Family and Early Literacy Resources
Family Literacy Resources
| Resources Name | Resource Overview |
| Assessment for Learning Disability | Children who struggle with reading often need extra help. This help usually comes from the school, but some parents choose to look outside the school for professionals who can assess, diagnose, tutor, or provide other education services. |
| Dyslexia and the Struggling Reader | If a child has dyslexia, they won’t grow out of it. But that doesn’t mean they can’t learn to read or do well in school. These tools can help you teach your child how to manage and live with dyslexia. |
| Early Learning Guidelines for Families | This guide gives tips to help kids get ready for kindergarten. It also shares ways for them to learn and try new things. Kindergarten helps kids start school in a fun and positive way so they can do well in the future. |
| Tips for Making Learning Part of Your Daily Routine | Parents and caregivers, these resources can help your whole family grow and learn. We have free tools you can use online and in your community. These resources can help your kids do well in school and help you reach your own learning goals too. |
| Activities & Games to Support Early Literacy Skills | This resource has fun games and activities that help kids build the basic skills they need to become strong readers. It also has videos that show how to use things from around the house to practice reading. These activities can be changed as your child’s reading skills get better. |
| Reading Roadmap | The key to reading success is finding out early which students need extra help. That way, they can get the support they need. This guide shares important steps parents can take to help their child. |
| Ready for School Success
(Multiple Languages available) |
Families, communities, and schools work together to prepare your children for school and to ensure that the school is ready to meet each child’s individual needs. The resources can be used to promote development in the following areas.
Promote Good Health & Physical Skills by providing:
|
| Parent Reading Resources, Multiple Language Guide | Learn how to help your child grow as a reader. You can use things from around your home to practice the skills your child needs to become a strong reader. |
| Summer Reading | The “summer slide” means kids may forget what they learned during summer break. A 2021 study found that students in grades 1–8 lost 17–34% of what they had learned. This program has fun reading tools to help stop that from happening! |
| PBS Kids for Parents | Each day brings new chances to learn, just like your child! Find fun activities and easy tips to help your child learn at home. |
| Reading Aloud with Your Child | Kids who are read to often are more likely to build early reading skills. These include rhyming, knowing letters, and hearing the sounds in words. |
| Transition to Kindergarten Toolkit | Learn how your child feels about starting kindergarten. This can help you know what to say, what to do together, and how to get them ready for school. |
| Tips for Literacy Development (Multiple Ages and Languages) | Our one-page tip sheets offer easy ways to support your children’s literacy development. The tips — for babies through grade 3 — are available in English and 12 other languages. |
| Storytime Videos in Multiple Languages, Supports Child Literacy Development | The storytime videos and activity guides help promote literacy development and are available in multiple languages, including English and Spanish. |
| Literacy Development, Video Resources | Reading Buddies makes learning to read fun! It mixes the science of reading with silly laughs to help kids learn the basic skills they need to become strong readers. |
| Vision Care Resources | When a child has trouble learning to read, there can be many reasons. Parents and teachers should work together to find out why. One possible reason is a problem with how the child’s eyes work together or may need glasses to help your child learn to read. |
| Nebraska Dyslexia Association | Dyslexia is very common, affecting up to 20 percent of the population. The signs of dyslexia can appear as early as preschool. Parents often notice the potential indicators. |
| Resources Name | Resource Overview |
| Find Literacy Support in Your Area (Central Navigators) | Find local resources to help support your literacy journey. The Central Navigator is a local person who has experience with all kinds of obstacles and will listen and get you connected to supports to meet your goals for literacy development. |
| Adult Education for English Learners | Adult Education resources can support your goal to learn English as a Second Language (ESL). Below you will find locations that host ESL classes across the state. |
| Beginning Guide for English Language Learners | This resource supports tutors who are working with families that are learning English. The strategy provides detailed instructional activities to help ELL parents build and practice English conversational skills. |
| Education Finder, Start Your Education Journey | Learn English by finding a location near you that can support your goals. The National Literacy Directory is a database that connects potential students, volunteers, and advocates to literacy services, education programs, and testing centers nationwide. |
Family Handout for PACT Time® at Home
Folleto informativo familiar para Jugar Durante Todo el Diá
PACT Time® is a registered trademark of the National Center for Families Learning
| Resources Name | Resource Overview |
| Books for Different Ages and Literacy Levels | BookSmart gives kids books and tips to help them start reading from a young age. With the free BookSmart app, kids can grow their reading skills using great books and fun activities. The app also celebrates their reading progress! |
| Activities to Help Bilingual FamiliesTeach Literacy | There are lots of ways that you can help your children learn to read!
A wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs).
|
| Get a free book monthly for your child until age 5 | The Imagination Library makes sure every young child gets books. From birth to age 5, a new book is sent in the mail each month, just for them! |
| Success Stories (videos) Highlighting Family Literacy In Action | Family Literacy – in which multiple generations from the same family engage in learning together – see what families have to say about this program. |
| Digital Books in Mutliple Lanugages | The Nebraska Growing Readers Library offers you and your children a variety of ways to enjoy digital books that you can hear read aloud. A variety of narration languages is available so that children can hear books in their first language. |
| Nebraska Early Learning Library, (no cost resources mailed to your home) | The Nebraska Early Learning Library offers books and interactive family night kits that are mailed to your home at no cost to families. |
| Nebraska Read at Home Plan Guide – (Kindergarten to 3rd Grade)
Plan Guide is Available in six languages |
Helping ensure a child is reading on grade level by 3rd grade is an important task. By reading with your child 20 minutes per day and making a few simple things a part of your daily routine, you can set your student along the path to proficiency. |
| Resource Name/Organization | Resource Overview |
| Dyslexia & Creativity (Yale) | If a child has been diagnosed with dyslexia, he or she will not outgrow it, but that doesn’t mean the child won’t learn how to read or be successful. These resources will help you teach children how to cope and deal with his/her disability. Resources are family |
| Individual Reading Improvement Plan, (NDE) | The Nebraska Reading Improvement Act only requires that parents be notified of a reading struggle, and engaging families meaningfully and early about literacy contributes to great student success later on.
Individualized Reading Plan Examples Family Notification Examples 2021-2022 IRIP Family Acknowledgement |
| Nebraska Transition to Kindergarten Toolkit: Educators (NDE) | This toolkit provides developmentally informed practices and activities to support families, kindergarten teachers and administrators, and ECCE providers in creating optimal environments and interactions that nurture a child’s sense of self and create continuity for the variety of transitions young children experience from birth to third grade. |
| Read at Home Bookmark for Families (NDE) |
|
| School Readiness Tips for Families (NDE) | Use the resources on the this stie to support parents as they work to prepare their child for the transition into kindergarten. |
| Science of Reading Training for Teachers (NDE) | The structured literacy program is IDA-accredited and includes diagnostic, explicit, systematic, and cumulative courses that help unlock each child’s deep reading brain through a culturally and linguistically lens, taking into consideration family support and educational needs. |
| Vision Care Resources, Nebraska Optometric Association (NOA) | When a student struggles to develop early reading skills, there are often a variety of causes. Parents and teachers must work together to identify those causes and consider the possibility of a binocular vision impairment. |
Community Agency/Partner Resources
| Resources Name | Resource Overview |
| Dyslexia and the Struggling Reader (Yale) | If a child has dyslexia, they won’t grow out of it. But that doesn’t mean they can’t learn to read or do well in school. These tools can help you teach your child how to manage and live with dyslexia. |
| Early Learning Guidelines for Families (NDE) | This guide gives tips to help kids get ready for kindergarten. It also shares ways for them to learn and try new things. Kindergarten helps kids start school in a fun and positive way so they can do well in the future. |
| Tips for Making Learning Part of Your Daily Routine (Families Learning) | Parents and caregivers, these resources can help your whole family grow and learn. We have free tools you can use online and in your community. These resources can help your kids do well in school and help you reach your own learning goals too. |
| Activities & Games to Support Early Literacy Skills (NDE) | This resource has fun games and activities that help kids build the basic skills they need to become strong readers. It also has videos that show how to use things from around the house to practice reading. These activities can be changed as your child’s reading skills get better. |
| Reading Roadmap (NDE) | The key to reading success is finding out early which students need extra help. That way, they can get the support they need. This guide shares important steps parents can take to help their child. |
| Parent Reading Resources, Multiple Language Guide (NDE, Read At Home Plan) | Learn how to help families support their children grow as a reader. You can use things from around your home to practice the skills your child needs to become a strong reader. Read-at-Home Plan English Read-at-Home Plan Spanish Read-at-Home Plan Karen Read-at-Home Plan Somali Read-at-Home Plan Vietnamese Read-at-Home Plan Arabic |
