August 19, 2020

Video: Free, Online Tools to Increase Literacy During Virtual Learning

Originally published on NBCDFW

Every good lesson plan could use a refresher. NBC 5’s Reading With You literacy initiative has introduced parents to free and fun, online tools all summer long to help with their child’s literacy.

Here are just a few of those we talked about:

AUDIBLE: Audible, which produces digital audio materials, created a section with hundreds of audiobooks at no cost. Even popular titles like Harry Potter and Winnie the Pooh are on there.

BRIGHT BY TEXT: Keeping your child engaged could be as simple as a text. Literacy nonprofit Reading Partners North Texas has partnered with Bright By Text and is providing a plan to parents available through their cell phones. Parents should text the word READ to 274448 and will be prompted to sign up, which takes less than a minute. The phone will then get automatic text messages twice a week with a curriculum to help improve literacy while at home. The text and information are available in English and Spanish for children ages five to 10 years old.

SKILL-BASED YOUTUBE VIDEOS: Reading Partners also worked with Americorps to create more than a dozen skill-based videos to help parents, as well as teachers, of early elementary students.

LEARNING FOR BILINGUAL STUDENTS: Hermes Camps, a Kindergarten teacher at Burnet Elementary School created an online learning platform, ABeCeLee, which means ABC Read in English. The Dallas ISD teacher is originally from Cuba and he understands what it’s like when your first language is not English.