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Nemours® Children’s
Reading BrightStart!

Build confident readers with research-based supplemental literacy instruction.

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About Nemours® Reading BrightStart!

Nemours Children’s Health recognizes that child health and reading skills are closely linked, leading to the development of their supplemental curriculum, Nemours® Reading BrightStart!. This curriculum provides educators, interventionists, and other education professionals with practical, research-based resources that build foundational literacy skills for children in pre-K to first grade. Available in two learning levels and dual languages, your Nemours® Reading BrightStart! Curriculum kit delivers manipulatives, book sets, music CDs, song charts, and the materials needed for a multisensory approach to reading development.

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Why Schools Trust Nemours® Reading BrightStart!

Builds strong foundations for long-term literacy success.

Encourages active participation and engages every learner.

Clear plans and instructional routines make implementation simple.

Delivers measurable improvements in children’s reading scores.

Provides structured, engaging experiences for dual language learners.

Not only is the growth and development in the children exposed to Nemours BrightStart! phenomenal, but the fact that this one program doubles as probably the best professional development tool I have ever seen is truly phenomenal. And now, we are in our 5th year of consistently utilizing the NBS! program and really enjoying it, I look back and ask why we didn’t start sooner! Our program data consistently reflects the program’s effectiveness with increasing the language and literacy skills of children. Teachers are learning through NBS! and implementation is trickling into other classroom practices.

Program Administrator

One of my students started the program not speaking very much at all. During the small group sessions with him, it would be very difficult to get him to make the sounds and participate at all. But after about midway through the program he started participating and even at times leading! He even started acting as if he was quite bored with the pace. I must say he has improved thanks to Nemours BrightStart!.

Prekindergarten Teacher

The teachers love the Nemours BrightStart! Level Two kits. The lessons are systematic, engaging, and fast-flowing. The kids are eager to learn and the program encourages students to participate and respond without fear of being wrong. There are a myriad of concepts being explored in one lesson so it provides teachers with immediate information for remediation and enrichment.

Director of Early Childhood Education, Urban Public School District

Explore Nemours® Reading BrightStart!
Curriculum Kits & Resources

Nemours® Reading BrightStart! The Complete Program for Early Literacy Success, Level 1

Best for: Independent or small group literacy instruction for ages 3 to 5

  • Oral language
  • Print awareness
  • Alphabet knowledge
  • Phonological awareness
  • Emergent writing
  • Comprehension
  • Provides hands-on instruction for those struggling with early literacy concepts
Shop Now For Nemours Reading BrightStart! The Complete Program for Early Literacy Success, Level 1 Download Sample Lesson For Nemours Reading BrightStart! The Complete Program for Early Literacy Success, Level 1

Nemours® Reading BrightStart! The Complete Program for Early Literacy Success, Level 2

Best for: Independent or small group literacy instruction for kindergarten through first grade

  • Print awareness
  • Letter knowledge
  • Phonological and phonemic awareness
  • Developmental writing
  • Oral language and fluency
  • Designed to guide children towards mastery of foundational reading skills without fear of failure.
Shop Now For Nemours Reading BrightStart! The Complete Program for Early Literacy Success, Level 2 Download Sample Lesson For Nemours Reading BrightStart! The Complete Program for Early Literacy Success, Level 2

Nemours® Reading BrightStart! A Parent’s Guide to Reading Readiness - Set of 20

Best for: Engaging families in their child’s education and reading development

  • Reading tips for ages 6 months and up
  • Simple reading readiness activities for at-home learning
  • Checklist to help families assess their child’s reading readiness
Shop Now For Nemours Reading BrightStart! A Parent's Guide to Reading Readiness - Set of 20

10 Best Practices for Developing Book Experiences for Dual Language Learners

Best for: Improve reading instruction for dual language learners

  • Explains the stages of literacy development experienced by dual language learners
  • Covers best practices for reading instruction
  • Provides read-aloud action plans for dual language learners
  • Shares a sample weekly read-aloud lesson plan
Shop Now For 10 Best Practices for Developing Book Experiences for Dual Language Learners
Preschool children outside playing in a wicker house tent with a teacher and child reading a book while sitting in a wicker lounge seat behind them

Ready to build reading readiness in your classroom?

Connect with a Kaplan curriculum specialist to learn how Nemours Reading BrightStart! can support your literacy goals.

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Professional Training that Builds Confident Educators

Successful literacy instruction starts with confident educators. Nemours Reading BrightStart! pairsits research-based curriculum with comprehensive professional development to help teachers implement lessons and activities with fidelity. For organizations looking to expand their internal expertise, Nemours Reading BrightStart! Certified Trainer courses are available for both Level One and Level Two kits.

Graduates of these courses leave with:

  • Skills needed to educate teaching staff
  • Proper steps for implementation
  • Techniques to evaluate student outcomes within their organization
Contact a NRBS! Certified Trainer
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Video preview image of Putting Children on the Path to Reading Readiness

The Research Behind Nemours Reading BrightStart!

Years of rigorous research prove NRBS! significantly boosts early literacy skills in at-risk young children. In fact, in successive studies of 3,300 preschoolers who were behind in their early literacy skills, we found that nearly 2/3 moved to the age-appropriate range, with an average gain of 114%, after participating in the NRBS! program.

This research has been published in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals:

  1. Bailet, L, Repper, K, Murphy, S, Piasta, S, & Zettler-Greeley, C (2013). Emergent literacy intervention for prekindergarteners at risk for reading failure: Years two and three of a multi-year study. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 46(2), 133–153. doi:10.1177/0022219411407925
  2. Bailet, L, Repper, K, Piasta, S, & Murphy, S (2009). Emergent literacy intervention for prekindergarteners at risk for reading failure. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42(4), 336–355. doi:10.1177/0022219409335218
  3. Zettler-Greeley, CM, Bailet, LL, Murphy, S, DeLucca, T, & Branum-Martin, L (2018): Efficacy of the Nemours BrightStart! Early Literacy Program: Treatment outcomes from a randomized trial with at-risk prekindergartners. Early Education and Development, DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2018.1475202