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Contributor Guide

Contributions to Literacy for Kids are welcome. This guide explains how the project works, what kinds of contributions are most useful, and how to get started.

Who Can Contribute​

Anyone can contribute. The project benefits from:

  • Parents and educators who spot unclear explanations, missing examples, or confusing lesson structure
  • Students and young learners who notice language that doesn't fit their experience
  • Accessibility advocates who identify barriers to participation
  • Developers who improve the site infrastructure, deployment, or tooling
  • Subject-matter experts who can suggest more accurate or age-appropriate framings
  • Translators who want to bring the curricula to new languages

No special credentials are required. If something confused your 10-year-old, that is useful feedback.

Types of Contributions​

Curriculum content improvements​

  • Fix typos or grammatical errors
  • Clarify confusing explanations
  • Improve an example to better fit ages 8–12
  • Add a discussion prompt or facilitator note
  • Suggest a better activity for a learning objective
  • Flag content that is outdated, inaccurate, or age-inappropriate

Technical improvements​

  • Fix build or deployment issues
  • Improve performance or accessibility
  • Update dependencies
  • Add or improve automated checks
  • Improve documentation

Documentation​

  • Improve README files
  • Clarify the contribution process
  • Add examples or screenshots
  • Improve navigation or site structure

What Not to Add​

Please do not open PRs or issues that:

  • Add advertising, affiliate links, commercial partnerships, or sponsored content
  • Add student tracking, analytics, login, or user accounts
  • Add manipulative design patterns (dark patterns, fear-based messaging, urgency tricks)
  • Introduce partisan political content or advocacy messaging
  • Replace the discussion-based format with a lecture, quiz, or memorization format
  • Add content inappropriate for ages 8–12 (including graphic violence, adult themes, excessive complexity)
  • Break existing GitHub Pages deployment paths or static-site compatibility
  • Add significant new dependencies without discussion first

When in doubt, open an issue to discuss before writing code or content.

How to Contribute​

1. Find the right repository​

Each curriculum is its own repo. The Repository Map lists all repos and their focus. Lesson content lives in website/docs/ in each curriculum repo.

For anything beyond a small typo fix, open an issue first to describe what you want to change and why. This lets maintainers confirm the direction before you invest time.

3. Fork and clone​

git clone https://github.com/literacy-for-kids/REPO_NAME.git
cd REPO_NAME/website
npm install
npm start

For the hub (literacy_for_kids), omit the cd website step — the Docusaurus config is at the repo root.

4. Create a branch​

git checkout -b fix/clarify-week-3-probability-example

Use descriptive branch names: fix/, content/, ci/, chore/, etc.

5. Make your changes​

  • Lesson files are in website/docs/ (plain Markdown)
  • Hub docs are in docs/
  • Components and pages are in src/

6. Verify locally​

npm run build
npm run validate:build   # if the repo has this script

Check that the site looks correct at http://localhost:3000/{baseUrl}.

7. Open a pull request​

Push your branch and open a PR against main. Use the PR template to describe the change, confirm the curriculum safety checklist, and note any dependencies.

Content Standards​

See the Content Style Guide for detailed guidance on writing lessons. The short version:

  • Write for ages 8–12 in clear, concrete language
  • Prefer guided discussion over lecture
  • Use real examples from everyday life
  • Define technical terms when first introduced
  • Avoid jargon, fear, shame, or manipulation
  • Keep activities low-prep and facilitation-friendly

Technical Standards​

See the Technical Style Guide for deployment and code guidance. The short version:

  • Keep the site compatible with static hosting on GitHub Pages
  • Do not add user accounts, tracking, or server-side features
  • Test the build before opening a PR (npm run build)
  • Preserve base path routing (/repo_name/)
  • Keep dependencies minimal

Accessibility​

See the Accessibility Notes doc for known issues and expectations. New contributions should:

  • Use meaningful alt text for images
  • Not rely on color alone to convey information
  • Maintain keyboard navigability
  • Use clear link text (not "click here")
  • Maintain logical heading hierarchy within lesson pages

Getting Help​

Open an issue or start a discussion in any repo. Maintainers are responsive to questions.