Here are some of my favorite go-to sites for free, evidence-based teaching strategies, materials and creative inspiration. Did I say FREE? I’ve organized the list under the 5 major areas of early literacy instruction. Let me know what you try and how you like it. Do you have your own favorite resources? Share them with our readers!
PHONEMIC AWARENESS:
- Reading Rockets Plug in the search term “Phonemic Awareness” for a treasure trove of instructional activities!
- Get Ready to Read! Activity cards, online games, supplemental materials and more.
- TPRI Early Literacy Activities Dozens of strategies, clearly explained. Each Blackline Master includes instructions and a complete description of the activity.
- PALS-– phonological awareness instructional activities including isolating beginning sounds, rhyming, blending and segmenting.
PHONICS:
- Florida Center for Reading Research Activities to address foundational reading skills –aligned to Common Core grade level standards. This link connects to a page that has both phonics and phonemic awareness activities.
- Florida Center for Reading Research Instructional routines for teaching phonics skills.
- PALS Alphabet recognition, sound/symbol association, word recognition and spelling.
- Reading Rockets Top 11 Phonics Apps.
- S.P.I.R.E. free lesson plans and decodable books. Click on the “free resources” box on the right hand side of the page.
VOCABULARY:
- Florida Center for Reading Research vocabulary instructional routines for kindergarten and first grade. Click here for second and third grade vocabulary activities. Click here for lesson plans.
- PALS vocabulary, comprehension, oral reading in context
FLUENCY:
- Florida Center for Reading Research fluency instructional routines for kindergarten and first grade. Click here for second and third grade fluency activities.
- Reading Rockets Top 10 Resources on Fluency.
- Intervention Central reading fluency resources.
- University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning. Look under the heading “Applying the Concepts” for activities.
COMPREHENSION:
- Florida Center for Reading Research comprehension instructional routines for kindergarten and first grade. Click here for second and third grade comprehension activities.
- IES Practice Guide: Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten through Third Grade.
- Texas Education Agency Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension.
GENERAL:
openbooksopendoors.com 
Love the Reading Rockets site! I bookmarked that one for reference to check back to often.
Thank you for the info on your website. On various places on your site you say that students with DS benefit from teaching using dyslexia methods. Can you point me to the research that supports that? Thank you!
Hi Eve,
There are articles under the Research tab of this site that focus on the use of systematic, explicit instruction in phonics and phonemic awareness, which in the past has been focused on kids with dyslexia but is not showing promise for children with Ds. The Orton Gillinghma method of reading instruction is being increasingly, and successfully, used to teach kids with intellectual disabilities.
Is there an article that specifically addresses using the Orton Gillingham method to teach learners with intellectual disabilities?
Hi Danielle,
I’m not aware of any studies that focus exclusively on the Orton Gillingham approach but many studies incorporate interventions consistent with key features of Orton Gillingham, such as 1) direct, explicit, multisensory instruction; 2) presenting skills in a logical structured sequence and 3) diagnostic, prescriptive teaching.