| Summer Reading (NDE) | The “summer slide” means kids can forget what they learned in school over summer break. A study in 2021 said that kids in grades 1–8 lost about 17–34% of what they learned the year before. This program gives you fun reading tools to help stop the summer slide! |
| PBS Kids for Parents (Public Broadcast Station) | Each day brings new chances to learn, just like your child! Find fun activities and easy tips to help your child learn at home. |
| Reading Aloud with Your Child (Reading Rockets) | Children who are read to daily are more likely to develop early literacy skills, like rhyming, letter recognition, and hearing the sounds in spoken words. This resource provides tools to support growing readers. |
| Ready for School Success
(NDE, Multiple Languages available) |
Families, communities, and schools work together to prepare your children for school and to ensure that the school is ready to meet each child’s individual needs. The resources can be used to promote development in the following areas.
Promote Good Health & Physical Skills by providing:
|
| Transition to Kindergarten Toolkit (NDE) | Learn about how the transition to Kindergarten from the perspective of the child to help guide what you say, activities you plan, and the experiences you choose to share with them to prepare them for school. |
| Tips for Literacy Development (Multiple Ages and Languages) (Reading Rocket) | Our one-page parent tips offer easy ways for parents to support their children’s literacy development. The tips — for babies through grade 3 — are available in English and 12 other languages. |
| Storytime Videos in Multiple Languages, Supports Child Literacy Development (Tandam) | Tandem offers a variety of storytime videos and activity guides in multiple languages, including English and Spanish. They also provide culturally responsive booklists and activities. |
| Literacy Development, Video Resources (Reading Buddies) | Combining the science of reading with lots of laughs, Reading Buddies is the fun way to teach aspiring readers the foundational components of reading. |
| Vision Care Resources (NDE) | When a student struggles to develop early reading skills, there are often a variety of causes. Parents and teachers must work together to identify those causes and consider the possibility of a binocular vision impairment. |
| Resources Name | Resource Overview |
| Central Navigators, find support for local assistance. (Bring Up Nebraska) | Find local resources to help support your literacy journey. The Central Navigator is a local person who has experience with all kinds of obstacles and will listen and get you connected to supports to meet your goals for literacy development. The website is available in multiple languages. |
| Adult Education for English Learners (NDE) | Adult Education offers English as a Second Language (ESL) for people who want to learn to speak, read and write English. |
| Central Community College | |
| Crete Public Schools | |
| Metropolitan Community College | |
| Mid-Plains Community College | |
| Northeast Community College | |
| Beginning Guide for English Language Learners(National Center for Families Learning) | This resource supports tutors who are working with families that are learning English. The strategy provides detailed instructional activities to help ELL parents build and practice English conversational skills. |
| Education Finder, Start Your Education Journey (National Literacy Directory) | Learn English by finding a location near you that can support your goals. The National Literacy Directory is a database that connects potential students, volunteers, and advocates to literacy services, education programs, and testing centers nationwide. |
| Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework | HeadStart.gov | The Head Start Parent, Family and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework is foundational to the work Head Start programs do with families. Each of the seven Family Outcomes is embedded within program services, and there are resources aligned with these outcomes that support both children and families. Each local Head Start program implements literacy initiatives—targeted to both children and families—that are individualized based on the specific needs of their enrolled population and assigned service areas and supported through community partnerships. |
| Resources Name | Resource Overview |
| Books for Different Ages and Literacy Levels (BookSmart) | BookSmart provides books and tips required to build the habit of reading from a young age. With the free BookSmart app, children have the required tools to build their reading skills through high-quality books, activities that reinforce reading skills in fun and interactive ways, and where they are celebrated for their reading success. |
| Activities to Help Bilingual Families Teach Literacy (Colorin Colorado) | There are many ways that you can help a child learn to read!
A wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs).
|
| Get a free book monthly for your child until age 5 (Dolly Parton Imagination Library) | The Imagination Library ensures that every preschool child has access to print materials. Each month, from the day the child is born until his/her 5th birthday, a carefully selected book arrives in the mail. |
| Success Stories (videos) Highlighting Family Literacy In Action (National Center for Families Learning) | Family Literacy – in which multiple generations from the same family engage in learning together – see what families have to say about this program. |
| Digital Books available in Multiple Languages (NCFF) | The Nebraska Growing Readers Library offers you and your children a variety of ways to enjoy digital books that you can hear read aloud. A variety of narration languages is available so that children can hear books in their first language. |
| Nebraska Early Learning Library, a statewide library system available for families and schools (NDE & Nebraska Family Literacy Project) | The Nebraska Early Learning Library offers books and interactive family night kits that are available to be checked out. Families or organizations supporting families will be mailed the resources, as well as return shipping packaging to send the materials back at no cost to families or community partners. |
| Nebraska Read at Home Plan Guide – Kindergarten to 3rd Grade (NDE) | Helping ensure a child is reading on grade level by 3rd grade is an important task. By reading with your child 20 minutes per day and making a few simple things a part of your daily routine, you can set your student along the path to proficiency. |
| Resources Name | Resource Overview |
| Dyslexia & Creativity (Yale) | If a child has been diagnosed with dyslexia, he or she will not outgrow it, but that doesn’t mean the child won’t learn how to read or be successful. These resources will help you teach children how to cope and deal with his/her disability. Resources are family |
| Individual Reading Improvement Plan, (NDE) | The Nebraska Reading Improvement Act only requires that parents be notified of a reading struggle, and engaging families meaningfully and early about literacy contributes to great student success later on.
Individualized Reading Plan Examples NebraskaREADS 2021 Timeline Family Notification Examples 2021-2022 IRIP Family Acknowledgement |
| Nebraska Transition to Kindergarten Toolkit: Educators (NDE) | This toolkit provides developmentally informed practices and activities to support families, kindergarten teachers and administrators, and ECCE providers in creating optimal environments and interactions that nurture a child’s sense of self and create continuity for the variety of transitions young children experience from birth to third grade. |
| Read at Home Bookmark for Families (NDE) |
|
| School Readiness Tips for Families (NDE) | Use the resources on the this stie to support parents as they work to prepare their child for the transition into kindergarten. |
| Science of Reading Training for Teachers (NDE) | The structured literacy program is IDA-accredited and includes diagnostic, explicit, systematic, and cumulative courses that help unlock each child’s deep reading brain through a culturally and linguistically lens, taking into consideration family support and educational needs. |
| Vision Care Resources, Nebraska Optometric Association (NOA) | When a student struggles to develop early reading skills, there are often a variety of causes. Parents and teachers must work together to identify those causes and consider the possibility of a binocular vision impairment. |
| Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework | HeadStart.gov | The Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five (ELOF) presents five broad areas of early learning, referred to as central domains. The framework is designed to show the continuum of learning for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. It is grounded in comprehensive research around what young children should know and be able to do during their early years and is aligned with the Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines. To explore the ELOF, as well as resources within each of the central domains, check out the Interactive Framework. |
| Signs of Dyslexia | Dyslexia is very common, affecting up to 20 percent of the population. The signs of dyslexia can appear as early as preschool. Teachers should know what to look for, starting in the earliest years. Nebraska Dyslexia Law requires that each student who is identified as exhibiting characteristics of dyslexia shall receive evidence-based structured literacy instruction implemented with fidelity using a multisensory approach as provided in the technical assistance document for dyslexia adopted and promulgated by the State Department of Education pursuant to section 79-11,157. A school district shall not require a student who exhibits characteristics of dyslexia to obtain a medical diagnosis to receive intervention. |
