Official Site of The State of New Jersey

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), through the Office of Learning Equity and Academic Recovery (LEAR), created the LEARning about Literacy: Family Series to help families better understand how children learn to read—and how to support that learning at home.

This series is part of New Jersey’s statewide commitment to strong, evidence-based literacy instruction, in alignment with P.L. 2024, c.52. It is also closely connected to the training and tools that teachers use in classrooms, so families and educators are working together using the same language, strategies, and goals. This series is designed for parents, guardians, and caregivers of children in preschool through grade 6. Whether your child is just beginning to learn letters and sounds or working on understanding more complex texts, these resources are meant to support you.

The series breaks down how reading develops into clear, easy-to-understand parts. It uses the same research-based ideas that teachers learn in their professional training, including concepts from Scarborough’s Reading Rope, which shows that strong reading skills grow from both:

• Word recognition skills (like sounding out words), and
• Language comprehension skills (like understanding meaning)

Each session focuses on one important part of reading and gives you simple, practical ways to support your child—through everyday conversations, reading together, and activities you can do at home.

These materials are flexible and can be used in many ways. Schools and community groups may share them during:

• Family literacy nights
• Parent workshops
• Back-to-school events
• Curriculum nights
• Small group sessions or meetings

Families can also explore the sessions on their own, at their own pace.

Each session includes:

• Easy-to-follow presentation materials
• Tips and explanations in family-friendly language
• Conversation starters
• Activities you can try right away at home

The modules below have been created as part of the U.S. Department of Education State Personnel Development Grant via a partnership between the New Jersey Department of Education, Rutgers University, and SPAN. The three-part series is designed to help families understand how universal screening within New Jersey’s Tiered System of Supports for Early Reading (NJTSS-ER) identifies student literacy needs and provides effective, research-based reading instruction and intervention.

• Universal Screening
• Instruction
• Tier 2 & 3 Intervention and Progress Monitoring