What is early literacy?
Early literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they can read and write. Babies chew on board books. Toddlers learn which way to turn the pages and hold the book. Preschoolers discover that adults are not reading the pictures, but the words on the pages. All of these are examples of early literacy.
Why is early literacy important?
Research shows that there are six skills children need to learn before they can learn to read–and it’s never too early to start! Your child’s experience with these early literacy skills will influence how well your child reads later in life.
What are the six early literacy skills?
- Print motivation: having an interest in and an enjoyment of books
- Print awareness: noticing print, knowing how to handle a book, and understanding how to follow words on a page
- Vocabulary: knowing the names of things
- Letter knowledge: learning to name letters, knowing they have sounds, and knowing that letters are different from each other
- Narrative skills: the ability to describe things and events and to tell stories
- Phonological awareness: the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words
