Books:

Print Motivation is one of the six early literacy skills Print Awareness is one of the early literacy skills

that researchers say are important for children to become that researchers say is important for children to have in

readers. Children who enjoy books are more likely to want order to learn to read.

to learn to read, and to keep trying even when it is hard. Print Awareness includes knowing that print has

Print Motivation is a child’s interest in and enjoyment meaning, knowing how to handle a book, and

of books and reading. noticing print all around.





Books:

 Choose books you enjoy. Books:

 Choose books the children enjoy.  Some books have writing as part of the story

 Give the children opportunities to choose and look (Bunny Cakes; Diary of a Worm; Click, Clack, Moo).

at books.  Some books have written words as part of the

 Follow the children’s interests; use true books and pictures (Hi Pizza Man, Martha Speaks).

stories  Any book helps develop print awareness.



Book Sharing: Book Sharing:

 Keep the interaction around the book positive and  Let children turn the pages of the book.

enjoyable. The children pick up on your attitude.  Point to words of the title as you say them.

 When you are reading a book you particularly  Point to the words in a repeated phrase as you say

enjoy, tell the children you like this book. them. This helps your child see that, in English, we

 Keep the children involved, even if it means not read from left to right and from top to bottom of

reading the book word for word. the page.

 Remember that your children’s age, stage,  Point to a word that interests one of the children.

personality, and mood affect how they interact Show the children that written words have a

with books. space on each side.

 If the children are not interested in reading, try  Play around with the orientation of the book.

another time. Start with it upside down and backwards. Tell the

 If the children are not interested in books, start children you are turning it around so you can read

out reading just a page or two at a time. Keeping it. Use the words “front” and “back” of the book.

the interaction positive will help their interest  Use the terms author and illustrator each time

grow. you read a book with your children.

 Use books throughout the day, not only at circle  Encourage drawing. Your children can draw a

time or “book time”. picture of what is happening in the book.

 Read with the children every day. Even if the time  Encourage scribbling. Your children can “write”

is short, if it is positive, it will help develop your words to the story on a piece of paper.

child’s interest in reading.

 Research tells us:

 Research tells us: Research shows that pre-readers focus on the

When the interaction around the book is negative, pictures in a book. 95% of their visual attention is

the child associates books and reading with that directed toward the pictures. With the help of

negative experience. It is important to keep the adults children can explore print, and help them

interaction around the book a positive one. understand that the written word has meaning.









Based on information from Every Child Ready to Read @ your library®, a program of the Public Library Based on information from Every Child Ready to Read @ your library®, a program of the Public Library

Association and the Association for Library Service to Children, divisions of the American Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children, divisions of the American Library

Association. (www.ala.org/everychild) Association. (www.ala.org/everychild)

Letter Knowledge is one of the early literacy skills Vocabulary is one of the early literacy skills that

that researchers say is important for children to have in researchers say is important for children to have in order to

order to learn to read. learn to read. The more vocabulary children have the easier

Letter Knowledge is knowing that the same letter it will be for them to understand what they are reading.

can look different, that letters have names and are Vocabulary is knowing the names of things, of feelings,

related to sounds. of concepts, and ideas.







Books: Books:

 Books with shapes  Books with words not used in daily conversation.

 Books where you have to find things (like  True books use different words than those used

I Spy books). in stories.

 Alphabet books  Any book!

 Any book!

Book Sharing:

Explain an unfamiliar word; do not replace it with

Book Sharing: 

a familiar one.

 With any book, not necessarily an alphabet book,

 When a word has more than one meaning, talk

point out a letter.

about the different meanings.

 Trace a letter from the title with your finger and

 Pick out a word from a book, rhyme or song. For

let the children do it, too.

an unfamiliar word, explain it. For a familiar word,

 Alphabet books do not necessarily need to be read

tell the children a new word that has a similar

from cover to cover. Let the children choose what

meaning.

letters to talk about.

 Add descriptive words or more information than

 When reading an alphabet book the children may

is in the book.

talk about the picture. Listen, and then also talk

 Have the children repeat unfamiliar words.

about the letter and its sound.

