Early Literacy your child's foundation for learning

Learning to read begins at birth. Brain connections are made when babies hear the sound of their parents’ voices and see the black-and-white images of their first board books. Parents, caregivers and librarians can reinforce and grow these connections through five practices that will help a child develop the foundation upon which a reader is built.  These activities, practiced regularly, will help a child develop the six early literacy skills and be prepared to learn to read.

The five basic practices in early literacy are:

1.      Playing

2.      Singing

3.      Talking

4.      Writing

5.      Reading

The six early literacy skills are:

1.      PRINT MOTIVATION: includes being interested in and enjoying books

2.      PRINT AWARENESS: includes noticing print everywhere, knowing how to handle a book, and knowing how to follow the written word on the page.

3.      LETTER KNOWLEDGE: includes knowing that letters are different from each other, knowing letter names and sounds, and recognizing letters everywhere

4.      VOCABULARY: includes knowing the names of things.

5.      PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS: includes hearing and playing with the smaller sounds of words and recognizing that words are made up of a number of different sounds.

6.      NARRATIVE SKILLS: include describing things and events, telling stories, knowing the order of events (sequencing), and making predictions (what might happen next). {Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy accessed 1/28/14.}

 

Marilyn Jager Adams once wrote that "Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read." That's a powerful statement! Read with your kids every day, and watch them blossom. Reading Rockets accessed 6/20/13. 

 

Cathy