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. Along with Devany of Still Playing School, I’ll be taking a look at important factors that help young children learn to read in real, meaningful, and age-appropriate ways.
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, Devany of Still Playing School and I want to answer this exact question with our Ultimate Guide to Learning to Read series! Since early literacy is a massive topic, we’ll be breaking it down piece by piece. We will 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 emergent literacy and then share real, hands-on activities for young children.
the ultimate guide to learning to read
Below are the posts from this series, all in one handy-dandy place. Be sure to check back, as I’ll be updating this page as more activities and ideas are shared!
RHYMING ANCHOR CHART – A simple but effective way to introduce the concept of rhyming.
Teaching Syllables with Simple Games – A collection of easy, no-prep syllable activities to try “on the fly”
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 topics and activities 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 Devany and 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.
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