Reading Readiness: The Top 5 Skills
Did you know that there are five skills your child should
master before you begin formal reading instruction? Because these reading
readiness skills are so important, we call them The Big Five Skills.
Although much of your child’s learning comes naturally as he
plays and experiences life, there are some skills, like reading, that must
eventually be taught. That may feel a little scary, but if you’ve taught your
child how to pick up his toys or put on his socks, you can teach your child to
read, too!
5
Critical Skills for Reading Readiness
Print
Awareness
Print awareness is the understanding that the print on a page
represents words that have meaning and are related to spoken language.
To develop this skill:
Open book: Help
your child learn how to hold a book correctly.
As you read books together, emphasize the fact that you’re
reading from front to back and from left to right. Let your child turn the
pages.
As your child helps you in the kitchen, point out the names on
the food boxes and cans and the ingredients as you read your recipe.
Point out and read road signs and store signs as you travel in
the car.
Letter
Knowledge: Letter knowledge enables a child to recognize the
letters of the alphabet and to know the names and sounds of each.
To develop this skill:
Friendly letter A: Sing the alphabet song together. Practice
starting at different letters.
Use activities that help children recognize both uppercase and
lowercase letters.
Begin to encourage an association between letter names and the
sounds they make.
Explore the alphabet with refrigerator magnets.
Create the alphabet with building blocks or form letters with
playdough.
Phonological
Awareness
It’s a big term, but it’s quite basic. Phonological Awareness
is the ability to hear and identify the various sounds in spoken words.
To develop this skill:
Dog with perked ear: Read lots of nursery rhymes and rhyming
picture books together. Encourage your child to anticipate rhyme as you read
together.
Play clapping and rhyming games like Miss Mary Mack and
Pat-a-Cake.
Sing silly songs by changing the first sound in some of the
words. For example, sing, “Bingle bells, bingle bells, bingle all the bay,” or
“If you’re chappy and you chow it, chap your chands.”
Play games that encourage children to identify words that
begin with a specific letter sound. For example, say, “I spy with my little eye
a color that starts with /r/.”
Listening
Comprehension
Listening comprehension is the ability to understand the
meaning of words heard and to relate to them in some way. A child with good
listening comprehension has a wide vocabulary and a growing understanding of
the world around him.
To develop this skill:
World globe: Read aloud to your children daily. Read books
that are in line with your child’s interests, so he begins to realize that
there is a benefit to learning to read.
Encourage even young children to interact with books.
Attend story time at the library.
Let your child see you enjoying books.
Make read-aloud time an enjoyable shared time. Here are some
picture book lists to get you started.
Motivation
to Read
Motivation to read is a child’s eagerness and willingness to
read.
To encourage your child:
Smiling cartoon boy
Read both fiction and nonfiction books to your child.
As you read, ask open-ended questions. For example, ask “What
do you think is going to happen when we turn the page?” or “Why did the boy go
outside?”
Use everyday life experiences to build your child’s
vocabulary.
Encourage imaginative play and storytelling.
Enjoy,
Ms. Nora Sierra
EC Assistant principal
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