Richland County Home Page

Last Update:
11/8/2006

What is Reading Readiness?
Early literacy is what children birth through age four know about reading and writing before they can actually read and write.

What is the Reading Readiness Project?
Click here to view a slide show about the project

What are pre-reading skills?
There are six pre-reading skills children can start learning from birth:

• Print Motivation:  Being interested in and enjoying books
• Vocabulary: Knowing the name of things
• Print Awareness: Noticing print, knowing how to handle a book and knowing how to follow words on a page
• Letter Knowledge: Knowing letters are different from each other, knowing their names and sounds and recognizing letters everywhere
• Phonological Awareness: Being able to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words
• Narrative Skills: Being able to describe things and events and tell stories

How can parents and caregivers develop children’s pre-reading skills?
The Sidney Public Library has an informational display on early literacy in our children’s department. We also have several books on reading aloud to children, one of the key components to developing pre-reading skills. We are adding new materials for parents, caregivers, and children birth through age four.

Helpful Web Links:

Every Child Ready to Read:   Public Library Association early literacy site
http://www.ala.org/ala/pla/plaissues/earlylit/earlyliteracy.htm

Helping Your Child Learn to Read:  With Activities for Infancy through Age 10
http://readyweb.crc.uiuc.edu/library/1993/read/helpread.html

International Reading Association: Focus on Beginning Readers
http://www.reading.org/resources/issues/focus_beginning.html

Literacy Corner: Helpful Links for Early Literacy
http://cela.albany.edu/literacycorner/

National Children’s Literacy Website: Using Your Library
http://www.child2000.org/Lt-tipso.htm

National Council of Teachers of English’s Early Literacy Website
http://www.ncte.org/collections/earlyliteracy

National Institute for Early Education Research (Search “early literacy”)
http://nieer.org  

Reading Is Fundamental:  Information for Parents and Educators
www.rif.org

Ready at Five: Promoting School Readiness:  [Includes searchable activity database]
http://www.readyatfive.org/

ReadyWeb:  Electronic Collection of Resources for School Readiness
http://readyweb.crc.uiuc.edu/library.html

Starting Points: Meeting the Needs of Our Youngest Children
http://www.carnegie.org/starting_points/index.html

Zero to Three: The Nation’s Leading Resource on the First Years of Life
http://www.zerotothree.org/