Some Literacy-Related Websites (as of January 10, 2005)

(Websites are listed in alphabetical order)

 

Accelerated Reader:  Some websites discussing pros and cons

 

http://www.fcrr.org/FCRRReports/PDF/Accelerated_Reader.pdf

http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/whatsnu_ar.html#krashen

http://www.readingonline.org/critical/topping/rolarL.html

http://www.sdkrashen.com/articles/does_accelerated_reader_work/does_accelerated_reader_work.pdf

http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/bibs/accl-rdr.html

American Educatorthe professional journal of the American Federation of Teachers, is a quarterly magazine published for classroom teachers and other education professionals from preschool through university. Recent articles have focused on such topics as reducing the achievement gap between poor and affluent students; heading off student discipline problems; teaching an appreciation and understanding of democracy; the benefits of a common coherent curriculum; and other issues affecting children and education here and abroad. Total circulation, as of our most recent issue, is over 800,000.

Index of back issues:  http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/issues/index.htm

 

Some issues especially related to literacy:

 

Fall 2004: Preventing early reading failure = and its devastating downward spiral

http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/issues/fall04/index.htm

 

Spring 2003:   The fourth-grade plunge:  The cause.  The Cure.

http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/spring2003/index.html

 

Summer 2001:  Overcoming the language gap

http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/summer2001/index.html

 

Spring/Summer 1998:  The unique power of reading and how to unleash it

http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/spring_sum98/index.html

 

The American Initiative on Reading and Writing, also called Read Write Now!

http://www.udel.edu/ETL/RWN

 

“The American Initiative on Reading and Writing, also called Read Write Now!, was launched by the U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard Riley, in May, 1995. Its goals are to assist families in fostering good literacy habits in their children and to assist schools and other youth and educational organizations in improving reading and writing abilities. The target audience for the Initiative is preschoolers and elementary level students, with special emphasis on grades K-6. Through partnerships with social and educational organizations, professional organizations, and private business, the Initiative has launched a series of activities, including a summer reading program, a national tutoring effort, and a mentoring project on the World Wide Web (The Alphabet Superhighway).”

See especially the Tutoring Manual:  http://www.udel.edu/ETL/RWN/Tutorman.html

 

The America Reads Challenge:  http://www.ed.gov/americareads/

            The America Reads Challenge is a grassroots national campaign that challenges every American to help all our children learn to read, including English Language Learners and students with disabilities. America Reads sparks collaborations between educators, parents, librarians, business people, senior citizens, college students, and community and religious groups.  The America Reads Challenge inspires families to read together at home, asks childcare providers to read daily to children, encourages teachers to use research-based methods, recruits college students and others to tutor children, engages businesses to involve employees, and unites communities to form strong partnerships.”

 

The American Reading Forum                      http://www.fd.appstate.edu/arfonline/

The American Reading Forum is a nonprofit, professional organization composed of individuals who share an interest in the improvement of reading. While the American Reading Forum is an organization that facilitates the dissemination of ideas and research, it places highest priority on providing its members opportunities for critical discussion of ideas, issues, research and emerging research interests and paradigms. “

 

The Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar:  http://www.ATEG.org

            ATEG, an Assembly of NCTE, the National Council of Teachers of English, is a national forum for discussing the teaching of grammar, and welcomes all views on the role of grammar in our schools.  See also the main website of the National Council of Teachers of English, http://www.ncte.org

 

BalancedReading.com           http://www.balancedreading.com/McKenna.html

Michael McKenna’s list of web resources for literacy teachers. (LOTS of good links) 

 

Center for Applied Language Studies, Vocabulary Acquisition Research Group: http://www.swan.ac.uk/cals/calsres/index/index.htm

Research opportunities, Bibliographical resources in Vocabulary Acquisition, Discussion papers and reviews from the Vocabulary Acquisition Research Group, Research materials and tests available from CALS

 

CIERA (Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement):  http://www.ciera.org

            (Lots of info and downloadable reports)

 

Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction.  http://www.cori.umd.edu/

This collaborative project between the University of Maryland and the Frederick County Public Schools focuses on the challenge of implementing integrated reading instruction in the elementary school curriculum.

