Effective Literacy Website #5 by Alison

I stumbled upon a website called Keys to Literacy (https://keystoliteracy.com) and after some exploring, I can say that it is quite easy to navigate thanks to its simple layout and web design. Keys to Literacy provides expertise and content across all grade levels. This website will be particularly useful for educators. Launched in 2007, Keys to Literacy has helped thousands of educators improve student literacy skills through research-based professional development. Keys to Literacy collaborates with literacy organizations and departments of education and they have also presented at over 100 state and national literacy conferences. The founder of Keys to Literacy, Joan Sedita, has a mission to improve student literacy skills, especially those who struggle with reading and writing.

            Keys to Literacy offers several opportunities for professional development in literacy. In addition, the website provides free resources including videos, articles, printable templates, and a list of other useful websites and organizations. They have an abundance of helpful videos that you can publicly view according to topic such as comprehension, vocabulary, or writing. However, in order to access their library of printables, you need to create a free account. It’s an easy process to create an account because all you need to provide is an email address and password. Keys to Literacy also has a store, where you can purchase professional development training books. There is also a blog that covers literacy topics and the blog entries are written by the founder, Joan Sedita. You can subscribe to the blog by email; it is only updated every now and then, but it still covers interesting topics.

            Overall, I find that Keys to Literacy is an effective literacy website. The entire website is dedicated to improving literacy skills in students and provides a variety of resources, including professional development opportunities. I highly enjoyed browsing through the website. I discovered that Keys to Literacy is firmly aligned to Common Core literacy standards and you are able to read more about the alignment on their website. It would be lovely if the Guam Department of Education offered a literacy training and utilized resources from Keys to Literacy.