Summer is just around the corner, and in addition to spending time at the pool or visiting museums, many children will also spend their summer vacation with a tablet or computer screen. Our panel of education experts including Dr. Elena Forzani, assistant professor in Literacy Education at Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, and Hilary Bates and Marlo Scrimizzi, education leaders from Highlights Magazine, will discuss best practices for digital literacies during the summer and beyond.

Join RIF and Meg Medina, the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, for an engaging webinar that explores Meg’s platform around book talks. ¡Cuéntame! Let’s Talk Books encourages connection among families, classrooms, libraries, and communities by talking about books—books that reflect the readers’ lived experiences and books that expose readers to new perspectives and ideas. A book talk is a reader’s chance to share insights, opinions, and questions about a book they’ve read. It also helps them develop skills in persuasive writing and speaking.

During this interactive webinar, educators will learn how to use books from their classroom library to engage students in purposeful, outdoor play. Natural settings are ideal landscapes for imaginative play, and picture books provide limitless invitations to play! We’ll be joined by special guest, educator and Tinkergarten Founder, Meghan Fitzgerald, who will model how to use a range of books as invitations that inspire kids to initiate, lead and sustain meaningful, playful learning sessions outdoors or in nature-inspired indoor spaces.

Did you know that reading aloud to your children is one of the best ways to cultivate a joy of reading? Reading together starts children on a path to obtaining the necessary reading skills to become proficient, interested, and hopefully lifelong readers. Through this Every Family Counts webinar assistant professor of education, Dr. Dowan McNair-Lee, will share best practices for reading aloud to children of all ages.

During this interactive webinar, participants will learn how to plan and implement a family literacy event for their school. We will showcase RIF resources that support planning such as read aloud guides, hands-on literacy activities, and more. We will also share best practices in creating a welcoming and inclusive event for families.

Funds of Knowledge is a culturally responsive approach that honors the unique skills, knowledges, and competencies of all families. Through a series of case studies and a RIF funds of knowledge survey, educators will begin to explore the unique funds of knowledge of their families. This approach builds confianza (mutual trust) between educators and families and promotes innovative designs to curriculum and instruction.

Did you know that learning to read begins at birth? During this webinar RIF’s literacy experts will demonstrate at-home literacy tips for families of children from birth through age five. Content from the webinar and related materials include simple activities you can use to support phonological awareness, concepts about print, and reading engagement in the early years.

During this interactive webinar, participants will collaborate to determine common barriers that stand in the way of effective family engagement. Then we will learn what research says about best practices to overcome these barriers. Educators will work together to design solutions to overcome the barriers they are facing based on research-based best practices.

During this interactive webinar, participants will learn about family inclusive language. This webinar will feature a read aloud of Family Is… with permission from Clever Publishing. Educators will leave the meeting with asset-based language to family engagement to integrate into their practices. 

During this interactive webinar, participants will get to know each other through engaging with storytelling as a culturally responsive literacy practice. Storytelling is an excellent practice to enhance students’ reading and writing skills as well as social emotional development. Educators will leave the meeting with actionable strategies they can incorporate into their literacy practices.

During this interactive webinar, K-8 educators will learn how to use books from their classroom library to engage students in writing instruction through children’s literature. Children's literature is an excellent way to help students demonstrate increasing sophistication in all aspects of language use, from vocabulary and syntax to the development and organization of ideas in their writing. The webinar will be facilitated by Dowan McNair-Lee, Ed.D. and will feature a read aloud of Sweet Music in Harlem by Debbie A. Taylor, with permissions granted from Lee & Low Publishing.

During this interactive webinar, we will take a deep dive into RIF’s Literacy Tracker tool. Literacy Tracker is a supplemental formative assessment tool that can accompany your school’s main assessment platform to gain further insights into students’ reading processes and progress anytime throughout the school year. During this webinar, educators will engage with student data points and work together to develop implementable reading strategies based on student data.

In this debut webinar, this panel of education experts will highlight lessons learned from the pandemic and beyond to build best practices for forming transformative relationships between schools and families. Our guests will explore topics related to definitions of family and successful engagement; the role of Social Emotional Learning and technology; as well as highlight personal experiences with successful family engagement models.

During this interactive webinar, educators will learn how to use books from their classroom library to engage students in literature through arts integration. The arts- such as visual, poetry, puppetry, drama, dance, and music- are an excellent way to help students to determine central ideas and themes, analyze characters, interpret words and phrases, make connections, and assess points of view.

