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Discover the many reasons why reading aloud with your child has such a big impact on their literacy development and social-emotional growth. And get tips on how to read aloud (make it fun and interactive), plus links to finding great read-aloud books.

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Show a picture and ask students to do the following with the picture:

Now, compare this picture with another similar picture. Have students describe how they are alike and different.
Odd One Out:
Show a variety of grouped objects or pictures. Then, ask the student to describe which object or picture is out and why.

For example, you may show the student pictures of a shrimp, a fish, and a crab. The student may say, "The fish is out because it does not have legs like the shrimp and crab. The shrimp and crab have a hard shell and the fish does not." The student may also describe other attributes that are alike and different, such as size, color, shape, etc.

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Welcome Back, Literacy Champions - Partnering with Families to Build Strong Readers in Alabama by Karen Bell | This newsletter was created with Smore, an online tool for creating beautiful newsletters for individual educators, schools and districts

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Rhyming Picture Books + FREE Downloadable List

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If you’re looking for the best rhyming picture books, you’re in the right spot! Our library list makes it easy to incorporate rhyming into read-aloud time.

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Alphabet Activities for the Alphabet Arc

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Our themed reading adventure packs encourage hands-on fun, creativity, and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books.

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Interactive Alphabet Arc
The Interactive Alphabet Arc is a digital version of our Rainbow Alphabet Mat. These arcs are available in both uppercase and lowercase and have been provided in both English and Spanish. The Interactive Alphabet Arcs can be used for timed and untimed alphabet activities.

Follow the links below to see the Alphabet Arcs in action!
Early Literacy Resources available from Region 4 Literacy and Language
Questions about our resources? E-mail reading@esc4.net.

This resource serves as a tool for teaching letter names and sounds to support students on their journey in becoming successful readers and writers. This set can be used for whole-group, small-group, and individual literacy instruction. $30 each. Order online: ALPHABET POSTER AND CHARTS SET
Tool for supporting letter names and sounds.
English| Spanish

LETTER KNOWLEDGE MANIPULATIVE KIT - NEW!
Tools to deepen emergent readers' letter knowledge
This supplemental resource can be used for teaching letter knowledge in small groups. This kit is appropriate for use with emergent readers of any age who need additional support in letter identification, letter-sound correspondences, and letter formation. $100.ORDER ONLINE

READING BY DESIGN
Systematic, Explicit, and Intensive Reading Intervention
Reading by Design: An Individualized Literacy Intervention is a systematic, multisensory approach aligned with research-based practices for developing literacy. This intervention follows an intensive, explicit, and cumulative design for remediation of reading and writing skills at all grade levels. This comprehensive program addresses the following components: phonological awareness, sound-symbol association, six syllable types, written spelling patterns, morphology, syntax, reading fluency, and comprehension. Progress monitoring and review lessons are embedded throughout the program to inform student progress and promote reading and writing automaticity. Reading by Design may be used with students in kindergarten through grade 12 in a small, homogeneous group setting. (Teacher training required.)

For more information about Reading by Design, visit our web page, or e-mail dyslexia@esc4.net.

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Interactive Alphabet Arc The Interactive Alphabet Arc is a digital version of our Rainbow Alphabet Mat. These arcs are available in both uppercase and lowercase and have been provided in both English and Spanish. The Interactive Alphabet Arcs can be used for timed and untimed alphabet activities.

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Reading Universe | Quick Look: Segmenting Phonemes

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Watch students practice segmenting phonemes with pop-it fidget toys.

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Blachman, B. A., Ball, E. W., Black, R., & Tangel, D. M. (2000). Road to the code: A phonological awareness program for young children. Baltimore: Brookes.

Clay, M. (1993). Reading Recovery: A Guidebook for Teachers in Training. NH: Heinemann.

Elkonin, D. (1971). "Development of Speech". In A.V. Zaporozhets and D. B. Elkonin (Eds.). The Psychology of Preschool Children. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press.

Ellis, E. (1997). How Now Brown Cow: Phoneme Awareness Activities.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

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Elkonin boxes build phonological awareness skills by segmenting words into individual sounds, or phonemes. To use Elkonin boxes, a child listens to a word and moves a token into a box for each sound or phoneme. In some cases different colored tokens may be used for consonants and vowels or just for each phoneme in the word.

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Matching upper-case and lower-case

Teachers can use the following activity to ask students to help the "Mama animals" (uppercase letters) find their "babies" (lowercase letters). This game includes matching the uppercase mothers with their lowercase babies. See example ›

This link provides a template for a printable "Superhero" upper- and lowercase letter match game. See example ›

This file includes uppercase and lowercase letters in a matching game that parents can use with their child at home. See example ›

This link provides templates for printing cards to use for writing uppercase and lowercase letters. See example ›

Letter formation: using sand, play dough, or flour

This link provides teachers with downloadable mats with the alphabet letters for helping children use play dough for learning letter formation. See example ›

Letter bingo

Bingo is a simple game that children enjoy and can be used to help them learn about the upper- and lowercase letters. This link allows teachers to print the letters and board needed to play letter bingo. See example ›

