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home > early literacy > six skills areas


Overview
Six skill areas
Choosing books
Fingerplays & songs
Reading aloud - video clips
Reading tips - many languages
Partnering with your library
More literacy websites

Six skill areas EspaƱol
Help your child get ready to read in school:
  • LOVE BOOKS (Print motivation): being interested in and enjoying books.
    Show your child that reading together is fun. see Favorites for Toddlers

  • USE BOOKS (Print awareness): noticing print, knowing how to handle a book and how to follow words on a page.
    For fun, hold a book upside-down to your children can notice that something is "wrong." see books with Word Awareness.

  • NEW WORDS (Vocabulary): knowing the names of things.
    Read books about things that interests your children. Ask librarians about finding easy information books. see True Books

  • SEE LETTERS (Letter knowledge): knowing that letters look different from each other and have different names and sounds.
    Read A B C books to your child. see ABC Books or Letter Sounds

  • MAKE SOUNDS (Phonological awareness): being able to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words.
    Singing songs is a good way to help your child hear the different parts of a word. see Rhymes & Mother Goose books.

  • TELL a STORY (Narrative skills): the ability to describe things and events and tell stories.
    Tell your child stories about you and your family. see Senior Family & Friends
ELSIE: Early Literacy Storytime Ideas Exchange

Find books to match each of the six early literacy skills.
Parent Guide to Literacy

Pre-Talkers: birth to 2 years (pdf)
Talkers: 2 to 3 years (pdf)
Pre-Readers: 4 to 5 years (pdf)
Public Library Association and Association for Library Service to Children.