The links below are divided into two sections - first, for teachers of literacy to grow understanding of literacy practices and second, for teachers to use in their classrooms to improve literacy practices tomorrow.
To Grow Professionally as a Literacy Teacher The links below are resources that will provide the backbone and structure to literacy practices. They offer teacher discussion boards, philosophy and research relating to best practices in teaching.
Educator Collaborative Very active and relevant researchers in literacy use this site as a hub. This site offers a couple of great features - the blog is updated a few times a week with specific literacy-related topics and a wealth of at-home professional development opportunities are accessible right here.
Edutopia Providing current, relevant articles on a plethora of topics in education. The search feature this website is fantastic for easily finding topics that interest you.
These literacy gurus get it. They explain everyday problems literacy teachers deal with and practical ways to help solve them. Their short, fun to watch videos offer practical solutions that you can use tomorrow.
Home of the national organization of teachers of writing. Each year, NWP produces a report on the status of and recommendations for literacy practices in classrooms. Additionally, they publish articles written specifically for teachers to let them know the happenings within the country regarding literacy.
Parented by Book Whisperer Donalyn Miller, The Nerdy Bookclub offers the best book recommendations around. The blog site has many nerdy contributors at all grade levels, so all of your reading interests can be met through this one site.
Led by Lucy Calkins, the Reading and Writing Project has the mission of staying at the forefront of literacy best practice. One area of note on the website is the resources tab. There are booklists, text sets, videos demonstrating mini-lessons, and numerous other core pieces to a balanced literacy community provided for example and for replication.
Following literacy leaders on Twitter is a great way to grow your professional knowledge. Some to consider following: , @nellduke, @KyleneBeers, @teacher2teacher, @donalynbooks, @JSerravallo, @nerdybookclub, @NancieAtwell, @cristovani, @MaryEhrenworth, @MaggieBroberts, @pennykittle
To Use in your Classroom as a Literacy Teacher The links below are classroom ready resources. Coupled with an understanding of best practices in literacy, teachers can use these resources for positive classroom literacy practices.
Classroom The cleanest, easiest way to communicate and provide assignments for students online. As a teacher, you can post videos, tasks, surveys, Google Documents or anything with a web address for your students. They can work independently or collaboratively from the resources you provide them through this Google-provided resource.
Penpals from around the world? Sure! E-pals provides a safe portal for students to have an authentic audience for learning with students from across the globe. Teachers moderate student discussions and provide lessons for students to complete to interact with students from other places.
Helping students select books that they can engage with is a difficult task, even as a teacher who reads a lot. Students can own their own reading lists by creating an account and getting book recommendations personalized for their own interests.
Helping kids have an authentic audience to whom they are writing is so valuable. Using students’ own classmates is an effective and easy way to provide a safe, secure and fun way for students to publish and have that audience.
Mobymax can provide targeted, customizable learning in a variety of subject areas. Students work at their own pace or on specific lessons their teachers name for them. This targeted learning can help students to grow in numerous subject areas, not just literacy.
Relevant news offered at different lexiles? Current events that are ready to read in the classroom, text sets that are built for you or customizable, and quizzes and discussion tools are some of the features offered through this workhorse of a website.