 Encourage the children to talk about the

 Show the children the first letter in their names.

pictures. Add information and ideas to what they

Look for those letters in the book.

say.

 Talk about some of the letters in the book. Can

 Use words to describe what characters in the

they find an upper case and a lower case of the

book might be feeling, even if those words are

same letter?

not used in the book.

 Talk about some of the letters in the book. Choose

 Use words to describe ideas in the story even if

two letters: How do they look alike? How do they

those words are not used in the book.

look different? What shapes do they have in

 Use specific words instead of words like it, here,

them?

there.

 Encourage scribbling, drawing, and writing.

 Children learn and remember by having words and

books repeated. Be patient as you re-read the

 Research tells us: same story over and over or answer the same

When you talk about letters, say the name of the questions over and over.

letter as well as the sound it makes. Young children

can hear the sound of the letter most easily at the

 Research tells us:

very beginning of the word. Children’s books have three times more rare words

than we use in conversation.







Based on information from Every Child Ready to Read @ your library®, a program of the Public Library Based on information from Every Child Ready to Read @ your library®, a program of the Public Library

Association and the Association for Library Service to Children, divisions of the American Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children, divisions of the American Library

Association. (www.ala.org/everychild) Association. (www.ala.org/everychild)

Phonological Awarneess is one of the early literacy Narrative Skills is one of the early literacy skills that

skills that researchers say is important for children to have researchers say are important for children to have in order

in order to learn to read. to learn to read. Narrative skills help children understand

Phonological Awarenes is the ability to hear and play what they hear and read.

with the smaller sounds in words. Narrative Skills is expressive language, including being

able to descirbe things, to tell events in order, and to

retell stories.



Books:

 Books with rhyme Books:

 Books with alliteration  Books with a repeated phrase

 Books with sounds of animals and other things  Books with repetition as part of the story

 Song in book format  Books that tell a cumulative tale

 Books of Mother Goose rhymes  Books with a sequence based in the natural world

 Poetry books  Any book!

 Any book!

Book Sharing:

Book Sharing:  Encourage participation, saying a repeated phrase

 Whether or not the book rhymes, you and your together.

children can make up rhyming words for any word in  Re-read books so that the children can become

the book. Remember rhyming words do not have to familiar with the story, making it easier to retell

make sense. They can be silly words. the story.

 It is easier to recognize a rhyme than to make a  Have the children retell the story.

rhyme. If a child cannot say what word rhymes with  Encourage the children to tell you something from

one you give him ,then see if he can tell you if two their own experience related to what happened in

words you say rhyme. Then you can move on to the book.

“Which two of these three words rhyme?  Use props to tell the story to help the children

 Choose a long word from the book and clap out the remember it.

syllables.  Have the children use props to help retell the

 Choose a word from the book and say the first story.

sound very clearly. You and the children can say  Encourage the children to talk about the pictures

other words with the same starting sound. in the book even if what they say is not in the

 Play an “I Spy” game using the pictures in the book. story. Ask open-ended questions, ones that cannot

“I spy something in this picture. It is red and it be answered with yes or no.

rhymes with block.” “Sock!” Or “Let’s see how many  Talk about the pictures in the book and let the

things we can spy in this picture that starts with children share their thoughts and experiences.

the /d/ sound.”  Have the children draw pictures of the story and

retell it or make up their own story.

 Research tells us:

Many preschoolers are not able to hear the smaller  Research tells us:

sounds in words. Adults who play games that While reading books, give additional information and

highlight sounds in words with preschoolers help them relate the pictures and story to the child’s

develop phonological awareness. experiences. This is strongly related to later early

literacy development.









Based on information from Every Child Ready to Read @ your library®, a program of the Public Library Based on information from Every Child Ready to Read @ your library®, a program of the Public Library

Association and the Association for Library Service to Children, divisions of the American Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children, divisions of the American Library

Association. (www.ala.org/everychild) Association. (www.ala.org/everychild)