Planet Word Literacy Hub

Literacy is an issue that impacts us all because our society — our democracy — depends upon a literate population to understand and address complex issues of the day.

This Literacy Hub is a one-stop shop for all literacy initiatives at Planet Word. Browse below to explore our curated resources for National Literacy Month, Banned Books Week, and National Book Month; learn about our ongoing Journalist-in-Residence program with acclaimed reporter Emily Hanford; discover literacy organizations in the D.C. area; and more.

September 2024

National Literacy Month

Reading is not just a skill, it’s a fundamental human right that opens doors, builds foundations for a lifetime of learning, and fosters a more empowered society. Explore our curated selection of resources about the vital importance of literacy and the science of reading this National Literacy Month.

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September 22–28, 2024

Banned Books Week

Attempts to ban books violate one of the most fundamental tenets of our democracy: free speech. Explore our curated selection of resources about the negative impact of banning books and ways to fight back this Banned Books Week.

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October 2024

National Book Month

At Planet Word, we aim to inspire and renew a love of words, language, and reading in people of all ages. Explore our curated selection of resources to help you discover and celebrate the magic of books and storytelling this National Book Month.

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Eyes on Reading

Journalist-in-Residence: Emily Hanford

Acclaimed reporter Emily Hanford, best known as the host of APM Reports’s Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong, is Planet Word’s first Journalist-in-Residence, curating dynamic public dialogues with some of the most important voices in the literacy community. Together, we’re igniting new conversations and working towards a goal of literacy for all.

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From the Blog

On Literacy

Promoting literacy is a central tenet of Planet Word’s mission. The Planet Word blog features several messages from Planet Word Founder Ann Friedman about the importance of reading and writing education, as well as Q&As with organizations that encourage literacy and engage children with the written word.

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Literacy Matters

Books about Reading (and Writing): A Reading List from Emily Hanford

Check out this book list about reading, writing, and telling compelling stories curated by Emily Hanford, Planet Word’s first Journalist-in-Residence, in recognition of National Literacy Month.

Read the list

Literacy Organizations and Programs

Planet Word is proud to partner with and support organizations that inspire a love of reading and language in people of all ages in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area.

The Literacy Lab provides children from low-income families with individualized reading instruction and partners with school districts to help close the literacy gap.

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One World Education helps middle school, high school, and adult learners develop critical thinking and writing skills to help them succeed in college and life.

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Everybody Wins DC offers free reading programs to help children build the skills needed to thrive in the classroom and in life.

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The Reading League DC promotes knowledge to reimagine the future of literacy education and accelerate the global movement toward reading instruction rooted in science. Planet Word’s Meet the Researcher programming series is presented in partnership with The Reading League DC.

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An Open Book Foundation brings authors, illustrators, and their books to D.C. schools to support a love of reading. Planet Word has partnered with An Open Book Foundation to bring students to the museum to learn from authors like Meg Medina, Tony Keith, Jr., and Lulu Delacre.

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Turning the Page encourages parents to become active participants in their children’s education and connects them with high-quality educational resources.

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Shout Mouse Press amplifies unheard voices and has published books by 320+ incarcerated, immigrant, Black, low-income, and otherwise marginalized youth in D.C. and Haiti.

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Street Sense Media is working to end homelessness by providing people with literacy, writing, and media skills to produce a biweekly newspaper that challenges perceptions of homelessness and creates jobs.

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  • Did you know?

    Perhaps ironically, the word “sesquipedalophobia” means “the fear of long words.”

  • Did you know?

    “Contronyms” are words that contain multiple meanings that are complete opposites of each other. For example, “oversight” means both “the action of overseeing something” and “a failure to notice something.”

  • Did you know?

    There are over 7,000 languages worldwide, but more than half the world’s population speaks only 23 of these languages.

  • Did you know?

    The first entirely artificial language was the Lingua Ignota, a private mystical cant recorded in the 12th century by St. Hildegard of Bingen.

  • Did you know?

    The 10 most-used letters in English are E, A, R, I, O, T, N, S, L, and C.

  • Did you know?

    Eels, llamas, and aardvarks, ooh my! In English, there are only four letters that appear as double letters at the beginning of a word: A, E, L, and O.

  • Did you know?

    A “deipnosophist” is a person who’s really good at making conversation at the dinner table.

  • How do you get a dog to stop eating your books?

    Take the words right out of its mouth!

  • What's the difference between a cat and a comma?

    A cat has claws at the end of its paws, but a comma’s a pause at the end of a clause.

  • The past, the present, and the future walk into a bar...

    It was tense.

  • Is there a word that uses all the vowels including y?

    Unquestionably.

  • Riddle me this

    What did the intransitive verb say when told it was pretty? (Answer: Nothing. Intransitive verbs can’t take complements.)

  • Riddle me this

    What does an island and the letter T have in common? (Answer: They’re both in the middle of water.)

  • Riddle me this

    What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? (Answer: Short)

  • Riddle me this

    What starts with an E, ends with an E, and contains just one letter? (Answer: An envelope!)

  • Riddle me this

    What begins with a T, ends with a T, and has T in it? (Answer: A teapot!)

  • Riddle me this

    What’s in centuries, hours, and years, but not minutes, days, or seconds? (Answer: The letter R!)

  • Quote them on it

    “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” — Groucho Marx

  • Quote them on it

    “The past is always tense, the future perfect.” — Zadie Smith

  • Quote them on it

    “If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.” — Toni Morrison

  • Quote them on it

    “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies...The man who never reads lives only once.” — George R.R. Martin

  • Quote them on it

    “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” — Nelson Mandela