Emergent Literacy: For Pre-Readers Ages 4 to 5 years old

-Six Pre-Reading Skills your child can start learning from birth!

1- Print Motivation

Make book-sharing time a special time for closeness between you and your child. 

Let your child see you reading.

Visit your public library often.

* Children who enjoy books will want to learn how to read!*

-Mud By Mary Lyn Ray

2 – Vocabulary

Talk with you child about what is going on around you. Talk about how things work, feelings, and ideas.

When your child talks with you, add more detail to what she says.

Speak in the language that is most comfortable for you.

Read together every day. When you talk about the story and pictures, your child hears and learns more words.

Learn together by reading some true books on subjects that your child likes.

*Children with bigger vocabularies are better readers.*

-Mice and Beans By Pam Munoz Ryan

-Fancy Nancy By Jane O’Connor

3 – Print Awareness

Read everyday print out loud—labels, signs, lists, menus. Print is everywhere.

As you share books, point to some of the words as you say them, especially words that are repeated.

Let your child turn the pages.

Let your child hold the book and read or tell the story.

Hold the book upside down. See if your child turns the book right side up.

* Children who are comfortable with print are better readers!*

-Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus By Mo Willems

-If You Give A Mouse A Cookie By Laura Numeroff

-Russell The Sheep By Rob Scotten

4 – Narrative Skills

Listen to your child carefully when he talks.

Ask a child to tell you about something that happened during the day. Let him tell you about a picture he drew.

Share books together. Stories help children understand that things happen in order—first, next, last.

Read a book together that your child already knows. Switch what you do. You be the listener and let your child tell you the story.

Ask “what” questions. Point to a picture and say, “What is that?” or “What is happening here?”

Add to what your child says. If your child says, “big truck” then you say, “Yes, a big red fire truck.”

Ask open-ended questions like, “What do you think is happening in this picture?”

Help your child relate what is happening in the story to her own experience. For example, “What happened when we went on a picnic?”

*Being able to tell and retell a story helps children to understand what they read.*

-Duck on A Bike By David Shannon

-Book! Book! Book! By Deborah Bruss

5 – Letter Knowledge

Write your child’s name.

Make letters from clay together or play with magnetic letters together.

Point out and name letters when reading alphabet books, signs or labels.

Show your child that the same letter can look different.

Write words that interest your child (like “dinosaur” or “truck”) using crayons, magnetic letters, or pencil and paper.

Ask whether two words rhyme: “Do ‘cat’ and ‘dog’ rhyme? Do ‘cat’ and ‘hat’ rhyme?”

Say words with chunks left out: “What word would we have if you took the ‘hot’ away from ‘hotdog’?”

Put two word chunks together to make a word: “What word would we have if we put ‘cow’ and ‘boy’ together?”

Say words with sounds left out: “What word would we have if we took the ‘buh’ sound away from ‘bat’?”

Say rhymes and make up your own silly nonsense rhymes together.

Sing songs. Songs have a different note for each syllable in a word, so children can hear that different sounds put together make up words.

Read poetry together. Make up short poems together. Say the words that rhyme.

Say rhymes and sing songs in the language most comfortable for you.

1 . Choose a book that your child already knows well.

2. Ask questions: “What’s this?” “What is going on here? Tell me what you see on this page.”

3. Follow your child’s answers with another question: “What else do you see?” “What is happening over here?”

4. Repeat what your child says and expand on it with another piece of information.

5. Help your child as needed. Praise and encourage your child.

6. Follow your child’s interests.