Literacy

Giving the Gift of Literacy

When parents ask for reading suggestions for their kids, here’s a handy list you can share, broken down by grade.

December 6, 2018

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

During the holiday season and when birthdays roll around, parents often seek out gifts that their kids will enjoy while also learning something—a delicate balance. Gifts that support literacy—books, magazines, and apps—work well at every age. Teachers can help out by sharing this list with parents. You can add your own great ideas too, and if you want a more extensive list, check out these suggestions from the Notre Dame Center for Literacy. (All prices current as of December 2018.)

Magazine Subscriptions

Kids. Love. Mail. And teachers encourage their students to read at least 20 minutes a day. Combine those two points: Magazines are full of visual support and engaging games and surveys, and they speak to all kinds of different interests. The best part is that a subscription keeps the reading material fresh and coming all year.

Preschool

National Geographic Little Kids ($15/year)
Hello ($30/year)
Babybug ($34/year)

Grades K–2

High Five / High Five Bilingüe ($30/year)
National Geographic Kids ($15/year)
Ranger Rick Jr. ($20/year)
Ladybug ($34/year)
Click ($34/year)
Chickadee ($35 Canadian/year)

Grades 3–5

Highlights ($30/year)
Ranger Rick ($20/year)
Sports Illustrated Kids ($20/year)
Ask ($34/year)
Xyza News ($50/year)

Grades 6–8

Cobblestone ($34/year)
Faces ($34/year)
Cricket ($34/year)
Dig Into History ($34/year)
Muse ($34/year)

Grades 9–12

Upfront ($37/year)
Teen Ink ($50/year)

A Digital Library

Parents can build a library of apps and websites that promote reading and writing. To give kids something to unwrap, print and cut out the logo and a description of the app, and adhere them to cardboard or precut, self-adhesive foam squares ($9 for six). Pack that up in an emoji goodie bag ($1.50).

Preschool

Homer ($8/month)
Monkey Word School Adventure ($2)
Wonster Words ($8/month)
iWriteWords ($3, iOS only)
Reading Raven ($4 on iOS, $3 on Android)

Grades K–2

Monkey Word School Adventure ($2)
Fry Words Game & Flashcards (free, iOS only)
Word Wagon (free, iOS only)
Skybrary ($5/month)
Epic! ($8/month)

Grades 3–5

Mad Libs (21 free pages)
Epic! ($8/month)
Biblionasium (free website)
Whooo’s Reading (free website)
Highlights Magazine Amazon Alexa Skill (free with Amazon Echo)

Grades 6–8

LitPick (free website) 
Smithsonian TweenTribune (free website)
Mr. Word Jr. Lite (free, iOS only)
Book Creator (available for iOS and Chrome, pricing varies)
Vocabador ($2, iOS only)

Grades 9–12

Wattpad (free)
Scrabble (free, iOS and Android)
Shakespeare Pro ($10 on iOS, currently free on Android)
TeenInk (free website)

Beanbag and a Book

Give the gift of a reading nook and a book. Beanbags, oversize pillows, and tents are affordable and readily available at most big box stores. A comfy, cozy place to read can create wonderfully positive associations with literacy.

Preschool: Build a blanket fort or purchase a reading tent. Tell your child no screens are allowed inside, and dedicate an evening to a reading camping trip. Bring picture books and snacks.

Grades K–2: Give your child the wildly fun Book Worm Journal ($11), which allows kids to tear off a perforated corner of each page to see the bookworm “eat” his way through the journal.

Grades 3–5: Give your child a bookstore gift card and a tote bag, and allow them to fill the bag with books of their own choosing.

Grades 6–8: Schedule a family movie night to watch a movie based on a book that the entire family reads first. Wonder ($10.50), The Hunger Games box set ($30), and The Giver ($13) are good places to start.

Grades 9–12: This one is about paying it forward. Have your high school student pick out their favorite picture book from their childhood and arrange to take them to a local literacy center to read the book to a child in need.

Multicultural Literature

Guide a child to travel the globe without leaving home. Books can be mirrors that invite children to see their own experiences celebrated on the page and also windows into the lived experience of others.

Preschool