 

Dyslexia, learning disabilities and literacy resource site of The Greenwood School:  http://www.greenwood.org (Includes an annotated bibliography)

 

Early Reading Success                      http://www.haskins.yale.edu:16080/haskins/ers/index.html

            The Early Reading Success Initiative represents a new partnership between public schools with special literacy needs, and Haskins Laboratories. Guided by national research findings and recommendations of the Connecticut Early Reading Success Panel, this state-of-the-art literacy initiative will broaden the training of professionals in research-based practices and establish a network of model schools in Connecticut

 

Educator’s Reference Desk.  http://www.eduref.org/

 

ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center).           http://www.eric.ed.gov/

 

ERIC/CLL Language Link               http://www.cal.org/resources/update.html

An Online Newsletter From the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics - The latest issue of "ERIC/CLL Language Link"

 

 

Focus on Topics and Issues in Reading <http://www.reading.org/focus/>

            Convenient collections of IRA resources in particular areas, including beginning reading, adolescent literacy, language and cultural diversity, assessment, and the U.S. federal "Reading First" legislation. Each collection includes a detailed listing of recommended readings from a range of IRA sources, with links to online materials.

 

The International Dyslexia Association       http://www.interdys.org/index.htm

 

International Reading Association:  http://www.reading.org

            You might be interested in a recently launched IRA information service called “Reading Today Daily”.  This is in the form of a weblog (“blog”) that can be reached via IRA’s website at http://www.reading.org  or directly via:  http://blog.reading.org/  The blog is intended to provide current information and links to interesting or provocative articles and commentary on issues related to reading and literacy education policy and practice.  We welcome suggestions for articles and items.

 

Internet Directory of Literacy and Adult Education:

http://archon.educ.kent.edu/Midwest/Resc/Litdir/index.html

 

Issues in Literacy Development by John J. Pikulski and J. David Cooper

“This document summarizes the best available research and professional expertise to help teachers provide high-quality literacy instruction for students from kindergarten through Grade 8. The information has been organized around topics that are important to literacy development.” http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/literacy/

 

John Nemes’ Homepage       http://www.toread.com/

One person’s attempt to construct a comprehensive website about reading instruction.  Lots of information.

 

Journal of Literacy Research:    http://www.nrconline.org/jlr/archive/

            Includes full text for some issues.

 

Leveled Reading Comparison Website:   http://members.ozemail.com.au/~hwhitech/read_lev_compare.pdf

This link is to a PDF file giving a table that shows the relationships among several different systems for leveling books (Reading Recovery, Fontas & Pinell, Lexiles, Wright Group, DRA,  Rigby Literacy, and the associated grade levels).

 

Literacy.org:               http://ncal.literacy.upenn.edu/index.html

            Literacy.org is a gateway to electronic resources and tools for the national and international youth and adult literacy communities. This site is jointly sponsored by the International Literacy Institute (ILI) and the National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL) at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.

 

Literacy Cases Online    http://literacy.okstate.edu

The College Reading Association has a new online publication:  Literacy Cases Online.  This publication is a peer-reviewed case study journal.  These literacy cases can be used for teaching and other instructional purposes.

 

Literacy Volunteers of American, New York State:  http://lvanys.org

 

The Literacy Web at the University of Connecticut:  Lots of valuable links. http://www.literacy.uconn.edu

 

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading page.

            http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/

 

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards 

            Early and Middle Childhood Literacy: Reading - Language Arts Standards

            http://www.nbpts.org/pdf/literacystandards.pdf

 

National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy       http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~ncsall/

            The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) both informs and learns from practice. Its rigorous, high quality research increases knowledge and gives those teaching, managing, and setting policy in adult literacy education a sound basis for making decisions. NCSALL is also a leader in designing innovative professional development programs and in building support for research use.

 

National Center on Adult Literacy   http://literacy.org/ncal.html

NCAL's mission incorporates three primary goals: to improve understanding of youth and adult learning, to foster innovation and increase effectiveness in youth and adult basic education and literacy work, and to expand access to information and build capacity for literacy and basic skills service provision.

 

The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational Programs (NCELA, formerly NCBE)  http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/

 

National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education (“Your adult ESL home on the web”):  http://www.cal.org/ncle

 

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)  http://www.ncte.org/

 

            NCTE Teaching Resource Collection on Literacy Coaching:    http://www.ncte.org/collections/literacycoach

 

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development publications: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/

            Especially, the Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/smallbook.htm

 

National Institute for Literacy:   The National Institute for Literacy's activities to strengthen literacy across the lifespan are authorized by the U.S. Congress under two laws, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) in the Workforce Investment Act and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The AEFLA directs the Institute to provide national leadership regarding literacy, coordinate literacy services and policy, and serve as a national resource for adult education and literacy programs. The NCLB law directs the Institute to disseminate information on scientifically based reading research pertaining to children, youth, and adults as well as information about development and implementation of classroom reading programs based on the research.

            http://www.nifl.gov

 

National Reading Conference: http://www.nrconline.org        

 

National Research and Development Center on English Learning and Achievement (CELA):  http://cela.albany.edu A variety of useful information and resources.  Includes Judith A. Langer's Beating the Odds: Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well. 

