K, Elementary, or Middle Grade reader can do for 21+ days. Enjoy these stories that feature real world activities and diverse scientists in STEAM. STEAM stands for...

Reading Graphic Novel March by John Lewis

Reading Graphic Novel March by John Lewis

The Graphic Novel series: March displayed critical moments during the Civil rights era.  John Lewis and the illustrator use the language and images to highlight the: Drama, Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Visual Literacy The trilogy of the book March is a graphic novel...

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency Having a reader who is struggling can take time and has ups and downs. Have you heard, “Th, theee, ddooor is re real?” “Today Reggie decid to have a fun day. They plae with evvveryy.” If this sounds familiar where your child...

How To Tell A Comedic Story & Love Literacy

How To Tell A Comedic Story & Love Literacy

I loved it when Mr. Clarence Lomax cupped his right hand around his nose and pointed towards the wall saying, “Mr. Lomax, to my office. I am going to call your mother.” At that moment he was taking me back to his days as a teenager at his school. I imagined brick...

How to Read Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

How to Read Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

How to Read Crown an Ode to the Fresh Cut, a modern-day story about a black boy getting a hair cut. A picture book story for 2nd and 3rd grade readers. Crown an Ode to the Fresh Cut celebrates the experiences of what it means to get a "Fresh Cut" in the barber shop....

Wordsmiths

Author Spotlight C.L. Fails-LaunchCrate Publishing

Author Spotlight C.L. Fails-LaunchCrate Publishing

Founder of LaunchCrate shares her story. 2. C.L Fails writes children's, teen, and adult books. 3. C.L. Fails writes to honor her mother and family. In a small university classroom, Cynthia and her mother sat through hours and hours of lectures together. She quietly...

Author Spotlight-María García Esperón

Author Spotlight-María García Esperón

 María García Esperón is a researcher, historian, and writer of ancient Greek mythology. Her inspiration for history also comes from her research and visits to the ancient city of Teotihuacan. As a young woman, she discovered stories about her ancestors by her nanita,...

Toni Morrison Wrote Children’s Stories

Toni Morrison Wrote Children’s Stories

Toni Morrison built a legacy on writing about women and Black people in her novels. Morrison challenged the Black experience and brought up topics that made mainstream media question and create a large discourse. With her efforts, Morrison earned the Nobel Peace Prize...

Author Spotlight: Crystal Allen

Author Spotlight: Crystal Allen

Crystal Allen and Mya Tibbs Crystal Allen gives life to a nine-year-old character named Mya. She is bold, fun, and free-spirited. Mya wears cowgirl boots, uses her braids to help her remember the date, and loves her friends. This nine-year-old girl’s personality was...

Stories by Jacqueline Woodson

Stories by Jacqueline Woodson

Jacqueline Woodson is an award-winning author who has written stories for young people, teens, and adults for over 20 years. Woodson writes so that "children will see experiences, they will gain empathy and their world will become bigger." Woodson's books can be...

How To Tell A Comedic Story & Love Literacy

How To Tell A Comedic Story & Love Literacy

I loved it when Mr. Clarence Lomax cupped his right hand around his nose and pointed towards the wall saying, “Mr. Lomax, to my office. I am going to call your mother.” At that moment he was taking me back to his days as a teenager at his school. I imagined brick...

Arie Monroe-Illustrator

Arie Monroe-Illustrator

Arie Monroe As an Illustrator and Entreprenuer By Marwa Raja Do you appreciate the creative mind of an artist? Do you yearn for artistic passion? If your answers are yes- Arie Monroe is the woman you want to know. Monroe has dedicated her life to the life of an...

Vincente Perez Experiences About Race & Identity

Vincente Perez Experiences About Race & Identity

Vincente Perez Experiences about Race & Identity By Marwa Raja For today's segment, we introduce Vincente Perez; a Poet, activist, musician and more. Perez focuses on the experiences of race in America through several mediums. For those who have suffered from an...

Mother Moses Speaks

Mother Moses Speaks

Mother Moses and Generational Family Stories By Marwa Raja There are various ways to describe Mother Mary Moses, allow me to jot it down to three- soulful, committed, and heartfelt. As a young woman, Mother Mary Moses went by the name of Mary Moore as a committed...

Ben Lee-Comic Book Artist

Ben Lee, Comic Book Artist By Marwa Raja This month’s podcast features the founder of a comic publishing company called Big Head Productions, Ben Lee. Ben solely runs Big Head Productions as it was his calling to action. Calling it quits to his daytime job that didn’t...

Richard Blanco Inclusion and One Today

Richard Blanco Inclusion and One Today

    Connectedness, inclusion, and community are themes that one will find when reading the picture book narrative poem, One Today. In One Today, Richard Blanco shows a literary celebration of how we are all connected no matter if someone is a teacher, a...

