Joyful Reading and Writing with Young Children is an evidence-based, culturally and linguistically sustaining, and whole-child approach to support young children’s literacy development. The approach integrates socioemotional learning strategies and creative expression activities with evidence-based early literacy practices. When engaged with these practices, children develop language, literacy, and critical thinking skills while also learning how literacy can be creative, evoke feelings of joy, and cultivate a sense of belonging in school.

Joyful Reading and Writing resources provide ideas for engaging young multilingual learners in joyful reading and supporting their language and literacy development, including:

Research to Practice Guidance

  • Integrating Language Into Early Childhood Education
  • Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade

These resources share practical strategies for teachers to promote joyful reading experiences and support language and literacy development for multilingual learners ages 3–8, with a particular emphasis on dual language learners and English learner students.

Additional Resources

Additional educator resources provided by Joyful Reading and Writing are professional learning videos for educators and reading activity guides that can be shared with parents, families, and caregivers to strengthen school-home literacy partnerships.

Visit Joyful Reading and Writing with Young Children’s website to access the resources.