Adventures in Reading: Family Literacy Bags
By: Reading Rockets (2008)
Reading Rockets has developed a set of family literacy bags to encourage hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books.
Parents who read to their children everyday and talk about what they are reading together promote a joy of reading and literacy achievement. How can teachers encourage reading at home and support the role of parents as educators? One way is through the use of family literacy bags — a paired set of theme-based fiction and nonfiction books and related interactive activities that kids bring home from school to share with their family. Just assemble everything into a two-gallon zip top bag, and they're ready to go!
"Family Literacy Bags are a great idea from Reading Rockets. I love the fact that there are clear, accessible, and easy-to-understand suggestions for parents in each PDF. The activities would be fun and educational to link to any book that suits the themes, not just the ones suggested."
— The Book Chook
What goes into each literacy bag?
- Parent information sheet with an introductory note that you can personalize, instructions about how to use the packet, and tips for sharing fiction and nonfiction books with children
- Two books: one fiction and one nonfiction, selected by Reading Rockets for high quality and wide availability in school libraries
- Creativity Activity: a hands-on craft project
- Imagination Activity: encourages imaginative play, writing, or drawing
- Get Real Activity: focuses on real-world experiences for parent and child
- Bookmark: lists the featured titles and alternative titles
Themed literacy bags
 Theme: Animals Age: Kindergarten Animals literacy bag > |
 Theme: Environment Age: First grade Environment literacy bag > |
 Theme: Food Age: Kindergarten Food literacy bag > |
 Theme: Folktales Age: First grade Folktales literacy bag > |
 Theme: Music Age: Kindergarten Music literacy bag > |
 Theme: Time Age: First grade Time literacy bag > |
 Theme: Dinosaurs Age: First grade Dinosaurs literacy bag > |
 Theme: Wild Things Age: Kindergarten Where the Wild Things Are literacy bag (English and Spanish versions) > |
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Special feature: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
In English
Theme: What happens next?
Age: Pre-K and Kindergarten
En español
Tema: Y qué sigue?
Edades: Preescolar y jardín de infantes
Feedback wanted
If you use the family literacy bags in your classroom, we'd love to get feedback on how well they worked, new theme ideas, or ways to improve the packs. Contact us and select "Family Literacy Bags" from the subject field. Thank you!
To learn more, please read our article about family literacy bags.
* Si tiene alugunas preguntas o comentarios, contáctenos y seleccione "Cometarios sobre el paquete de actividades familiares."