Edwidge Danticat About Immigration

Edwidge Danticat About Immigration

Danticat wrote a modern-day story about a family separated by immigration. Mama’s Nightingale is set in the United States where her mother doesn’t have her citizenship papers. Saya longed for her mother to return home. She cried when she saw her mother at the prison...

M.Evelina Galang Silenced Stories

  In Angel De La Luna Evelina Galang weaves a narrative of an untold story about a 14 year old Filipino girl. Galang wrote this story because “I want them to see that for Angel, she is finding her voice and learning that her voice matters.  We don’t have to stay...

Lacey T. and Meherrin Uncovering a Youth’s Death

Lacey T. and Meherrin Uncovering a Youth’s Death

Lacey T The Murder Mystery of Jason Blackwell Meherrin (muh-hair-ren), a tenacious and fashionable teen has her life disrupted with violence. Community members who lost their lives in the Trenches were assumed to be “at the wrong place at the wrong time.” However,...

Struggling Readers

Reading Books for Academics and Pleasure

Reading Books for Academics and Pleasure

Critical reading English for academic purposesEncouraging reading at homePleasure of reading books Ensuring that your child reads for fun or reads for school or academics requires stamina and balance. Particularly, these experiences include different books, skills,...

Reading Pictures with Struggling Readers

Reading Pictures with Struggling Readers

Using images to build reading comprehension.   Images add more information to the vocabulary word because they refer to what the word actually is. Teaching your child how to read is a marathon. You might be feeling overwhelmed at times or even at ease. Whatever the...

Early Childhood

Start to Read, 60 Easy Tips & Lessons

Start to Read, 60 Easy Tips & Lessons

Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels   Help my child read fluently Help my child read Help my child read and write Looking for ways to teach your child to read, below are 60 different tips. A list of suggestions to help your child read fluently, to encourage them...

Reading With Your Toddler During 5 Routines

Reading With Your Toddler During 5 Routines

Wanting to teach your baby to read? Looking for ways for early childhood reading? Introducing reading to your baby or toddler is a fun and challenging endeavor. When it was time to introduce my son to reading, I started before he was 6 months old to help him get in...

9 Ways to Introduce Early Reading

9 Ways to Introduce Early Reading

Language and Literacy for the Early Years Early Reading Strategies for Kids Introducing literacy skills and reading at an early age can provide the abilities to help your child grasp the language and skills to succeed as they grow. It is never too early to start, and...

5 Strategies to Teach your Toddler Sign Language

5 Strategies to Teach your Toddler Sign Language

Sign language can support oral language development. American sign language is a visual language where the signer and viewer(s) communicate with their hands, fingers, and facial expression.    Sign Language is a visual language developed from generations of signers...

DEI Instruction

Evaluating Literature with BIPOC

Evaluating Literature with BIPOC

When you choose literature featuring Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), it is important to know how “deep” you want to get into the content. Readers can read from identifying elements about the culture to becoming emotionally there with the events taking...

Making the argument for children’s literature that represents BIPOC

Making the argument for children’s literature that represents BIPOC

Growing up, what was your favorite book? Did you have one? Was it a common classic, like “Goodnight, Moon” or “The Giving Tree”? Or something unique to your upbringing?  Who was the main character in your favorite book? Did they remind you of yourself? Did they look...

Why I Celebrated With a Kiowa Tribe

Why I Celebrated With a Kiowa Tribe

Tents, chairs, flags, ancestral clothes, and a dedicated circle of Kiowa men and women gathered to honor their ancestral tribe. One by one the dancers methodically moved into the circle to the rhythm of the drums. Left-right-left-right dancers stomped continuously as...

Learnings from Trinidad & Tobago Educators

Learnings from Trinidad & Tobago Educators

Trinidad & Tobago Training: Learnings & Reflections How We Can Learn From One Another Ending Cultural Opposition & Biases  I had the honor of visiting Primary (Elementary) and Secondary (High School) schools in Trinidad & Tobago in 2019. Educators on...

Discussing racism and equity in the classroom

Discussing racism and equity in the classroom

I interviewed three educators to gain their perspectives on how other educators can discuss equity and race in their own classrooms. You can connect with each of them through their social media platforms.  Crystal Everett @CrystalCalledit (Twitter)Real World Learning...

Reading Graphic Novel March by John Lewis

Reading Graphic Novel March by John Lewis

The Graphic Novel series: March displayed critical moments during the Civil rights era.  John Lewis and the illustrator use the language and images to highlight the: Drama, Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Visual Literacy The trilogy of the book March is a graphic novel...

Booklists

Booklist-Fiction & Nonfiction Books with LGBTQIA characters and authors

Booklist-Fiction & Nonfiction Books with LGBTQIA characters and authors

Photo by Michael Burrows from Pexels  YA books with LGBTQ authors. Fiction and nonfiction booklist A booklist with modern-day stories that discuss gender and sexuality for teens and young adults.  8-12, MIDDLE GRADE READERS NON FICTION 1. The Gender Wheel by Maya...