Letter stamps

Stamps are an excellent "hands-on" activity for helping students learn about the alphabet. The activity described in the link below provides teachers with some creative ideas for making letter stamps out of sponges. Teachers can use sponges and paint in a variety of ways to help children understand the shape and function of upper- and lowercase letters. See example ›

Letter recognition fluency

This online document contains several activities that are helpful for building letter recognition fluency. Teachers can download materials needed and follow the instructions for each activity. There are also some ideas included for extending and adapting each activity to further enhance learning. Some examples are provided below. Download activities ›

Speedy Alphabet Arc: Teachers can download and print a copy of the alphabet "arc" and have students use letters to match the ones on the arc. Parents could use this idea at home with magnetic letters by placing the arc on the refrigerator and have the child match the letters. Using a timer and seeing how quickly the child can match the letters is optional.

Glow Go: This activity includes the use of glow in the dark chalk and black construction paper. Students can work together taking turns using a flashlight and naming the letters.

Hungry Letter Mouse: Teachers can utilize this activity for students to work on letter recognition in pairs using an eraser and dry erase marker. One student can use the eraser to be the mouse and the other student names the letter before the "mouse" eats it (i.e., erases it).

Letter books

Teachers can use the downloadable materials form this website to create letter books in which each page contains one letter. The kids draw or cut pictures from magazines that start with the particular letter and glue them into their "book." See example ›

Downloadable letter and alphabet cards

Flash cards

The link listed below provides teachers with downloadable ESL flashcards. These are free and printable for use within the classroom. There are large sets for use with teaching letters and vocabulary, and smaller sets for language learning games. See example ›

This website provides printable color flashcards that are great for teaching upper- and lowercase letters. These cards are free and use the Zaner Bloser font which is very simplistic - ideal for teaching young children. See example ›

Alphabet cards

The downloadable alphabet cards available from this link have various fonts to choose from, color picture cards to accompany the letters, and creative ideas for activities. See example ›

Race track alphabet

The website below offers teachers the ability to download letters of the alphabet in race-track format. Children can use toy cars to trace around the letters to help learn the formation. See example ›

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Very young learners are developing their understanding of the alphabetic principle - the understanding that there are systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds. Teachers can help students develop this understanding through lots of fun activities that help students explore the alphabet letters and sounds.

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Reading Universe | Quick Look: Stretch and Shrink + Touch and Say

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Watch Rossie King work with her students on blending sounds into words by using the strategies of “stretch and shrink” and “touch and look.”

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Understanding Your Child's Amplify Assessments

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Understanding Your Child's Amplify Assessments

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Amplify is a universal screener that measures the development of reading skills of all students in grades K-4.

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Understanding Your Child’s  Amplify Assessments

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i-Ready Central Resources | Family Center – Home

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On i-Ready Central you’ll find everything you need to be successful with i-Ready, from videos to tips and planning tools.

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Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with expression.Fluent reading builds stamina for reading lengthy or complex texts. Reading fluency serves as a bridge between word recognition and comprehension.

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It's not an easy thing, learning to read and write. Discover what it takes to build important literacy skills, and how you can help your children grow as readers, writers, and thinkers!

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Great resource with games you can play with your child to help with sight word fluency

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Free Resources to Teach Your Child to Read

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All 1,000 Fry Words in alphabetical order

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The Alphabet War: A Story About Dyslexia

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Learn how a boy learns to love words in his own way.

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Read Aloud: A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbott | Stories with Star

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Tips to use with the alphabet arc

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Word Word Mat

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Lucky 13 Sight Word strategy game

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Comprehension Deck

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Comprehension

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When it's time for Trixie to start school, she is very excited. Sometimes it's hard to concentrate in class, though. And it's really hard to read letters. Maybe what Trixie needs is a superpowered plan...

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Thunderboots - Naomi Jones and Rebecca Ashdown

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The Alabama Literacy Act (updated 8.15.23)

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Dyslexia story for kids

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Parent Information: Alabama Literacy Act

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Parent Information: Alabama Literacy Act

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Informational PowerPoint for parents about the Alabama Literacy Act

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Have your child say the letter and then the sound, read the words, and read the sentences aloud

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Print out cards and practice matching lower case and upper case letters

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Links to purchase alphabet arcs and letters

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Links to purchase alphabet arcs and letters

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Links to purchase alphabet arcs and letters

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Use to practice letter naming fluency

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Use this video to correctly pronounce each phoneme.

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Print these, cut them apart, and practice with your child.

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Print out and have your child practice reading various types of nonsense words.

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Video explaining what a closed syllable is and how we code that syllable type in a word

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Video explaining what an open syllable is and how we code that syllable type in a word

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Video explaining what a vowel consonant e is and how we code that syllable type in a word

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Video explaining what a consonant l e is and how we code that syllable type in a word

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Video explaining what r-controlled is and how we code that syllable type in a word

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Video explaining what a vowel team is and how we code that syllable type in a word

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Print these, cut them apart, and practice with your child.