Early Literacy

Early literacy is everything a child should know about reading and writing before they can read and write. It is important because the development of early literacy skills through experiences with books and stories is linked to a child’s success in learning to read.

What can you do to encourage early literacy?

• Read with your child
• Tell and talk about stories
• Say nursery rhymes
• Sing songs
• Provide an atmosphere that’s fun

Pre-reading skills your child can start to learn from birth:

• Print Motivation – being interested in and enjoying books
• Vocabulary – knowing the names of things
• Print Awareness – noticing print, how to handle a book, and following words on a page
• Narrative Skills – being able to describe things and events and to tell stories
• Letter Knowledge – recognizing letters everywhere, knowing they are different from each other, and knowing their names and sounds
• Phonological Awareness – being able to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words

Early Literacy Sites & Games