Booklist-Fiction & Nonfiction Books with Asian youth

Booklist-Fiction & Nonfiction Books with Asian youth

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels YA & Children's books with Asian characters Books with Asian main characters Asian writers books Below is a list to recognize the stories about Asian lives and Asian...

Booklist-Fiction & Nonfiction Books with Black Youth

Booklist-Fiction & Nonfiction Books with Black Youth

Children's books featuring Black authors or Black characters. Black authors nonfiction Young Adult books by Black authors To celebrate African American and Black authors or characters, a list has been compiled for young readers-middle grade-high school grade readers....

Booklist: Inspired by #BrownBoyJoy

Booklist: Inspired by #BrownBoyJoy

Derrick Barnes wrote I Am Every Good Thing to celebrate the experiences of black boys. The imagery captivates a brown boy’s experiences of skating, swimming, and growing into a future leader. Barnes stated, “I wrote this book for Black boys and the people that love...

Booklist: Nature Books for Children

Booklist: Nature Books for Children

Books about Earth & Climate Change Books for Kids Nature Books for Children Enjoy these picture books about nature that your child might love to read. These books range from riddles, fiction nature books, and non-fiction books. With broader topics about healing...

Booklist: Juneteenth Books for Children

Booklist: Juneteenth Books for Children

Booklist: Books about the Juneteenth holiday and what it means for African American communities. Juneteenth is a holiday to celebrate the end of enslavement. After enslavement was Reconstruction. After and during Reconstruction the Black Codes were established. A...

Booklist: Black & Brown Teen Fantasy Books

Booklist: Black & Brown Teen Fantasy Books

Booklist Inspired by Gilded Ones by Namina Forna Looking for good graphic novels or novels for your teen? Discover young adult fantasy books written about a Black or Brown teen. 1. The Gilded Ones, by Namina Forna, (2020) Deka lives in an unknown land and learns that...

Black History Facts about Civil Rights Leaders

Black History Facts about Civil Rights Leaders

As we look into celebrating Martin Luther King's holiday, we should remember the individuals who fought alongside him to bring African Americans justice, equality, jobs, freedom, and so much more. Unknown organizers, freedom riders, activists, and marchers...

Books About Peace

Books About Peace

Our nation is in turmoil and we need to think about the wonderful things that we have. Below is a list of books that builds discussions on acceptance, acts of kindness, gratitude, togetherness, mindfulness, and overcoming challenges for peace. We have listed books for...

Children’s Stories about Hanukkah

Children’s Stories about Hanukkah

Hanukkah is a holiday celebrated in December for 8 days. The start date might change which begins each year on the 25th day of the Jewish month. This day is also spelled Chanukah. For centuries, Jewish people have had to fight for their religious freedom. Hanukkah is...

10 Children’s Books About Kwanzaa

10 Children’s Books About Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a holiday that originated in 1966 to help African-Americans think of their African ancestry. It is based on the East African principles from the Swahili language. Traditionally, Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26-January 1. It is where families feast,...

Celebrate Deaf Communities: Booklist

Celebrate Deaf Communities: Booklist

The deaf community has a rich culture. However, their language and experiences are still not fully understood. They have in the past have been called Dummy, Dumb, Disabled, and so much more. Throughout the years, however, thousands of deaf activists have pushed for...

Booklist: Indigenous Lives

Booklist: Indigenous Lives

As we celebrate the Thanksgiving, we can also celebrate Indigenous people who lived in America before America was colonized. With November being Native American's People's Month, we wanted to share books with you that celebrates their lives and culture. Below is a...

National S.T.E.A.M Day

National S.T.E.A.M Day

  National STEAM Day was November 8th. We are providing books and STEAM activities that your Pre-K, Elementary, or Middle Grade reader can do for 21+ days. Enjoy these stories that feature real world activities and diverse scientists in STEAM. STEAM stands for...

Teen Books on Social Justice

Teen Books on Social Justice

With racial injustice and social turmoil brought upon Black Americans, it is our hope that these books can provide clarity, inspiration, and better understandings. There is no ignoring what has occurred to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Berry, Emmet Till, and the...

How to Read Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

How to Read Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

How to Read Crown an Ode to the Fresh Cut, a modern-day story about a black boy getting a hair cut. A picture book story for 2nd and 3rd grade readers. Crown an Ode to the Fresh Cut celebrates the experiences of what it means to get a "Fresh Cut" in the barber shop....

Fluency

Oral Reading Fluency

Oral Reading Fluency

Reading can be a joy for some and a chore for others, and that largely depends on a reader’s skill and ability. If you aren’t a strong reader, you might not enjoy reading as much as someone who has strong reading comprehension skills or who read a lot when they were...

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency

Strategies to Improve Reading Fluency Having a reader who is struggling can take time and has ups and downs. Have you heard, “Th, theee, ddooor is re real?” “Today Reggie decid to have a fun day. They plae with evvveryy.” If this sounds familiar where your child...

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