This is a literacy project I started at the end of 2025 -- to create a public domain video DVD with literacy reading passages and stories -- which might also be useful to some English as a Second Language Learners. This DVD will be distributed via Little Free Libraries, big free libraries, literacy organizations, and K12 schools. This DVD will also be able to be downloaded as an ISO file from the Internet Archive.
I've added links to the text for these videos for people who want to translate these using Google Translate or to use for cloze exercises or other language arts activities.
Backstory article in Information Today magazine. Hope Has a Physical Address, March, 2026
Bring a Winter Hat With You to the Hospital (text)
The Joy of Thanking an Old Teacher (text)
Jamal Loves Fixing Bikes (text)
The Benefits of Singing in a Choir (text)
Dutch Slow Checkout Lanes (text)
The Day My Mind Became Open Sourced (text)
Cooling Chicago Using Saved Winter Ice (text)
Hearing Her Son's Heart Beat Again (text)
Elena and the Library Water Fountain (text)
You Can Choose the Price of Gasoline (text)
Mara and Theo - A Story (text)
High School Students Refurbishing Cars (text)
The Sanctuary of Music Making (text)
The Health Benefits of Garlic (text)
The Benefits of Volunteering at a Museum (text)
Ringo Starr Learned to Play Drums in a Children's Hospital (text)
The Benefits of Teaching Children Rock Climbing (text)
Basic Kitchen Safety Rules (text)
The Benefits on the Mind of Solving Logic Puzzles (text)
How Public Libraries Help People Learn to Think for Themselves (text)
“Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little."
- Tom Stoppard
YouTube list LiteracyVideos1stDVD
Zip download of 25 video files (MP4) from the Internet Archive. 1080p video format. (328 MB)
Freely distribute these for any purpose.