Imagine if there was a “one stop shop” where families could access free literacy resources for PreK-6th Grade children. Now, imagine if parents and caregivers could use a search and filter tool to select specific types of resources, targeted literacy skills to work on, and an appropriate age range. You don’t need to use your imagination any longer, as these resources exist and are just a click away.
The Iowa Reading Research Center (IRRC) has developed a wonderful website to provide these types of targeted resources. The website continues to be expanded regularly to meet the needs of children of all ages. This high-quality collection of over 200 learning activities, videos, articles and parent guides is a great resource families can use to practice and build critical reading skills.
IRRC is collaborating with educators and parents across Iowa to make a multitude of resources available for families on their website at http://www.iowareadingresearch.org/. IRRC has worked extensively with trained educators and parents who have reviewed hundreds of resources for content, quality and accessibility. Only those resources receiving the highest ratings are hosted on the IRRC website. The resources are free and no log-in is required. Visitors can search the collection by literacy skill, age/grade, and resource type, or search by keyword to find learning tools that are just right for each and every child.
Whether your child is a struggling reader or is one of the most skilled readers in his or her class, he or she will benefit from the resources provided on this website and the time spent with parents or other adults while using these tools. I encourage parents to visit the IRRC website regularly for current information and additional resources.
Parents and others who support children in their reading may also want to subscribe to the IRRC’s weekly blog at http://www.iowareadingresearch.org/blog/ Blog readers will learn more about the individual resources in the IRRC Family Resources Collection, get specific information how to best utilize the IRC family resources, and have the opportunity read about parents’ real-life experiences with using the tools from the collection.
You can also follow the Iowa Reading Research Center’s Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/IAReading or their Facebook posts at https://www.facebook.com/iowareadingresearchcenter.
Whether you are a parent, grandparent, older sibling, daycare provider, or anyone else who supports young readers, I hope you will take advantage of these free, high-quality tools.
I encourage your feedback on this column, along with any questions you may have. These SUPERINTENDENT NEWS & VIEWS columns, in addition to my blog and Twitter postings, are part of my plan for open communication with the community. As a part-time superintendent that also has duties in another school district, I believe that open and clear communication is more important than ever before. If you’ve missed any of my columns or would like to re-read or share them with your friends and family, you are welcome to visit my blog at http://redhawksupt.blogspot.com/ where they are all posted. You are also welcome to follow me on Twitter (@DavidRobertHill) where I will occasionally post updates or other information not found on the blog.
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