1000 books before kindergarten
early literacy skills
You are your child’s first and most important teacher! You know your child best andcan work with them at timeswhen they are in the mood to learn. What you do helps your child get ready to read. There are six pre-reading skills that children must have in order to learn to read. You can practice these skills with your child at any age, from infant on up, just adapt it to their age.Narrative Skills What it is: Being able to describe things and events and tell stories. What you can do: Share storytelling with your child.
Phonological Awareness
What it is: Being able to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words. What you can do: Play rhyming games. Sing songs and clap out the syllables in the words.
Print Motivation
What it is: Being interested in and enjoying books.
What you can do: Make book sharing a special time. Let your child see you read. Visit your library often.
Vocabulary
What it is: Knowing the names of things.
What you can do: Point at and identify everyday items as you encounter them. Read together every day! Research shows that children who have larger vocabularies are better readers.
Print Awareness
What it is: Noticing print, knowing how to handle a book and knowing how to follow the words on a page.
What you can do: Read aloud everyday print - labels, signs, lists, menus. Let your child hold the book and turn the pages.
Letter Knowledge
What it is: Knowing letters are different from each other, knowing their names and sounds and recognizing letters everywhere. What you can do: Play with magnetic letters.
Read alphabet books and point out the letters.