Do you have a kid you’re trying to encourage to write more? Is your kid discouraged because she’s worried that her writing isn’t good enough? Here’s some great advice from a young author, Maureen Johnson, who is currently working on her 10th novel for teens. She will tell your kid (in her […]
On the Internet
Collection of videos kids gotta see
You’ve gotta love the spirit behind The Kid Should See This. You’re trolling the Internet (as you do) and you come across a crazy video showing lightning strikes on the CN Tower, and you think “I’ve gotta show this to my kid!” That’s exactly what TKSST is. A collection of fascinating, […]
Test your Potter fan with these clues
We’ve all been missing Harry and the Gang, of course, which is why we were so excited to see the new website, Pottermore. Getting Kids Reading has qualified to be an early, beta-tester of the new Harry Potter site. That means we’ll be able to bring you an insider’s view […]
QR codes – reading fun for the whole (nerdy) family
OK, this is a great tip but it might be a bit… er… nerdy. But then, so am I. And so is my kid, who wears it like a badge of honour. You’ve seen these QR codes, right? They’re on ads, posters, marketing material. Maybe you never knew what they […]
The news, in kid-friendly language
Kids love reading about what’s happening in their world. But so often, the newspaper is full of inappropriate and difficult articles. Teaching Kids News (TKN) is a sister website to Getting Kids Reading. We offer kid-friendly news articles, taken from the headlines of real newspapers. One of the great things […]
langman: great Internet game that encourages wordpower
Here at GKR we’re always looking for cool literacy games. Cool + literacy? Not the easiest combo. Nevertheless, we’ve found you one. This game is retro, so you know it’s cool. (For future reference: if it looks like something we would have played in the 70s, it’s cool. Just so ya know.) […]
Brilliant animal video by the BBC
This has nothing to do with literacy. Well, unless there’s something called “animal literacy” (which there’s not). But some things just have to be shared. Stick with it past the Michael Jackson bit – it gets really good.
Literacy Lava newsletter has great tips
The new edition of Literacy Lava, a free e-zine for parents with great literacy articles and ideas, is now available. You can download the .pdf from The Book Chook, here. I’ve got an article in it, and there are lots of other great articles including: * Writing tips for kids; […]
Remarkable research on kids’ ability to self-instruct
Here’s why we say you should “scatter books around the house.”
I want you to watch this exciting speech by Sugata Mitra on TED.com that illustrates the extent to which kids can teach themselves.
Through his “Hole in the Wall” project he conducted a series of experiments in 1999.
Teaching Kids the News
We’ve just launched an exciting new website that offers kid-friendly news articles.
Teaching Kids the News provides daily news articles, appropriate for kids (approximately grades 1-6).
Some articles also have ESL (English as a Second Language) versions.
The site can be used by parents; by teachers in the classroom; by homeschoolers and by kids themselves.
