National Adult Literacy Database

Each month NALD releases Library user statistics in a feature known as the Top 20 downloads. The report examines the number of NALD Library documents which are viewed and downloaded by visitors to the NALD website.

Don’t you just love the start of a new year? It’s like a get-out-of-jail-free card that lets us put all the things we didn’t like about the previous 365 days behind us and push the reset button for the next 12 months.

This new resource from Rose Hip Press covers many basic principles of family literacy. It has more than 30 activities that help parents support the language and literacy development of their children. The content supports early language development, early numeracy, pre-reading and pre-writing skills.

CMEC has just published a new report that examines how better data and evidence can be developed to support jurisdictions' efforts to improve the academic achievement and attainment of Aboriginal students in provincial and territorial elementary and secondary schools.

Whether you’re a young person who recently graduated, just getting your career started or finally moving out on your own, it can be hard to keep track of your personal finances. Some of the biggest mistakes are also the most common and can seriously cost you in the long term. Here are the top 10, along with some tips on how to avoid them.

The Nunavut Literacy Council will receive $300,000 to help people use literacy skills outside the classroom such as when hunting or sewing. Kim Crockatt, the council's executive director, said it's about turning research into action. "It's always better to have more support for what we're doing. I think this will help us get that."

Recent research from TD Canada Trust found that while 97% of parents with children under 12-years-old say it's extremely important to talk to their kids about money and finances, 42% say they haven't yet talked to their children and 36% say they find it difficult to find the time to talk to their kids because it's a complicated topic.

"Our meeting concluded with a firm commitment to continue seeking ways of working together to achieve our ultimate objective, which is improving the education and opportunities available to First Nation students," Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said.

Canadian parents and teachers are succeeding at creating an environment at home and at school that promotes good reading skills among children, according to reports released today by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). But while the reports show that Canadian Grade 4 students perform well in reading by international standards, there remains room for improvement.

NorQuest College is pleased to announce the release of a new interactive ESL teaching resource. Interactive English 2 is available online free of charge to ESL providers and libraries at ie.norquest.ca.

CBC Radio WAM (Weekend Arts Magazine) in St. John's, NL, featured author and NALD Honorary Chair Roch Carrier in an interview recently. The Quebec novelist, playwright and short story writer believes it is a challenge to get young people to read books these days. At 75, Mr. Carrier continues to exude passion for reading and literacy.

“I thank all volunteers for their exceptional work in supporting communities, learning and innovation, which strengthens Canada in many ways,” said Minister Diane Finley. “Volunteers play an enormously important role in our collective responsibility to foster a more caring Canada where everyone works together to support communities.”

The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation is accepting submissions for the 2012 Community Service-Learning (CSL) Awards competition. CSL is a model of experiential learning that combines classroom learning with volunteer work to achieve community goals and instill in students a sense of civic engagement. The deadline for applications is January 31, 2013.

In his new free workshop for 2013, Tom Sticht reviews extensive data on intergenerational inequalities in education and economics. He also presents data from many studies to suggest that greater investments in the education of undereducated youth and adults, many of whom are parents or will become parents, can help break the multiple life cycles of inequalities in education and economic achievement.

For the second year in a row, Decoda Literacy Solutions staff spent the fall travelling to eight regions around British Columbia for two-day training, networking and idea-sharing events.