LibGuides: IST 605: Early Literacy Instruction: Strategies & Instruction Methods

Strategies & Instruction Methods

National Center on Improving Literacy, 2017. Website.

This resource is an accessible, research-informed guide for parents and caregivers that outlines concrete, everyday activities to promote children's reading and language development at home. It covers a wide range and suggests things like reading aloud, storytelling, word games, and using technology in thoughtful ways to build language skills, vocabulary, comprehension, and a positive attitude toward reading. The guide's strength lies in its evidence base (citing research on family reading activities' impacts on literacy), its practical and flexible recommendations, and its emphasis on engaging children at their developmental level - making it a trustworthy and easy-to-use resource for families from many backgrounds.

International Literacy Association, 2024. Journal Article.

This peer-reviewed article from The Reading Teacher (International Literacy Association) offers research-based insights into early-literacy practices, making it a highly credible source for understanding effective instruction. While written for educators, its findings help caregivers see what evidence-based literacy development should look like in early childhood classrooms. Its biggest strength is its academic rigor and grounding in current literacy research. A limitation is that the writing style is scholarly, which may make it less accessible to parents seeking quick, practical strategies.

PBS Kids, 2020. Public Television Network Website.

This PBS Parents guide presents simple, engaging activities that build early-literacy skills through play, conversation, and shared reading. Its scope focuses on practical, home-friendly strategies that require little to no materials, making it highly accessible to all families. The site’s strengths include its clear instructions, inclusive examples, and strong grounding in child-development principles. Its limitation is that activities are brief overviews rather than deep explanations, so caregivers wanting structured routines might need more detailed guidance.

Reading Rockets. Website.

This source is highly relevant for caregivers seeking to understand what early-literacy progress looks like and how to support it through everyday activities while at home. The site provides clarity, parent-friendly tone, and strong backing from literacy experts and educators. However, it does focus primarily on typical development, caregivers of children with delays may require supplemental resources or professional evaluation.

First Things First. Website.

First Things First provides developmental information and practical suggestions for supporting early language and literacy in children from birth to age five, with particular attention to Arizona families and early-childhood programs. The resource explains how everyday interactions — talking, singing, reading, and playing — support brain development and early communication skills. Its strength is its culturally responsive, family-centered approach rooted in early-childhood research. A minor limitation is that some content is specific to Arizona programs, which may not apply directly to families in other states.

Teach My Kid to Read. Website.

This PDF guide explains what decodable books are, why they support early reading development, and how caregivers can use them to reinforce phonics skills at home. It distills key concepts from the science of reading into parent-friendly language, making technical literacy concepts easier to understand. Its strength is the clear focus on actionable strategies that align with how children learn to decode words. The resource is somewhat narrow in scope, however, emphasizing phonics rather than addressing the full range of early-literacy skills such as vocabulary or comprehension.

Institute of Education Sciences. Government Website.

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is an official source from the U.S. government, providing authoritative and rigorously researched data and statistics on education. Its strengths include comprehensive initiatives in "Literacy" and "Early Childhood Education," ensuring the information is grounded in the latest scientific findings and large-scale evaluations. Unless you're interested in taking a deep dive on the subject beyond quick, easy-to-implement strategies, the primary audience is often researchers, policymakers, and educators, meaning the content may be academic and less tailored for the general parent/caregiver audience.

A locally made television series for kids based on the Science of Reading. You can watch it free on YouTube. TRL Reading Buddies offers videos, activities, and resources designed to help young children build foundational literacy skills through stories, songs, and interactive learning. It focuses on engaging, child-friendly content that encourages phonological awareness, vocabulary growth, and early comprehension. A major strength is the platform’s alignment with evidence-based practices and its ability to model literacy routines for caregivers visually. One limitation is that most support is video based, so families without consistent internet access may not benefit fully.

Storytime and Beyond: Having Fun with Early Literacy

Kathy Barco, Melanie Borski-Howard, 2018. Book.

This book offers a wide range of early-literacy activities, storytime ideas, and practical strategies rooted in how young children learn best through play, movement, and shared reading. Although written for librarians, the book provides numerous easy-to-adapt ideas that caregivers can use to make reading enjoyable and interactive at home. Its strengths include its creativity, hands-on approach, and grounding in literacy-development research. Because it is a professional resource, some sections may feel more program-focused than home-specific.

TeachKloud, 2023. Website.

This guide provides an overview of early-literacy principles and practical strategies educators use to develop children’s oral language, phonological awareness, and emerging reading skills. While written for teachers, caregivers can benefit from understanding the instructional approaches used in high-quality early-childhood settings. Its strengths include clear explanations, strong grounding in child development, and practical examples that families can adapt at home. Its classroom orientation, however, means some suggestions may require modification for home environments.

Savvas. Website.

This article explains how caregivers can reinforce school-based science-of-reading instruction by supporting phonics, decoding, and language development at home. It connects instructional practices used in classrooms to simple, parent-friendly ideas such as reading aloud, practicing sound-letter patterns, and building vocabulary through conversation. Its strengths include clarity, accessibility, and alignment with current reading-science research used in many districts. A limitation is that it is published by an educational publisher, meaning some content may reflect classroom materials tied to Savvas programs rather than universally applied approaches.