For Family Literacy Day 2024, ABC Life Literacy Canada set the national theme as “Let’s Have a Family Party!” so we chose a Saskatchewan book about celebrating possibility, music, and rhyme together with everyone you call family: “Welcome to the Cypher” by Khodi Dill, illustrated by Awuradwoa Afful!

On January 26 and January 27, thousands of you joined (even with the technical error! The video is out to watch now :)) Saskatchewan author Khodi Dill as he shared the power of word and rhythm to share stories about who we are.

You heard from Khodi and his friends Isaac Bond aka Ibonic, Zoe Slusar aka ZHE the Free and Anthony Pasqua aka Big Tones, Lindsay “Eekwol” Knight, Jordan River aka Jordan Schultz, and even puppets courtesy of Prickly Pear Puppets! You asked your questions and had four amazing spoken word and hip-hop artists answer them! You heard more about why Khodi wrote this book, and about how you can use spoken word to express yourself, from a very young age!

The original video will be available until March 1, 2024, and we will have more materials before and after then, too!

Family Literacy Day is January 27, every year! For information about this year’s theme, visit our Family Literacy Day in Saskatchewan main page.

On this page:

• Story questions
• Colouring Sheets
• Educator Guide
• Links to More Resources

Watch the livestream here!:

Sign up for the livestream events:

You can sign up here for the event on January 26th or the one on January 27th – or both!

If you sign up (even after the event, letting us know you were there), you’ll still be entered to win a free copy of the book!

Watch Khodi introduce his book:

Livestream!

On January 26 and January 27, 2024, we will hear from Khodi Dill as he shares his story and answers your questions. You can sign up for the livestream soon, and you can ask questions by emailing [email protected]!

Resources

Thanks to great support from many, and along with the Saskatchewan Family Literacy Hubs, we are happy to share activities and resources. We will keep adding resources to this page, too!

Events!

In 2024, and every year, Family Literacy Hubs and others plan events and activities all around the province. Look for events in your community every year! More information for this year is on the Family Literacy Day in Saskatchewan page, with more coming soon!

Khodi Dill is a writer, anti-racism educator, public speaker, and spoken word artist in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Khodi is biracial (black and white); he hopes his unique perspective will contribute to important conversations within his culture(s) and the world, in the reclaimed tradition of the African griot (pronounced GREE’-Oh). Khodi will also share his words and answer your questions live in January! If you have questions, email us at [email protected].

You can learn more about Family Literacy Day in Canada, download an activity guide, and much more at ABC Life Literacy Canada’s Family Literacy Day page.

Story Questions for the book

You can use this book to learn more together! When you ask questions about what you see on a page, this helps build valuable literacy skills.

Download the Story Questions printable here.
Click here to view the Story Questions online.

10-Day Countdown Posts

We have posts for you to share with families in your class, program, or community. The posts are designed as a 10-day countdown to Family Literacy Day 2024, but feel free to use them in the way that fits best for your community! Download text and images for the 10-Day Countdown here.

Event Poster

Download the “Welcome to the Cypher” Family Literacy Day event poster for print here.

Download the “Welcome to the Cypher” Family Literacy Day event poster for web here.

So many partners and friends made this event possible (and even better!). Thank you, everyone!

Archive from past Family Literacy Day events

Are you looking for activities or videos from Family Literacy Day events in the past? You can find them here:

Family Literacy Day 2023

So many partners made it possible to learn more about Dr. Shadd through the story of “Li’l Shadd: A Story of Ujima” by Alix Lwanga and Miriam Körner – in English and in French.

Family Literacy Day 2022

Over 16,000 of you watched the live reading of “When the Trees Crackle with Cold” by Bernice Johnson-Laxdal and Miriam Körner. You can still watch the video, and get the resources, too!

Family Literacy Day 2021

You can watch the recording of Saskatchewan author Ruth Wellborn reading her book “Never Rub Noses with a Narwhal” (along with some great questions from kids!).