Fun Ways to Enhance Pre-Literacy SKills in Young Learners: Part 1

Literacy skills refer to all the skills needed for reading and writing. Pre-literacy skills refer to the skills a child gains before she can read or write. There are so many ways we can support young learners in our every day routines and interactions. In Part 1 of this blog series I'll talk about strategies to support early reading skills, and in Part 2 I'll discuss strategies to enhance early writing skills.

Strategies for Supporting Early Reading Skills

Print Motivation:

• Display children's books on low shelves and in baskets so they are readily available
• Provide developmentally appropriate books (cloth books, vinyl bath books or Indestructibles brand books for babies who put things in their mouths; board books for toddlers; picture books for older kids who won't tear the pages)
• Keep a book basket in different rooms of the house and keep a few small books in the car (I use small dishpans from Dollar Tree to keep books in because they're the perfect size and they're only a dollar!)
• Use different voices and make interesting sound effects when reading books aloud
• Instead of having your child sit on your lap, try having him in front of you while you hold the book near your face (this helps to establish joint attention and allows your child to see how you move your lips and tongue when you talk)
• Visit libraries and book stores often (try finding a "Little Free Library" in your neighborhood)
• Select books that are relevant to your child's interests and preferences, but occasionally introduce her to unfamiliar or less-preferred topics as well (in other words, don't ONLY read books about Disney princesses)
• Be a good role model by reading books yourself (children learn by watching and imitating their favorite people)
• Make sure reading is a fun experience
  1. For young children with a short attention span, try focusing more on the pictures and avoid reading every word on the page
  2. Select interactive books such as touch-and-feel books or books with flaps to keep a busy toddler's attention
  3. Choose books that aren't too long so the child views story time as a pleasurable experience
     
  4. Read books with repetitive text to help your child anticipate what comes next in the story (I Went Walking by Sue Williams and Five little Monkeys Sitting in A Tree by Eileen Christelow are two of my favorites)
     

Print and Book Awareness:

• Identify the title, author, and illustrator on the cover before reading the book
• Point out the front and back of the book
  
• Run a finger under the text to show the directionality of reading (moving left to right and top to bottom)
• Point out where to begin reading on a page
• Explain that pictures are different from words
• Talk about letters and letter sounds
  
• Identify short and long words (Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes is a wonderful book for teaching about long words)
• Use real objects as props when reading aloud to make books come to life (for example, add refrigerator magnet letters when reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault)
• Read books that have the print embedded into the illustrations (Stop Snoring Bernard by Zachariah Ohora is a great example of this)
  
• Draw attention to punctuation (Moo! by David LaRochelle is a clever little book that highlights the power of punctuation)
  
• Show your child how sentences always begin with a capital letter
  
• Talk about letters and words on signs out in the community (point out the "s" on a stop sign, for example, and explain that the letter ess says "sssss" like a snake)
  
• Place your child's name on different items around the house (the kitchen chair he sits at, his bedroom door, his backpack)
• Sort the mail together and point out whose names are on the different envelopes
• Instead of snacking on regular Cheez-It crackers, offer the Scrabble version instead
• Provide alphabet cookie cutters when playing with Play-Doh

Vocabulary:

• Introduce new words often (consider having a "word of the day")
  
• Remember this: the more words a child knows, the easier it will be to learn to read them
• Point out and discuss key words from books that you read aloud
• Explain unusual words in books - don't replace them with an easier synonym
• Use nouns instead of pronouns as much as possible when describing the pictures ("The florist is arranging the flowers" instead of "She is arranging the flowers")
• Read non-fiction books occasionally (learning about trains, snakes, and volcanoes can be very motivating!)

Story Comprehension:

• Make comments about the story as you read aloud ("Oh, that piggie looks hungry")
• Avoid asking too many yes/no questions such as, "Is that a dog?"
• Try to limit the number of test-like questions you ask such as, "What is it? What color is it? What shape is it?"
• Ask deeper questions that encourage the child to think about the story such as, "How do you think that makes the boy feel?" or "What do you think will happen next?"
• Point out that stories always have a beginning, middle, and end
• Discuss the main idea of the story
• Have your child retell the story using props, or perhaps act out the story
• Encourage your child to generate her own original stories when riding in the car, drawing a picture, or playing with her toys
  
• Offer wordless books to help your child learn to study the pictures for clues about the story (one of my favorite wordless books is Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day)
  

Phonological Awareness:

• Introduce songs and books that rhyme (I'm a big fan of the book Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw)
  
• Point out words that rhyme
  
• Ask your child to come up with words that rhyme ("Can you think of a word that rhymes with cat?")
• Emphasize alliteration (the book Silly Sally by Audrey Wood is filled with alliteration and rhyming)
• Point out when portions of words are the same (fifteen, sixteen, seventeen)
• Determine if spoken words are long or short (just by listening)
• Play hand-clapping games such as "Miss Mary Mack" and "Pat-a-Cake"
• Clap, stop, or tap the number of syllables in a word
• Count the number of words in a sentence
• Talk about beginning and ending sounds (not letters) in words ("Sam, what sound does you name start with?" and Sam should say /s/ not "ess" or "Grace, what sound does your name end with?" and Grace should say /s/)
• Play the "I Spy" sound game ("I spy with my little eye something that starts with the /m/ sound")

So as you can see, there are many ways you can help your child gain important early reading skills. I hope you find these strategies to be helpful. Let me know which ones your child enjoys the most! Join me next time as I provide strategies for enhancing early writing skills.

This is a picture of my Little Free Library. It's in my front yard and I keep it stocked full of children's books for all the neighborhood kids to use. Do you have a Little Free Library in your neighborhood? If so, I'd love to see a picture of it!