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“Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.”

Abigail Adams, second First Lady of the United States

“Literacy is not a luxury, it is a right and a responsibility. If our world is to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century we must harness the energy and creativity of all our citizens.”

President Bill Clinton on International Literacy Day, September 8th 1994

“Education is that whole system of human training within and without the school house walls, which molds and develops men.”

W. E. B. DuBois, American civil rights activist, educator, writer, editor

Tips and Triumphs

Want to learn more about literacy or find fun learning opportunities for children?
Enjoy exploring the links in the following categories:

Educational Links for Children
Links for Literacy
Links for Family Literacy
Links for Health Literacy

Educational Links for Children

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/ Explore BBC Learning to discover a wealth of learning experiences for adults and children alike. Why not learn a language in the Learning Zone? For those who wish to brush up on their basic French, the Ma France series offers 24 interactive French videos. For complete beginners, take French Steps. Mi Vida Loca offers real drama and real Spanish for beginners. Learning games and educational clips are among the variety of learning options.

http://www.betterworldheroes.com/ Children can read the bios of heroes like Ghandi, Ella Baker, James Madison, Nelson Mandela, James Bell, Pearl S. Buck and Menachim Begin. Heroes include celebrity artists like Madonna, Johnny Depp, Doris Day, Gregory Peck, Pablo Picasso and Maya Angelou. Quotes, ColorMe Pix, Hero Pix, Hero Handouts and Links round out the site to provide for a variety of interesting activities.

http://www.eduweb.com/ Eduweb develops award-winning digital learning games and interactives about art, history, science and technology. Educational games fall under the following categories: role-play, create, deduce and tinker.

http://www.free.ed.gov/ The Federal Resources for Educational Excellences provides this comprehensive, alphabetized resource that has a wide range of subjects. A plethora of educational links.

http://www.tvokids.com/ Children can watch educational videos, play games, enter contests, and visit Gisele's Backyard. Children's activities include Early Literacy Games, French, Science, printable Clifford The Big Red Dog pages for colouring, sing songs and so much more.

Links for Literacy

http://www.aflo.on.literacy.ca/resource/resource.htm This section of the Action for Family Literacy Ontario includes AFLO publications and research, recommended resources and linkages, and a directory of family literacy programs in Ontario. The website has many other pages of interest to parents.

http://www.beyond-words.org/reading_importance.htm The Markham Stouffville Hospital webpage highlights the importance of reading to children and includes reading tips and a list of age-appropriate books for newborns to age six.

http://www.betterworld.net/movement/paths/literacy.htm This brief article entitled "What's your path for a Better World-Literacy" introduces the current state of global literacy and gives some basic facts and statistics about literacy. The page also offers various links to literacy, including pages from the UN and World Bank.

http://www.getcaughtreading.org/index.htm Find downloadable activities, audiobooks, reading lists for the Hispanic community and facts about literacy on this helpful website.

http://www.reading.org/association/meetings/global_perspectives.html This International Reading Association page summarizes the Global Perspectives 2008 event: Literacy and Health... a Prescription for Economic Development? See the bottom of the page for the full report, as well as other links to important literacy resources and Global Perspective reports.

Links for Family Literacy

http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/hyc.html The U.S. Department of Education website offers parents a variety of resources for helping their children succeed in school. This page offers helpful downloadable brochures and booklets in English and Spanish with titles such as the following: Helping Your Preschool Child, Helping Your Child Succeed in School, Helping Your Child Learn Mathematics, and Helping Your Child Become a Reader.

http://www.ed.gov/parents/landing.jhtml The U.S. Department of Education parents' landing page gives parents a variety of feature resources that help will everything from keeping children drug-free to planning for college.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/abc123/ The Ontario Ministry of Education offers quick and easy tips that help parents make everyday life experiences an aid to your child's learning. Available in a variety of languages.

http://www.literacy.ca/ The Movement for Canadian Literacy website provides a definition and overview of literacy, reports and documents and an extensive well-organized links page, as well as other important information regarding literacy and clear writing.

http://www.nald.ca Learn about literacy and access important resources on the National Adult Literacy Database. Find learning and research material using the NALD search engine.

http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/tvoparents/ "Your child's teacher is relying on you to prepare them for what they will learn in the classroom," this website cautions. Parents can access colouring book materials, learn about pesticides and soil contaminants, find articles on family and children's literacy.

Links for Health Literacy

http://www.centreforliteracy.qc.ca/health/HLlinks.html This Centre for Literacy website explains the subject of Health Literacy and offers various links and resources for exploring the subject.

http://www.health.gov/communication/literacy/quickguide/factsbasic.htm The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services offers this Health Literacy Basics Fact Sheet. Straightforward and easy to read.

http://www.naho.ca/inuit/english/documents/LiteracyandHealth-Final.pdf This 49-page discussion paper outlines the importance of higher-level literacy skills.

Elementary Newsletter
Volume 11 Issue 1