Talking to Teach Early Literacy Skills

Talking is an important way to build early literacy skills and help your child get ready to learn to read! Every Child Ready to Read 2 emphasizes this important and fun activity. Talking with your child seems easy and it is. It takes time and energy, though. Just remember that it is an essential activity to help your child develop early literacy skills he or she needs to have.

I love your snow picture!
Tell me about it!

• Share a simple and short personal story about an everyday or relatable experience. Then ask your child to share a story of her own. After he tells his story, repeat the events in sequence (for example, “Wow. What an exciting story. It sounds like it started to snow. Then you put on your coat, boots, hat and mittens and went outside to play. Then you picked up some of the snow and rolled it into balls. Your brother and sister helped you make a snowman!”). Not only will repeating your child’s story help him or her understand the narrative structure, but also it will make him or her feel listened to and understood.
•   Talking is a simple way to build vocabulary skills. Introduce a new word and talk about what it means and when/where we might say it or when/where we might hear it being said. Try introducing a new word that connects to a book you will read or an activity the children will do.

•  Colors, shapes, numbers, and other concepts are all vocabulary that children must learn. Don’t take for granted this important step in a child’s pre-reading process. Ask about colors, shapes, and numbers whenever the occasion arises—during a program or activity or when engaging any young library user in conversation. Encourage caregivers to talk with their children about colors, shapes, and numbers wherever they are: on the bus, in the library, playing with toys, or standing in line at the grocery store.

"This chair is yellow! Let's find something else that is yellow."