Literacy is the ability to read and write. Pretty straightforward, right? However, little ones take in and process a lot of information about reading and writing long before they can actually read or write. This pre-reading/pre-writing knowledge is called early literacy or emergent literacy. Like using computer code to build software or combining recipe ingredients to make tasty treats, it determines much about kids’ later reading success and more.
Prewired to learn and communicate, infants and toddlers are “on” all the time. They are awake and keyed into everything coming their way. By the time they are developmentally ready to read and write, their early literacy experiences help ensure they have the necessary skills.
Fortunately, most of the “ingredients” that produce good learning outcomes, including a love of reading, are quick, easy, and inexpensive. Talking and reading to kids, singing, playing phonics games, preschool reading games, and games for older kids, as well as integrating reading and wordplay into daily activities, are a few activities we’ll explore, along with a bit of research-based background.
The science behind early literacy development
Babies are born with billions of brain cells, and the more sensory stimulation they receive, the more pathways they create between and across those cells. That stimulation includes just hearing words used. United Way Treasure Valley cites research showing that “Children’s academic successes at ages 9 and 10 can be attributed to the amount of talk they hear from birth through age 3.”
Talking to babies and toddlers not only helps get them ready to talk but also ready to read! Making those connections between spoken and written words is a significant part of early literacy.
A post from the ABC’s and 123’s blog from Action for Children offers an excellent overview of the science and foundations of early literacy. It notes, “From birth to age five, children are exposed to language, sounds, and vocabulary that form the building blocks for reading.” They add, “During this period, the brain is highly adaptable and responsive to learning, making it a prime time for developing essential [skills].”
Expanding on early literacy skills, it says, “Research has identified five core components of effective reading instruction, often referred to as the ‘Big Five,’” which are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
In part, they define phonemic awareness as “the ability to recognize and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words,” phonics as “understanding the relationship between sounds and their corresponding letters,” fluency as “the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression,” vocabulary as “the knowledge of word meanings,” and comprehension as “the ability to understand and interpret the meaning of text.”
Different activities for different developmental stages help build and develop these skills.
The importance of multisensory learning
Engaging multiple senses helps learners of every age understand and remember information better, but during the early years, it can be especially important. Not only does it “process” across more of those pathways in the brain, but multi-sensory learning promotes active learning and accommodates different learning styles.
Reading to kids is multisensory. They are hearing words, looking at pictures, and are often snuggled up with a family member. Some books also use textures and pop-ups.
How big an impact does reading to kids have on developing early reading skills? A frequently quoted finding from the Literacy Foundation‘s Literacy Project notes. “Children who are read to at least three times a week by a family member are almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading compared to children who are read to less than 3 times a week.”
It’s one part of what Johnson County Public Library (Indiana) calls “Five Early Reading Practices”: talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing, with all of them engaging multiple senses.
Fun reading activities by age group
It’s only logical that reading activities for children should match their age and stage of learning, and early literacy starts in infancy. What is a “reading activity” for a baby? Many things that seem almost instinctive, like making eye contact with babies, talking to them, and pointing out and naming things, are also getting them ready to read by developing language skills. Introducing them to books is part of it, too. The following is a basic breakdown by age of what’s helpful and appropriate.
Infants and Toddlers (Ages 6 – 36 months)
Babies are primed to learn. The Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alabama Heersink School of Medicine posted a clear, colorful Developmental Milestones of Early Literacy table created by the Pediatrics Department at the Boston University School of Medicine. It outlines where babies and toddlers are with their motor and cognitive skills at different ages and what parents can do at each stage to promote early literacy, including reading activities. Below are a few examples:
- 6-12 months: face-to-face gaze while holding baby; point to and name pictures
- 12-18 months: respond to prompting to read; let toddler control the book; ask “where’s the ____” and let toddler point
- 18-24 months: relate books/stories to toddlers’ experiences; make books part of routines like bedtime; ask “what’s that?” and let them answer; pause to let them complete a sentence
- 24-36 months; keep books part of routines; “be willing to read the same story over and over”: continue relating books to the child’s experiences
The Johnson County Library resource cited earlier notes literacy skills that should be a focus at these ages are vocabulary and phonemic awareness. Rhymes, songs, picture books, and at the older end of the group, sound games like identifying the first sounds in words, are tools to use.
Preschool (Ages 3–4)
At this age, when getting preschoolers ready for kindergarten, phonics should be added in. Here is a short list of resources and activities.
- Letter hunts, rhyming games and books
- Games and reading aloud with picture cues
- Storybooks with basic vocabulary and sentence structure, like School Zone’s Start to Read! series
- Beginning workbooks like School Zone’s Alphabet Preschool Workbook, Tracing Trails Workbook, and Beginning Sounds Workbook
Kindergarten (Ages 5–6)
In kindergarten, reading gains traction and momentum. Here are a few resources and activities geared towards this age group:
- Activities that focus on word families, tracing letters, and sentence-building blocks; word families are groups of related words, for example, rhyming/sound-alike words that start with a different letter; School Zone’s Word Families Flash Cards provide great practice
- Workbooks that continue developing foundational skills, such as School Zone’s very portable tablet-format Alphabet Sticker Learning Workbook, the Get Ready to Read K-1 Workbook, and the Kindergarten Fun! Write & Reuse Workbook, which builds kids’ confidence through easy do-over practice.
Early Elementary (Grades 1–3)
In the early grades, activities that build reading skills and love of reading become more creative and complex. They include things like:
- Reading journals, role-playing book characters, and comic strip creation; reading journals are records of books read, including their titles and authors, dates read, and personal reflections and reactions, like how a book made the reader feel, and what were some great quotes from it
- Workbooks that accommodate growing vocabulary and attention spans and deeper critical thinking skills include Beginning Reading 1-2 Workbook, Spelling Puzzle 1-2 Workbook, and Phonics Review 1-3 Workbook
School Zone’s Anywhere Teacher online learning program for ages 2-8, with 3000+ songs, books, games, interactive worksheets, and more, offers hours and hours of skill-building activity. Also see our recent post on phonics games, which discusses Sound Matching Games, Letter Tracing, ABC Phonics Songs, Storytime with Phonics, and Rhyming Games, and another post on phonics books and flash cards that highlights specific examples of both.
How to encourage daily reading at home
Creating places and routines that encourage reading and support the development of strong literacy skills is important. Here are a few suggestions:
- Set up a reading nook – Designating a space for reading makes it special and
- Schedule daily read-aloud time – Routines provide structure, and like set-aside. spaces, show kids that reading is a natural, important part of the day.
- Use School Zone resources – Designed for kids and developed by teachers, our products ensure kids are learning what they need to learn when they need to learn it.
- Track progress with charts and stickers for rewards – Seeing and being rewarded for their accomplishments helps kids stay motivated, engaged, and focused.
Fun reading games and activities, starting in infancy, which become part of a natural, joyful routine, help raise confident, capable readers. Visit School Zone for more top-rated workbooks, flash cards, and apps to support your child’s exciting reading journey.
