Early Reading Skills

Learning to Read

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."- Dr. Seuss quote

Teaching your child to read can seem like an overwhelming task. The good news is you’ve already started. Just by talking with your child you are expanding their vocabulary, teaching them the structure of the language and developing good listening skills. Way to Go! There are other skills you have been working on as well. When you’ve taken your child on vacation or out into the community, you have been creating experiences in which they can build an understanding of what they are reading. Awesome job!

Learning to read is a truly a joint effort between home and school. There are things you can do to help your child become a confident reader. The first thing you can do is simply read to your child every day. You can even make it part of the bedtime routine. Another great way to show your child how important reading is to you is by stopping everything you’re doing and taking the time to read to them. If you're lucky, you can even get in a little snuggle time while you’re reading.

There are also specific skills you can be working on at home. I have included a list of online resources which I have found very helpful. Please take some time to review a few of the sites and let me know what you think. If you find any of the links not working, go to the main website and type “literacy” in the search engine. If you could, also let me know so I can update it or fix it. If you have any websites or resources you have found helpful and would like to recommend them to other parents, please send me a note or email me with the name and information.


CENTER FOR EARLY LITERACY LEARNING (C.E.L.L.):

LITERACY AREAS- defines the six interrelated areas of early literacy skills.

Search in the Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy

https://www.clel.org/early-literacy/early-literacy-story-times/six-early-literacy-skills


RESOURCES FROM READING ROCKETS:

READING ROCKETS TIPS FOR PARENTS OF PRESCHOOLERS

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/7833


FREE READING GUIDES

http://www.readingrockets.org/guides/readingrockets


LITERACY MILESTONES: AGES 3-4

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/169


PRINT AWARENESS:

http://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101/printawareness


THE PHIVE PHONES OF READING:

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/347


THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHONOLOGICAL SKILLS:

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/28759


PHONICS:

http://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101/phonics


SUGGESTED WEBSITES FOR KIDS:


PBS KIDS RAISING READERS

http://pbskids.org/read/

READING BETWEEN THE LIONS

http://pbskids.org/lions/

STARFALL

http://www.starfall.com/

UNIVERSAL KIDS

https://www.universalkids.com/

THE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION NETWORK

https://earlylearningnetwork.unl.edu