Information about Pre – Literacy Development
In last month’s blog we posted an article “Literacy For Children” about literacy and sound awareness. As a follow-up to this, we would like to share some practical and informative ideas about pre- literacy development.
Literacy development begins in the first three years of life. It is linked to a child’s first experiences with books, pictures and tactile and visual stimulation.
Having fun with paper, books, painting, colouring and drawing establishes solid foundations for developing early reading and writing skills before a child even begins school.
Furthermore, through positive interactions with social literacy (i.e. story-telling, magazines, pictures, street signs and children’s books), children begin to acquire skills that facilitate the later learning of functional reading and writing. Sound awareness (also known as phonics) and language development are also key building blocks in the development of literacy skills.
Here are some tips for a quality story time with our children
- Start at the cover and explain the title of the story
- Link the book that you are reading to stories about your own family/pets/community
- Have a positive attitude towards books (i.e. take your child to the local library; leave books in their room)
- Make the book come alive using different voices/actions when reading the story. You could even consider dressing up and using puppets to act out the story!
- Let your child turn the page – remember that turning a few pages at a time is ok!
- Ask and encourage questions (watch out for our upcoming blog about age-appropriate questions to increase language development)
- Don’t be afraid to read the story multiple times – especially if your child enjoys it!
