Toddlers love activity and the chance to practice their growing language skills. You can use these traits to advance your toddler's pre-reading skills. Involve toddlers in the reading experience by asking them questions and having them expand on the stories you read to them. Toddlers who talk about the illustrations, characters, setting, actions and other aspects of books step up the development of their reading skills.

The following six early reading skills form the base of what your child will use to learn to read and write. Children who enter school with more of these skills will benefit more from reading instruction that they receive at school.

"Print Motivation" is a child's interest in and enjoyment of books.

Why is it important? Children who enjoy books and reading will be curious about how to read. They will read more. Children become good readers by practicing. The more pleasurable book sharing is, the more regular and frequent an activity it will become.

Bedtime Stories    Oceans    Funny and Fun

"Vocabulary" is knowing the names of things.

Why is it important? Children need to know meaning of words to understand what you are reading. You know if you are reading a word correctly if you have heard it before. You are sounding it out. (Try sounding out the word "carrot.") The more words children hear, the more ready they will be to make connections when they read.

Words: Same and Opposite    Richard Scarry Books    Colors

"Narrative Skills" is being able to understand and tell stories and being able to describe things.

Why is it important? Narrative skills help children to understand what they are learning to read.

Families    Bath Time    Growing Bigger

"Print Awareness" is noticing print everywhere; knowing how to handle a book, knowing how we follow the words on a page.

Why is it important? This skill helps children feel comfortable with books so they can concentrate on reading. English books open right to left, read left to right and top to bottom.

Signs in My World    Toy/Moveable Books

"Letter Knowledge" is learning that letters are different from each other, that each letter has a name, and that specific sounds go with specific letters

Why is it important? This skill is the basis for learning to read.

Alphabet Books   Learning is Fun!    Number Books

"Phonological Awareness" is the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words.

Why is it important? This skill helps children sound out words as they begin to read. Understanding that words are made up of smaller sounds helps children “break the code” between written language (letters) and spoken language (sounds).

Nursery Rhymes    Finger Play/Rhyming Games    Music

The above six early literacy skills are based on the Public Library Association's Every Child Ready to Read program.