Magazines for Literacy
by Miss Rachel
9/27/23
Students, parents, and educators are now settling into their day-to-day routines. In my experience as a middle school language arts teacher, I know finding relevant and up-to-date texts (especially nonfiction) that are interesting to students can be tricky. But when you are able to find these types of texts, students often get to learn about topics they are interested while gaining important reading comprehension skills. Yay for cross-curricular learning!
Whether you’re looking for fiction or nonfiction texts for your young reader, the library has tons of options. No matter the reading level, we can find books to fit the bill; even if we are lacking books on a very specific topic, the odds are good that we’ll be able to order in a book or two from other Pioneerland libraries. But if you’re not looking for a specific topic, we have another resource for you to check out: magazines! We have subscriptions to several different magazines for kids to check out.
“Brainspace”
Looking for a well-rounded resource for your young reader? From crafting, to culture, to biology, to language, “Brainspace” has a little bit of everything. With fun experiments, recipes, games, and comics, young ones will have plenty to do! “Brainspace” comes out every other month and is targeted toward kids ages 8-14.
“National Geographic Kids”
As you can probably guess, “National Geographic Kids” offers tons of information about the natural world in a format that is more accessible to our young readers. With wild photographs, mind-boggling facts, and awesome animals, these magazines can inspire your young scientist! Kids 6-14 can enjoy this magazine with a new issue every month.
“Cricket”
Novels can be quite a commitment. But little snippets of great writing may be just the tool to inspire lifelong readers. In “Cricket” magazines, you’ll find stirring stories with fantastic illustrations along with some fun puzzles too! These magazines come out 9 times a year and are geared toward ages 9-14 with a focus on literature and quality writing.
“Ladybug”
“Cricket” magazine has a couple of other publications that are for a younger audience. “Ladybug” comes out 9 times a year and is perfect for children ages 3 to 6. They contain plenty of tools to help your young one grow as a reader. Think of “Ladybug” as a kind of written-out storytime experience, with songs, rhymes, fun stories with pictures, and activities for little ones.
“Click”
If your little one is more interested in the world of science, nature, and the environment, “Click” might be just the way to spark a lifelong love of learning. This magazine explores common questions that kids may ask like “What is fire?” and explores scientific answers and relevant ways that you see these topics in the world today. Like “Ladybug,” “Click” is great for kids ages 3 to 6 and comes out 9 times per year.
“ChopChop”
If your family looks for new recipes to try together, “ChopChop” has plenty to offer. In addition to cooking tips and nutritional information, “ChopChop” provides opportunities for young readers to work on language literacy too. This magazine comes out quarterly and is geared toward kids ages 5-12.
Where can you find all of these fun and educational magazines? We’ve recently moved them from the children’s section to the adult side of the library so that they’re now with all of the other magazines and newspapers. Magazine issues can be checked out for two weeks. At the library, we support literacy in all formats for all readers.