National Literacy Month

At Planet Word, we believe that literacy is an issue that impacts us all. Reading is not just a skill, it’s a fundamental human right that opens doors, builds foundations for a lifetime of learning, and fosters a more empowered society. But in the U.S., literacy trends are moving in the wrong direction. Too many adult Americans can’t read at a functional level, and most students continue to fall far short of proficiency in reading.

In recognition of National Literacy Month, we’ve curated a selection of resources about the vital importance of literacy and the science of reading that you can view below.

What is the “science of reading”?

According to The Reading League, the science of reading is “a vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically-based research about reading and issues related to reading and writing…[that] has culminated in a preponderance of evidence to inform how proficient reading and writing develop; why some have difficulty; and how we can most effectively assess and teach and, therefore, improve student outcomes through prevention of and intervention for reading difficulties.”

From the Blog

On Literacy

Promoting literacy is a central tenet of Planet Word’s mission. The Planet Word blog features several messages from Planet Word Founder Ann Friedman about the importance of reading and writing education, as well as Q&As with organizations that encourage literacy and engage children with the written word.

Read more
Literacy Matters

What the Words Say

Many kids struggle with reading — and children of color are far less likely to get the help they need. In this audio documentary, Senior Correspondent at APM Reports Emily Hanford examines the false assumptions about what it takes to be a skilled reader that have created deep inequalities among U.S. children, putting many on a difficult path in life.

Learn more

Featured Past Program

Literacy Organizations and Programs

Planet Word is proud to partner with and support organizations that inspire a love of reading and language in people of all ages in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area.

The Literacy Lab provides children from low-income families with individualized reading instruction and partners with school districts to help close the literacy gap.

Learn more

One World Education helps middle school, high school, and adult learners develop critical thinking and writing skills to help them succeed in college and life.

Learn more

Everybody Wins DC offers free reading programs to help children build the skills needed to thrive in the classroom and in life.

Learn more

The Reading League DC promotes knowledge to reimagine the future of literacy education and accelerate the global movement toward reading instruction rooted in science.

Learn more

An Open Book Foundation brings authors, illustrators, and their books to D.C. schools to support a love of reading.

Learn more

Turning the Page encourages parents to become active participants in their children’s education and connects them with high-quality educational resources.

Learn more

Shout Mouse Press amplifies unheard voices and has published books by 320+ incarcerated, immigrant, Black, low-income, and otherwise marginalized youth in D.C. and Haiti. In October 2023, Planet Word is partnering with Shout Mouse Press for Booktober.

Learn more

Street Sense Media is working to end homelessness by providing people with literacy, writing, and media skills to produce a biweekly newspaper that challenges perceptions of homelessness and creates jobs.

Learn more

National Literacy Month Resources

Themed Booklists from Reading Rockets

Sometimes it just takes one wonderful book to get a child interested in reading. Carefully created by Maria Salvadore, Reading Rockets’ children‘s literature expert, these booklists are for kids 0–12 years old, include lots of new titles, and emphasize quality and diversity.

Read the lists

Science of Reading List from Emily Hanford

Want to know more about the science of reading? Check out this reading list put together by Emily Hanford, host and lead producer of the podcast Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong.

Read the list

Top 10 Things You Should Know About Reading

Get the basic facts about what it takes for a young child to learn to read, best practices in teaching reading, the importance of oral language in literacy development, why so many children struggle, and more in this overview from Reading Rockets.

Read the article

Reading Universe Taxonomy

Reading Universe’s taxonomy, developed by the Barksdale Reading Institute, presents the essential reading skills, shows how they’re connected, and lays the groundwork for teaching all students how to read and write.

Learn more

  • Did you know?

    Perhaps ironically, the word “sesquipedalophobia” means “the fear of long words.”

  • Did you know?

    “Contronyms” are words that contain multiple meanings that are complete opposites of each other. For example, “oversight” means both “the action of overseeing something” and “a failure to notice something.”

  • Did you know?

    There are over 7,000 languages worldwide, but more than half the world’s population speaks only 23 of these languages.

  • Did you know?

    The first entirely artificial language was the Lingua Ignota, a private mystical cant recorded in the 12th century by St. Hildegard of Bingen.

  • Did you know?

    The 10 most-used letters in English are E, A, R, I, O, T, N, S, L, and C.

  • Did you know?

    Eels, llamas, and aardvarks, ooh my! In English, there are only four letters that appear as double letters at the beginning of a word: A, E, L, and O.

  • Did you know?

    A “deipnosophist” is a person who’s really good at making conversation at the dinner table.

  • How do you get a dog to stop eating your books?

    Take the words right out of its mouth!

  • What's the difference between a cat and a comma?

    A cat has claws at the end of its paws, but a comma’s a pause at the end of a clause.

  • The past, the present, and the future walk into a bar...

    It was tense.

  • Is there a word that uses all the vowels including y?

    Unquestionably.

  • Riddle me this

    What did the intransitive verb say when told it was pretty? (Answer: Nothing. Intransitive verbs can’t take complements.)

  • Riddle me this

    What does an island and the letter T have in common? (Answer: They’re both in the middle of water.)

  • Riddle me this

    What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? (Answer: Short)

  • Riddle me this

    What starts with an E, ends with an E, and contains just one letter? (Answer: An envelope!)

  • Riddle me this

    What begins with a T, ends with a T, and has T in it? (Answer: A teapot!)

  • Riddle me this

    What’s in centuries, hours, and years, but not minutes, days, or seconds? (Answer: The letter R!)

  • Quote them on it

    “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” — Groucho Marx

  • Quote them on it

    “The past is always tense, the future perfect.” — Zadie Smith

  • Quote them on it

    “If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.” — Toni Morrison

  • Quote them on it

    “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies...The man who never reads lives only once.” — George R.R. Martin

  • Quote them on it

    “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” — Nelson Mandela