LITERACY & LANGUAGE
Classroom Cereal
Grades 6-8 | Grammar practice in free, printable short stories. The original short stories are published monthly and in five parts, each with its own ready-to-go PDF worksheet.
Dolche Word Lists
Grades K-3 | 220 most frequently found words, which provide a good base for beginning reading. Many must be learned as sight words - they cannot be sounded out because they do not follow decoding rules. Download 11 lists of sight words featuring Jan Brett's art. Visit the Jan Brett website for additional activities and printables!
Grammaropolis
Grades K-5 | Learn the 8 parts of speech as animated characters starring in books, songs, videos, and interactive games, designed to address students' varied learning styles.
Magic Penny Early Literacy Institute
Ages 2-6 | Early literacy apps, Alpha Animal Song Videos, games, stories, coloring booklets and posters, Word Makers, and activities to use for developing the foundational skills for early literacy. The program is currently used in all kindergartens and some Pre-Ks in 25 Buffalo, Pre-K and Kindergartens in Lackawanna, and all 78 CAO Head Start Prekindergartens. Created by Sandra Schneider, a Buffalo State grad.
PBS English Language Arts
All Grades | Browse standards-aligned ELA resources for students in literature, informational texts, reading foundational skills, writing and more.
Scholastic Learn at Home
PreK - Grade 9 | Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.
Starfall
Grades K-3 | Animated songs, reading activities, games, and movies that focus on phonics, common sight words with audiovisual interaction.
SuperSimple
Pre K - Grade 2 | Endless songs and videos that are appropriately paced, lyrically simple, full of space for movement, easily taught through gesture, and FUN for young learners. SuperSimple also offers free printables, crafts and activities.
University of Florida Literacy Institute’s Parent Resource Hub
Birth - Grade 12 | Collection of web-based language and literacy resources compiled and curated by UFLI faculty and graduate students. Research-validated. UFLI adds and refines these resources regularly.
Literacy Resources from the Buffalo State Community
Buffalo State Global Literacy Blog
Buffalo State faculty and students contribute fun, engaging, and effective literacy strategies to help children become proficient readers and writers while learning about the world in which they live. Buffalo State Global Literacy Channel
Buffalo State faculty and students create short videos that bring unique, literacy-building activities for parents, caregivers, teachers and teacher candidates to use with young readers and writers. |
Your Local Library
Libraries have always been open, inclusive, diverse, free and for everyone. While their doors may be closed, library patrons can still borrow e-books or audiobooks through online systems or apps. Visit your local libraries website for information on how to register online for a library card, and how to borrow books, music and audiobooks online. In addition, Google Books (adjust search settings to show only free e-books) and Project Gutenberg have thousands of free books that can be read on a computer or sent directly to your e-reader. |
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A Mighty Girl - Books
Ages Birth-13+ | A reference of over 3,000 girl-empowering books organized into over 200 book categories to explore. Search by the categories of interest or by age. While you're there, check out the other girl-empowering resources!
Authors Everywhere!
Elementary - Middle School | Children's authors and illustrators offer workshops, readings, activities, art projects, writing games, writing advice, and more to as fun, distraction, and a creative outlet for any feelings that might come up during this time.
Bamboo Books (Alexa Skill)
Pre- to Advanced Readers | Narrated stories and exercises to help children improve listening comprehension.
Buffalo State Learning Community Social Justice Digital Read Alouds
All Ages | SUNY Buffalo State students develop engaging, interactive read alouds with social justice-themed children's literature. Students perform the read aloud, and then share two multiple intelligence activities to help readers learn more about the book.
Commonlit
Grades 3-12 | Collection of fiction and non-fiction reading passages with discussion questions that can be filtered by grade, theme, genre, literary device, or common core standard.
Daily Read Aloud with Peter Reynolds
Early Childhood - Elementary | Reynolds, writer and illustrator of “Be You,” “The Word Collector,” “The Dot” and “Ish,” reading aloud from his work every day.
Dr. Seuss Raps Over Dr. Dre Beats
All Ages | Wes Tank, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin based artist, rapping Dr. Seuss books over beats by Dr. Dre.
The Dudes Read Aloud
Ages 2-102 years | A fun and educational experience featuring a voice over of a book with its illustrations, and simple Multiple Intelligences activities showing how the book can teach us new lessons. Guest Dudes make appearances and share their talents, too!
Emily & Gill
Ages 4-7 | Dive into the story of two young girls to explore questions about what is “normal” and why being different is to be celebrated - including videos and a curriculum resource pack.
Epic!
Ages 3-10 years | Popular kids books and videos.
Facts4Me
Grades K-5 | A safe research site for elementary-level readers. They are offering free 24/7 access with USERNAME: read (case sensitive) PASSWORD: read (case sensitive).
Fierce Girls
All Ages | A podcast featuring inspiring tales of some of Australia's most extraordinary women - from athletes to aviators, scientists to spies, from the deep blue sea to the dark, black skies.
FreeChildrensStories.Com
Ages 3-12 years | Traditional and original meaningful storytelling.
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
All Ages | A fairy tale podcast about the real-life extraordinary women who inspire us. Inspiring millions of girls and women around the world to dream bigger, aim higher, and fight harder.
Kids Ask Authors with Grace Lin
Elementary - Middle School | A weekly 5-10 minute podcast where children’s book author/illustrator Grace Lin and a guest author answer one question from a child reader. Most episodes will end with a book review, poem, short story or a joke by kids!
Life Story Hub
All Ages | Activities that connect the old and the young through poetry, art, literature and life stories.
