Read below for a look at early literacy and a variety of emergent literacy activities for preschoolers and kindergartners. These activities will help you plan as you prepare young children to learn to read.
Related: St. Patrick’s Day Beginning Sounds
If you’re a regular reader of Fun-A-Day, you already know I’m passionate about early literacy. If you’re new here, come on in and join the discussion.
Based on many conversations with parents and fellow educators, I wanted to delve deeper into the world of beginning reading and “reading readiness”. Throughout a variety of posts, I’ll be taking a look at important factors that help young children learn to read in real, meaningful, and age-appropriate ways.
Table of Contents
What is Reading Readiness Anyway?
Reading readiness is a term that’s often bandied about in early childhood education. For some reason, it sounds scarier than it really is (probably because it’s fraught with the implication of non-readiness).
Basically, it’s the point at which a child is ready to read. When she’s ready to take all of her pre-reading knowledge and apply it to learning how to read printed words.
There is so much she has to learn prior to being ready, though!
Please keep in mind that each individual child is ready to read on her own terms – there’s not one magical age or time that applies to every single child.
How Can I Teach Emergent Literacy Skills in Meaningful Ways?
Well, I’m glad you asked! As I mentioned above, I want to answer this exact question with the Ultimate Guide to Learning to Read series!
Since early literacy is a massive topic, I’ll be breaking it down piece by piece. I’ll share a specific concept, explain its importance, and share ways to teach it to children.
Topics will include phonological awareness, book and print awareness, the alphabetic principle, etc. The goal is to explore the elements of early literacy and then share real, hands-on emergent literacy activities for preschoolers and kindergarten kids.
The Ultimate Guide to Learning to Read
Below are all of Fun-A-Day’s emergent literacy activities, all in one handy-dandy place. You’ll find many ideas for teaching emerging reading skills for preschool.
Be sure to check back, as I’ll be updating this page as more activities and ideas are shared! As time goes on, I’ll be sure to break the activities down by categories. That way you can find just what you’re looking for.
While you’re waiting for the series to fill out, here are some related posts to read:
- Teaching children about letters
- Why kids need to look at the pictures as they learn to read
- 10 activities to teach beginning sounds and letters
- 15+ name activities for preschoolers
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star rhyming activity
- Word walls in preschool and kindergarten
What emergent literacy activities and topics are you interested in learning more about? I would love to hear what would benefit you, so please email me or simply leave a comment below.
The entire reason this series began is because I want to work with other teachers, parents, homeschooling families, and teachers-in-training!
Be sure to hop over to Still Playing School and read what Devany has to say – Early Literacy: The Ultimate Guide to Learning to Read.
Hands-On Preschool Materials
It is imperative that we keep our classrooms stocked with materials that will give our students the hands-on learning experiences that they love (and need!). There are a few specific things that I always keep on-hand in my classroom. Check them out in the list below.
I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
- Crayons
- Glue
- Blocks
- Puzzles
- Safety scissors
- Dramatic play items
- Magnetic letters
- Math manipulatives
- Dry erase markers
- Sensory items
- Play dough
- Craft supplies
- Playground balls
- Music and movement tools
- Books, books, and more books!
When it comes to preschool, this list is really just skims the surface of the wide variety of materials that can be used. The best thing about this age group is that they learn the most while playing. So, whether they’re playing on the playground, building with blocks, or creating a masterpiece, rest assured that the children are learning so many important skills, all while having fun!
Done-for-You Preschool Resources
Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week, all while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life, can be a daunting task. That’s where Preschool Teacher 101 comes in to save you time!
Preschool Teacher 101 is excited to share with you some amazing lesson plans, activity packs, and much more! We offer a wide variety of themes that are frequently used in preschool classrooms, as well as some less common (but super interesting) themes. Click on the images below to learn more about some of my favorite literacy product offerings!
Join The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101 today for exclusive access to our amazing products. And we even have three different membership options to suit your needs!
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