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Reading Together to Build Early
Literacy
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Did you know that you can help your
child get ready to read even while his very young? When
an infant shows excitement over pictures next to his
crib, or a toddler turns the pages of a board book, or a
preschooler recognizes the first letter of his name on a
cereal box, each is demonstrating emerging literacy
skills. Reading to your child from birth is the best way
to make him a successful reader when he starts school.
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EARLY STAGES |
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Developing language is the first
step in learning to read, and it occurs very early in
life. When you read to your child from the time she is
born, you provide a rich language environment for her.
Your child hears words that may not occur in the normal
course of the day increasing her exposure to a wide
variety of speech sounds. When you cradle your baby and
read with infliction in your voice, your child learns to
associate reading with love, comfort and pleasure - the
beginning of a positive attitude which provides motivation
for learning to read.
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Toddlers have the reputation for
being on the go, and you may be discouraged in your
attempts to read to your child during this stage of
development. But toddlers learn important things from
reading - they just learn them standing up! Children this
age like books that have photos of objects and text that
names the pictures. Nursery rhymes and books with rhyming
text are important because rhyming promotes the awareness
of letter sounds, which is necessary for reading.
Toddlerhood is the time to learn how to handle a book,
such as holding the book right side up and turning paper
pages.
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TODDLER YEARS |
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PRESCHOOL |
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As children enter the preschool
years, they develop an appreciation of the plot and
characters of a story. Exposure to quality picture books
increases your child's enjoyment of reading and engages
his imagination. More complex stories build your child's
comprehension skills and provide a knowledge base from
which he can understand concepts and new ideas. Skills
such as identifying the title of the book, tracing text
with a finger while it is read, talking about pictures,
and speculating about where the plot is going are setting
the stage for learning to read in the early years of
school. Literacy also develops when your child sees
printed words in his environment, such as signs, lists,
menus or labels. When you read this "environmental print"
to your child, you show him that reading is important in
every day life.
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Info Box |
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Experts say....Your child:
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develops
background knowledge for more complicated learning
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builds
vocabulary
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is exposed to
rich language patterns
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learns the
structure of a story
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learns how to
handle books and becomes familiar with reading
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Identifies
reading as a pleasurable activity
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Read to your child every day,
no matter how young. You will be giving your child just the
right experiences to become a good reader in the future!
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