 

 

No Child Left Behind Website:  http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml?src=pb

            legal document site for NCLB:  http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html

 

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, literacy section:

            http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/li0cont.htm

 

OSPI K-12 Education website – reading:  http://www.k12.wa.us/curriculumInstruct/Reading/default.aspx

 

Project RIMES 2000:  http://www.ed.arizona.edu/rimes2000/

(Includes annotated bibliography of materials and software for beginning reading instruction)

 

Promoting Vocabulary Development (Booklet from the Texas Education Agency)

            http://www.tea.state.tx.us/reading/practices/redbk5.pdf

 

Put Reading First:  The Research Building Blocks of Reading Instruction

This document was published by the Partnership for Reading, a collaborative effort of the National Institute for Literacy, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to make scientifically based reading research available to educators, parents policy-makers, and others with an interest in helping all people learn to read well. The findings and conclusions in this publication were drawn from the 2000 report of the National Reading Panel

            html version:

            http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first1.html

            pdf version:

            http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/PFRbooklet.pdf

 

RAND Education / Science & Technology Policy Institute:           http://www.RAND.org/multi/achievementforall

            Here you can find and download the document Reading for Understanding: Towards a Research and Development Program in Reading Comprehension, by the RAND Reading Study Group.

 

Read Naturally          http://www.readnaturally.com/index.htm

 

Read – Write – Think                                    http://www.readwritethink.org

            “Provides standards-based lesson plans and reviewed Web resources for K-8 educators and students…. The International Reading Association is working closely with the National Council of Teachers of English and the MarcoPolo Education Foundation to provide educators and students with easy access to high-quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction…. By April 2003, our goal is to post 150 total lessons covering a broad range of reading and language arts topics… Each lesson will link to standards from the IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts, published in 1996…  A prominent feature of ReadWriteThink is a compilation of quality Web resources that can be used for reading and language arts instruction.  These Web resources are thoroughly reviewed to ensure that they meet a standard set of criteria.”

 

 

 

 

Reading Center Page at National College of Education, National Louis University:  http://www2.nl.edu/reading_center/.  (Note: there’s an underline between “reading” and “center” in this address.)  One feature on this page is “Literacy Links,” providing links to a number of other literacy-related websites.

 

Reading Next   http://www.all4ed.org/publications/ReadingNext/ReadingNext.pdf

Reading Next—A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy: A Report fromCarnegie Corporation of New York.  ©2004 Carnegie Corporation of New York. Published by the Alliance for Excellent Education.  Written by Gina Biancarosa and Catherine E. Snow for Carnegie Corporation of New York

 

Reading Online  http://www.readingonline.org  The International Reading Association’s “free web based journal that gives you online access to the latest literacy resources and information”

 

Texas Reading Initiative “Best Practices” page.  “‘Best Practices’ from community of early reading instruction authorities are the cornerstone of the Texas Reading Initiative. Scientific-based research that has been proven to work in the classroom enabling children to read is echoed through the Texas Reading Initiative's leadership development, diagnostic assessment, comprehensive reading instruction, immediate intervention, progress monitoring, and the end-of-year analysis components.”   This webpage contains “a partial list of the professional authorities and resources from the community of early reading instruction that the Texas legislators, educators, and community leaders to create an effective, efficient, reading initiative that marries current research and practical classroom application.”

            http://www.tea.state.tx.us/reading/practices/practices.html

 

US Department of Education Reading Resources:  Information about reading and reading instruction for parents.  http://www.ed.gov/parents/read/resources/edpicks.jhtml?src=qc

 

Vocabulary Instruction / Minnesota Reading Excellence Act  http://education.umn.edu/CI/MREA/Vocab/vocabMOD.html

            Michael Graves’ overview of essentials for effective vocabulary instruction

           

 

 

Note:  If you find other literacy-related websites that are especially helpful, or if any of these sites don’t work, please let me know so I can update the next version of this list:  wnagy@spu.edu