The Literature Network
All Ages | Searchable online literature for the student, educator, or enthusiast. Currently has over 3500 full books and over 4400 short stories and poems by over 260 authors. Quotations database has over 8500 quotes, and quiz system features over 340 quizzes.
Magic Tree House
Grades 3-5 | Interactive games based on the book series.
National Emergency Library
All Ages | Over 1.4 million books available in the brand new National Emergency Library, created by the Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites and more.
Novel Effect
All Ages | Voice-interactive storytelling experiences plus educator resources (e.g. worksheets).
Parent Brochures on Reading by Jim Trelease
All Ages | Written in an uncomplicated, to-the-point style, the brochures are free for downloading and may be easily duplicated by nonprofit institutions dealing with parents and community members.
Project Gutenburg
All Ages | Library of over 60,000 free eBooks.
ReadWorks
Grades K-12 | Reading comprehension text and lesson plans. Students can highlight, annotate, and complete assignments online or materials can be easily printed.
Scholastic
PreK - Grade 8 | Resources, grade-by-grade guides, book lists, printables, and tips for homeschooling success.
Seussvillle
Ages 5+ | Activities, crafts, and printables with Seussian ideas to engage your child in playful learning
Sparkle Stories
Ages 3-9 | Engaging, original audio-only stories filled with seeds of learning that spur children to use their imaginations, grow their curiosity, and promote values like empathy and respect for a kinder, gentler world. * September 2020 News: Sparkle Stories is offering discounted bulk subscription to classrooms/groups of 10 or more. Reach out at [email protected] for details.
Squiggle Park
Grades 2-8 | A fun, curriculum-aligned literacy game that combines strategy, engagement, and imaginative reading passages.
Stay-at-Home Story Time with Oliver Jeffers
Young Children | Jeffers, the author of “The Day the Crayons Quit,” “How to Catch a Star,” and “The Fate of Fausto," will be reading one of his books every weekday, and talking about some of the things that went into making it. We are all at home, but none of us are alone. Let’s be bored together.
Storynory
Ages 2-11+ |Free audio stories to showcase imagination, good writing, and great narrations and factual programming to stimulate a curiosity about the world, and the ability to think critically. Includes originals, fairytales, classics, myths, poems and music.
Storyline Online
Elementary Grades | Free children's books read by famous adults. Each book includes supplemental curriculum developed by a credentialed elementary educator, aiming to strengthen comprehension and verbal and written skills.
Multilingual Resources
Storyweaver
All Ages | Digital gateway to thousands of richly illustrated, open-licensed children's stories in mother tongue languages.
Spanish Book Read Aloud for Kiddos
A YouTube collection of 74 children's picture books read aloud by various subscribers.
Dra Colón Reading: Buenos Ciudadanos por Bruce Larkin
Dra Colón Reading: El Arbol Generoso por Shel Silverstein
Gliset Colón, assistant professor of exceptional education at Buffalo State College reads for the Hispanic Heritage Council of Western New York's El Día de los Niños 2020 and for The Dudes Read Aloud.
All Ages | Digital gateway to thousands of richly illustrated, open-licensed children's stories in mother tongue languages.
Spanish Book Read Aloud for Kiddos
A YouTube collection of 74 children's picture books read aloud by various subscribers.
Dra Colón Reading: Buenos Ciudadanos por Bruce Larkin
Dra Colón Reading: El Arbol Generoso por Shel Silverstein
Gliset Colón, assistant professor of exceptional education at Buffalo State College reads for the Hispanic Heritage Council of Western New York's El Día de los Niños 2020 and for The Dudes Read Aloud.
Chalk Academy (Chinese & Korean)
Preschool and Elementary | Children-led, multilingual learning activities, interactive printables, resources and tips.
Conjuguemos
All Ages | Vocabulary, grammar, listening activities and games in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Korean, and Latin.
Difusion (Spanish)
All Ages | Videos, books, interactive activities, and articles for Spanish language education.
Duolingo
All Ages | Free online courses offered in 35 different languages.
Goethe-Institut - Learn German
All Ages | A variety of lesson plans, web-projects, online exercises, songs, films, customs and traditions, and more. There are many avenues and opportunities on the Goethe-Institut website, below are a few selected paths to explore first!
- German with Felix and Franzi covers the first and second year of learning German. A frog and a duck, recently moved to the UK from Germany, experience many adventures, which form the theme for each chapter. Each chapter introduces new vocabulary and grammar lessons and is accompanied by a wide range of activities and extra material such as songs, videos and whiteboard applications (all free).
- German with Karla and Kai follows on from Felix and Franzi and is intended for children who have finished two years of German at primary level.
- The Practice German Free of Charge page allows learners to browse tutorials by language ability level and topic, and add them to their own learning list. This page also allows users to learn about Germany and German culture, and provides online games and quizzes for learning the language.
Language Transfer
All Ages | Complete audio courses capturing real life learning experiences in which you can participate fully. French, Swahili, Italian, Greek, German, Turkish, Arabic, Spanish, English for Spanish speakers.
Memrise
All Ages | Watch and learn conversational language from native speakers in over 22 different languages.
RockAlingua (Spanish)
Children & Beginner Spanish learners | Music-based Spanish language education.
Signed Stories
Elementary | Animated children's stories performed in sign language.
Storyweaver
All Ages | Digital gateway to thousands of richly illustrated, open-licensed children's stories in mother tongue languages.
Study Spanish.com
High School & Post-Secondary | Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Spanish tutorials including pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, travel help, daily words, cultural notes and idioms.