Did you know that learning to read begins at birth? During this Spanish language webinar, Allison Elias-de Jesus, a certified reading specialist, will demonstrate at-home literacy tips for parents of children from birth through age four. Content from the webinar and related materials will include simple activities families can use at home to support phonological awareness, print concepts, and reading engagement in the early years.

During this interactive webinar, educators will learn how to use books from their classroom library to engage students in Social Justice Learning. Storybooks are an excellent resource that help students to identify issues relating to access, equity, and inclusion. Daris McInnis, Assistant Professor of Literacy, will model how to guide students to become changemakers by identifying social justice issues and inspiring them to take action. Don't miss this unique chance to learn how to use books in innovative and creative ways with your students.

During this interactive webinar, educators will learn how to use books from their classroom library to engage students in math problem-solving. Picture books are an excellent resource that help students identify mathematical problems in everyday life, including number sense, geometry, measurement, and algebraic thinking.

We’ll be joined by special guest and educational consultant Kelly Harmon, MAEd, who will model how to guide students through using literature to promote math learning and provide examples to illustrate the concept of math through literature.

PreK- Grade 3 educators are invited to get new tips and ideas for using classroom read alouds to engage students in social emotional learning (SEL) through an interactive webinar, Every Book is a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Book hosted by Reading Is Fundamental. This webinar archive will also feature special guest hosts, Stefanie Wieder, M.S.Ed., and Paula Jackson, Ph.D., from Barefoot Books who will model how to guide students through this exercise.

Watch this short tutorial to learn more about RIF’s Race, Equity, and Inclusion Center. This center provides booklists, resources, and tips to assess your current collection of books, identify diverse books to add to your evolving bookshelves, and incorporate practical suggestions for supporting students and with positive reading experiences.

This webinar, proudly supported by Trane Technologies, is part of RIF’s “Every Book Counts” webinar series, dedicated to reading and the power of books! Educators will learn how to use books from their classroom library to engage students in the engineering design process. Storybooks are an excellent resource that help students to identify problems a character faces, design solutions, and engage in the engineering design process. And, Erin Bailey, RIF’s Director of Programs & Content and a certified reading specialist, will model how to guide students through this exercise.

Did you know that learning to read begins at birth? During this webinar RIF’s Director of Programs & Content, Erin Bailey, a certified reading specialist, demonstrates at-home literacy tips for parents of children from birth through age four. Content from the webinar and related materials include simple activities you can use to support phonological awareness, concepts about print, and reading engagement in the early years.

Join this thought-provoking discussion with experts discussing the wide variety and beauty of diverse books and the deep value of including them both in the classroom and at home as well as how to incorporate them into everyday use.

Join this panel of experts as they discuss the fundamental questions about diverse books. You will leave this session knowing how to evaluate and select diverse books for classroom and home libraries.

During National Reading Month and there is no better time to celebrate reading with our RIF community, share some at-home reading ideas and tips and end with a bedtime read-aloud, all from the comfort of your home!

Reading Is Fundamental’s guest literacy expert, Erin Bailey, shares strategies and activities that families can use at home to support their child’s literacy development particularly during school closures resulting from COVID-19.

Guest literacy expert, Erin Bailey, shares four videos in her webinar for activities you can do at home with your child: Syllable Shake, Mystery Word, Wake up Letters/Sound and Multi-Sensory Activity for Sign Words.

Learn tips on how to raise children who love reading with Pamela Paul and Maria Russo, editors of The New York Times Book Review.

Interested in applying for RIF's 2019 Books for Ownership Matching Grant? Join us for this informational webinar to learn about the matching grant opportunity and specific parameters.

Join Reading Is Fundamental for an informative and engaging webinar that will share with you best practices for social media use. We’ll also cover specific social media tactics to use in order to amplify your message, shine a spotlight on your impact and call on your supporters to make a gift as we enter the holiday season. Learn some simple rules and helpful tips to showcase your literacy work.

Join RIF for a webinar to deepen understanding of reading development. If you are a new teacher, family member of a school-aged child, or RIF volunteer, then this is a great webinar to build a foundational understanding of reading development. Participants will learn about the five pillars of reading development identified by the National Reading Panel (2000) which are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.