Literacy

See Also: English Language Arts | English as a Second Language (ESL) | Languages & Linguistics

• Adult Basic Education and Literacy
  From Community Partnerships for Adult Learning, sponsored by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education, this website includes practical advice, research reports, links to other internet sources, and standards for adult literacy.
• America's Literacy Directory
  From the National Institute for Literacy, an individual can search this Directory for volunteer opportunities, GED test preparation programs, help with reading and writing or math, and ESL instruction. The children's section of the Directory also offers listings of after-school programs and homework help.
• Central Illinois Adult Education Service Center
  Staff development resource designed for adult education community in a region of Illinois makes many materials accessible to others, including affordably priced resources on topics from literacy to learning disabilities to workforce education. Offers links to some online lesson plans such as Strategies for Low-Level Learners and Employability Skills, a comprehensive guide to assessing adult education programs, and connections to listservs, resources for GED 2002, and related state and national links.
• History of Literacy
  This website is maintained by the History of Reading Special Interest Group (SIG) of the International Reading Association (IRA). The SIG's purpose is to promote historical research about reading and literacy and to offer a forum for those interested in these topics. It has a listserv, publishes a biannual newsletter, the History of Reading News, and publishes Occasional Papers. Full-text of newsletters and pamphlets are available on the website from 1992 forward and include such titles as the draft of Locating Data for Research on the History of Literacy.
• Illinois State Library Literacy Office
  This Office administers competitive grant programs that provide basic literacy services to enhance reading, math, writing or language skills for targeted program participants. The website includes information about these grants, a Workplace Education Resource Directory, volunteer opportunities, facts and statistics, Illinois legislation and policy documents, and directories of additional resources such as offered by Illinois LINKS.
• LINCS
  From the National Institute for Literacy, LINCS features "multimedia curricula developed by practitioners, special collections on major literacy topics, the latest literacy-related research and statistics, opportunities for communicating with colleagues directly and through on-line discussion groups, and the best peer-reviewed ABE and literacy sites in the U.S. and beyond." There are Special Collections such as the one for Literacy & Learning Disabilities, plus regional and state groups. Illinois LINKS offers a wealth of resources and services such as a Directory of Illinois Adult Education/Literacy Providers, an adult education hotline, instructional materials for teachers and tutors, and more.
• Literacy Chicago
  This non-profit organization is dedicated to improving the literacy skills of Chicago area adults and families. Literacy Chicago was created through the 1992 merger of Chicago's two largest literacy organizations: Literacy Council of Chicago (1968) and Literacy Volunteers of Chicago (1984). Today, Literacy Chicago is the largest provider of free, individualized adult literacy services in Illinois. The organization offers programs for adult basic education, GED preparation, adult and family literacy, workplace literacy, and English as a second language.
• Literacy.org
  This is a gateway to electronic resources and tools for the national and international adult literacy communities. It is co-sponsored by the International Literacy Institute and the National Center on Adult Literacy, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.
• Literacy Research and Best Practices
  From NCREL, the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory which also offers a Literacy section in its Pathways to School Improvement.
• Literacy Web at the University of Connecticut
  This website "is designed to promote the use of the Internet as a tool to assist classroom teachers in their search for best practices in literacy instruction, including the new literacies of Internet technologies. We have made every attempt to link teachers with current research and theory that supports traditional and new literacy practices as well as to guide teachers towards particular classroom resources that can enhance literacy development for students at all grade levels." The information is organized into News, Classroom Resources (by grade level), Literacy Topics, and Research. The latter category includes links to online full-text articles, literacy journals, professional books, organizations, publisheres, discussion groups, and professional development opportunities.
• National Adult Literacy Database (NALD)
  This Canadian resource is from a federally incorporated, non-profit service organization. The database includes entries for adult literacy programs, resources, services and activities across Canada. It also links with other services and databases in North America and overseas.
• National Alliance of Urban Literacy Coalitions (NAULC)
  This organization, founded in 1995, addresses literacy needs in more than 30 major metropolitan areas. NAULC represents thousands of literacy service providers in workplace, family and community-based settings and encourages system-wide cooperation.
• National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)
  The National Center for Education Statistics conducted this assessment in 1985, 1992, and again in 2002. The website includes explanatory information as well as published results. States had the option in the 1992 and 2002 assessments for a level of participation that could develop State-level profiles; the resulting publications are listed here as well.
• National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL)
  NCFL pioneered in advocating an intergenerational approach as the family literacy model that encourages parents and children to learn together. NCFL provides professional development services, research and policy analysis, and annually trains more than 5,000 practitioners. The website includes information about all the activities and programs and offers a Directory of Family Literacy Programs.
• National Coalition for Literacy
  Established in 1981, the coalition now has more than thirty sustaining members plus additional organizations serve as affiliate members. The Coalition initiates, promotes, and advocates for national literacy improvement. The website includes membership information, policy statements and reports, and a selection of factsheets on topics such as "The Relationship between Reading and Literacy" and "Learning Disabilities and Literacy."
• National Institute for Literacy (NIFL)
  This is a federal organization that shares information about literacy and supports the development of high-quality literacy services. It works with networks of national and regional organizations to offer resources geared to the professional community as well as for those in need of literacy services.
• National Literacy Trust, United Kingdom
  While working in the UK with populations at all age levels, this organization's website has a wide variety of information useful for researchers and practitioners anywhere. Resources range from tips to encourage reading and bibliographies of books to a database of statistics and a directory of research projects.
• National Reading Conference (NRC)
  NRC is a professional organization for individuals who share an interest in research and the dissemination of information about literacy and literacy instruction. The organization's website offers selective full-text on effective literacy instruction. NRC publishes the Journal of Literacy Research (LB1050.A1J87 in Regenstein, previously titled Journal of Reading Behavior) and the website includes abstracts of the articles in its recent issues and full-text articles from earlier issues.
• ProLiteracy Worldwide
  This organization was formed by the merger of the world's two largest adult volunteer literacy organizations -- Laubach Literacy International and Literacy Volunteers of America. ProLiteracy Worldwide is represented in 45 developing countries as well as in the U.S. and serves more than 350,000 adult new learners around the world each year. Its publishing division, New Readers Press, produces and distributes approximately 500 titles of adult educational books and materials to literacy organizations, schools, libraries and other institutions nationwide.
• Reading/Literacy
  From the Education Commission of the States (ECS), this site includes readings and research, quick facts, test score reports, legislative updates, links to other resources, and a State Literacy Programs Database. The ECS has a wealth of information about education in all 50 states.
• State Literacy Resource Centers
  From the Education Resource Organizations Directory (EROD) offered by the U.S. Dept. of Education.
• UNESCO: Literacy
  One focus of work is on measuring illiteracy rates in various parts of the world and monitoring progress toward a literate world citizenry. Statistics, reports, and projections are available. Select "Literacy" from the list of core themes on the upper left of the page.