Resources for Instructional Leaders and Educators

Connecticut Reads: Calling all learners and families! Get ready to choose your own adventure with Connecticut Reads this summer. There are many choices—from visiting local public libraries to enjoying Storywalk® installations in state parks. The Storywalk® installations offer a fun way to combine reading with outdoor fun, giving families a unique way to read and walk together.

10 Key Series: Research-Based Policies and Practices for Schools: The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk (MCPER) has compiled the latest research across multiple content areas into “Top 10” lists. These lists highlight the most important evidence-based practices and policies—drawn from high-quality research—that should be implemented in every school.

Reading Rockets: Reading Rockets offers a rich library of evidence-based classroom strategies to help young children become skilled readers.

¡Colorín Colorado!: Colorín Colorado is a leading national website serving educators and families of English language learners (ELLs) in PreK-12. For more than two decades, it has provided free, research-based information, activities, and guidance to support parents, schools, and communities nationwide. The site offers customized resources for teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, librarians, and families.

The Reading Universe Taxonomy: A free, multimedia-rich, step-by-step guide to teaching reading and writing that supports educators with classroom-proven strategies, videos demonstrating best practices, and practical solutions to common reading challenges.

Guidance Tool for Designing Culturally Responsive Lessons: This document highlights three high-impact, culturally responsive, and sustaining practices for effective lesson design.

How Generative AI Tools Assist With Lesson Planning: Explore how generative AI platforms offer valuable support for lesson planning by delivering tailored content, precise instructional language, and adaptable learning activities, enabling educators to optimize instructional time and better address student needs.

Literacy How Resource Library: Learn from Literacy How mentors! Explore free resources, including model lessons, to support literacy and learning through evidence-based instruction.

Motivation: The Key to Academic Success: Motivation can come from within a student (intrinsic) or from external factors (extrinsic). This article explores both types of motivation and the factors that can reduce a student’s motivation.

Khan Academy: Arts and Humanities: Khan Academy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Its interactive platform offers practice problems, instructional articles, and engaging videos designed to help students succeed in subjects such as English language arts, math, biology, chemistry, physics, history, economics, finance, grammar, and many more.

Read Across America: Ready, Set, Read Across America! Plan for NEA’s Read Across America Day in March and get involved in year-round reading fun in your community.

Literacy How Professional Learning - Syntax: Sentence Level Skills:

Literacy How Professional Learning - Vocabulary & Morphology:

A Kindergarten Teacher's Guide to Supporting Family Involvement in Foundational Reading Skills: This guide helps kindergarten teachers support families in practicing foundational reading skills at home.