Introduction: What Literacy Skills Should My Child Be Practicing?

Table of Contents

Welcome to Pillar Learning's early childhood literacy guide! In this ebook, we will explore your child's literacy development from ages 0 to 8, the most current reading strategies, and how you can support your child's learning at home. 

Literacy is the ability to categorize, understand and read printed words. Many families begin teaching literacy with the alphabet and letter sounds. While those skills will be crucial for school, there are many ways you can hone your child’s reading skills from infancy on. At early ages, confidence and willingness to take risks while reading are just as important as knowing which sounds match with which letters. In this eBook, we’ll go over activities and strategies that can help your child grow in both literacy and confidence.

Throughout the next chapters, we’ll explore crucial skills children develop at different ages. This tables introduces reading skills and how children interact with printed materials at a certain age, followed by a row showing what this behavior may look like at home.

Introduction

 

In Chapter 1, we'll explore how you can support your child's reading at home alongside a map of what literacy skills look like at each year. Feel free to skip around to your child's age to review some skills or jump ahead.

Then, we'll explore teaching strategies that mirror what your child will learn in Kindergarten and early elementary school in Chapter 2. By matching strategies at home and at school, you'll make sure your child can focus on the teaching point with a consistent delivery.

Chapter 3 explores favorite reading topics to introduce to your child or expand their interests.

Next, Chapter 4 illustrates how you can support that learning with writing; both a perspective of how you can support the development of fine motor skills and maximize enjoyment for your child.

We'll explore additional reading skills covered in schools and in class writing expectations in Chapter 5. 

Lastly, we'll provide printable resources for you at home in Chapter 6. 

 

Test

  • Blue denotes Guided Reading or reading with your child
  • Green is Independent Reading or actions supporting children reading on their own
  • Orange covers Letters/Sound Recognition skills
  • Purple shows what kind of Writing Instruments are appropriate for children still mastering their fine motor skills (especially how well they can coordinate their hand and fingers)
  • Finally, the number line shows a corresponding age of age-appropriate skills, though these are just guidelines and every child develops at their own pace. 

In the next chapter, we'll be exploring each age range more in depth, as well as the actions families can take at home to support reading!