Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrates the life and civil rights work of Dr. King. It’s recognized as a National Day of Service where volunteers across the country work together to make a difference in their communities — taking action to create the “Beloved Community” that Dr. King devoted his life to. Browse our list of children's books about the life and work of Dr. King, fiction and nonfiction books about ordinary people who stand up for what's right, and stories about helping others and giving back.
Discover simple ways kids and families can connect with others to imagine and work towards a better world. Create a “kindness tree” in your neighborhood or set up a “wish jar” at your home or school. Find ideas for volunteering in your communities — even during COVID — around issues kids care about, such as helping animals, protecting the environment, and donating books for kids without a home library. You’ll also find lots of great book recommendations around these issues. To get started, download the Our Democracy guide from Start with a Book.
The month, the Newbery celebrates a true milestone — 100 years of recognizing stellar children's books. Over the years, Reading Rockets has had the wonderful opportunity to interview many winners of the prestigious Newbery Medal. In this collection of interviews, you’ll meet some of your favorite authors, from Meg Medina (Merci Suárez Changes Gears, 2019) to Christopher Paul Curtis (Bud, Not Buddy, 2000) to Katherine Paterson (Bridge to Terabithia, 1978).
Katherine Applegate is the author of many books for young readers, including the 2013 Newbery Medal winner The One and Only Ivan, Crenshaw, Home of the Brave, Wishtree, the Roscoe Riley Rules series, Endling, and with her husband, Michael Grant, the Animorphs series.
In our video interview, Applegate talks about life-changing books for reluctant readers (including kids with dyslexia), tackling tough topics, the healing intent of Wishtree, and how books can change communities.
Erin Entrada Kelly is the author of chapter books for all ages, including Hello, Universe — winner of the 2018 Newbery Medal. Her books explore coming of age with sensitivity and honesty, dealing with issues such as bullying, building friendships, and feeling like an outsider.
In our interview, Erin talks about giving voice to quiet characters, different ways to be mighty, celebrating Filipino culture, the importance of diversity in children's books, letting kids choose what they want (and love) to read, and much more.
In this video, reading expert Linda Farrell works with Calista, an early stage reader, on short vowel sounds, blending and manipulating sounds, reading whole words, and fluency. Ms. Farrell starts by making sure Calista has a strong foundation in short vowel sounds by teaching her hand motions to remember those sounds more easily.
A teacher asks: "What can you tell me about writing fluency in grades K-5? Our district is making a major effort to improve writing which is great, but our kids don’t write much."
Literacy expert Tim Shanahan offers this advice: (1) teach handwriting and spelling explicitly; (2) lower the emphasis on spelling and handwriting during drafting; (3) be sure there’s enough time for discussion and planning about the writing; (4) require a lot of writing; and (5) engage students in short bursts of non-stop writing. Get the details in Shanahan's recent blog post.
To learn more about teaching writing, try our free, self-guided online course. And to see annotated examples of real student writing at different stages, Prek to grade 3, visit Looking at Writing.
In this overview, you’ll find examples of how background knowledge is key to reading comprehension — for example, it helps kids to choose between multiple meanings of words, or understand metaphors, idioms, and other literary devices. You’ll also get some practical classroom strategies to build background knowledge, such as using contrasts and comparisons, encouraging topic-focused wide reading, and integrating relevant and engaging multimedia.
Get the basics on social and emotional learning (SEL) — the five key elements, why it's important, examples of SEL activities to use in the classroom, and more.
In this brief video Q&A, literacy expert Kegi Wells explains that what's most important is if your child understands what they are reading. Kegi offers simple ways to check for understanding and how to model expressive reading.
Get more expert answers to parent questions about reading and writing in this special Reading Rockets video series, Reading SOS.
The past two years have been extremely challenging for families, and many kids are experiencing big emotions. How can you support your child's social and emotional well-being in this New Year? Here are some simple ideas to try at home. We hope you'll find these tips easy to blend into your daily routines. The tips are available in 16 languages!
Riddles are an excellent way for kids to learn how to really listen to the sounds of words, understand that some words have more than one meaning, and how to manipulate words. And riddles are fun — a good incentive for thinking about words and reading. (In English and Spanish).
For more ideas, browse our Growing Readers library of easy-to-use tips about reading aloud and helping your child build reading and writing skills, literacy in science, and more. Available in English and Spanish.
Do you know any kids who are fascinated by dinosaurs (and think that T-Rex rules)? We do! At Start with a Book, we've gathered up a great collection of books and activities — as well as kid-friendly apps, podcasts, and websites — for learning all about these fascinating prehistoric lizards.
Reading Rockets is a national educational service of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital. The goal of the project is to provide information on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.
Send your questions, comments, or suggestions to info@readingrockets.org. Our mailing address is WETA/Reading Rockets, 2775 S. Quincy St., Arlington, VA 22206. We look forward to hearing from you!