| Dyslexia Guide (NDE) | Dyslexia Guide: Technical Assistance for Providing Support for Students provides information, resources, guidance, and support to schools, families, and caregivers in understanding the specific learning disability of dyslexia. This guide includes additional resources for educators to access when they suspect a student may have dyslexia. |
School Literacy Resources to Support Families
| Resources Name/Organization | Resource Overview |
| Dyslexia & Creativity (Yale) | If a child has been diagnosed with dyslexia, he or she will not outgrow it, but that doesn’t mean the child won’t learn how to read or be successful. These resources will help you teach children how to cope and deal with his/her disability. Resources are family |
| Individual Reading Improvement Plan, (NDE) | The Nebraska Reading Improvement Act only requires that parents be notified of a reading struggle, and engaging families meaningfully and early about literacy contributes to great student success later on.
Individualized Reading Plan Examples NebraskaREADS 2021 Timeline Family Notification Examples 2021-2022 IRIP Family Acknowledgement |
| Nebraska Transition to Kindergarten Toolkit: Educators (NDE) | This toolkit provides developmentally informed practices and activities to support families, kindergarten teachers and administrators, and ECCE providers in creating optimal environments and interactions that nurture a child’s sense of self and create continuity for the variety of transitions young children experience from birth to third grade. |
| Read at Home Bookmark for Families (NDE) | Make reading fun with these downloadable bookmarks! Three designs include reading tips and encourage children to read each day. |
| School Readiness Tips for Families (NDE) | Use the resources on the this site to support parents as they work to prepare their child for the transition into kindergarten. |
| Science of Reading Training for Teachers (NDE) | The structured literacy program is IDA-accredited and includes diagnostic, explicit, systematic, and cumulative courses that help unlock each child’s deep reading brain through a culturally and linguistically lens, taking into consideration family support and educational needs. |
| Vision Care Resources, Nebraska Optometric Association (NOA) | When a student struggles to develop early reading skills, there are often a variety of causes. Parents and teachers must work together to identify those causes and consider the possibility of a binocular vision impairment. |
| Resources Name | Resource Overview |
| Find Literacy Support in Your Area (Central Navigators) | Find local resources to help support your literacy journey. The Central Navigator is a local person who has experience with all kinds of obstacles and will listen and get you connected to supports to meet your goals for literacy development. |
| Adult Education for English Learners | Adult Education offers English as a Second Language (ESL) for people who want to learn to speak, read and write English. |
| Central Community College | |
| Crete Public Schools | |
| Metropolitan Community College | |
| Mid-Plains Community College | |
| Northeast Community College | |
| Beginning Guide for English Language Learners | This resource supports tutors who are working with families that are learning English. The strategy provides detailed instructional activities to help ELL parents build and practice English conversational skills. |
| Education Finder, Start Your Education Journey | Learn English by finding a location near you that can support your goals. The National Literacy Directory is a database that connects potential students, volunteers, and advocates to literacy services, education programs, and testing centers nationwide. |
The purpose of this Family Literacy Canva Guide is to equip school leaders (superintendents, principals, and teachers) with the information, connections, and resources they need to start, strengthen, and/or sustain evidence-based family literacy strategies in their schools and communities.
The Guide is intended as a tool for school leadership to build a comprehensive base for family literacy support using the following process:
- Explain the vision for Family Literacy
- Give school leaders the opportunity to complete a self-assessment
- Learn about relevant resources and information to support Family Literacy efforts