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The Six Early Literacy Skills

What you do helps your child get ready to read! According to research, there are six pre-reading skills that children must learn in order to learn to read. Activities you do to support each of these skills will change as your child grows! - Contact Sheri

Narrative Skills
Being able to describe things and events and to tell stories.

What can you do?
Make up or tell stories together and encourage pretend play.

 

Sheri Miller listening to girls tale
Lettered child's blocks Phonological Awareness
The ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words.

What can you do?
Sings songs, play games and share rhymes.

Vocabulary
Knowing the name of things.

What can you do?
Talk, talk, talk and read, read, read with your child.

 

Two girls sharing a book Print Motivation
A child’s interest in and enjoyment of books. 

What can you do?
Find books about your child’s interests. Make sure that story time at home is relaxed and fun.

 

Print Awareness
Noticing print, knowing how to handle a book, and how to follow the written word on a page.

What can you do?
Help your child discover how to hold a book and turn the pages. Follow the story with your finger.

 

Young child with book
Child's blocks withletters on them Letter Knowledge
Learning to name letters, knowing they have sounds, and recognizing them everywhere.  

What can you do?
Help your child identify the first letter in his/her name and look for it in books and on signs.