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Pre-Readers: 4-5 years old

Vocabulary
Research shows that children who have larger vocabularies are better readers. Knowing many words helps children recognize written words and understand what they read.

• Talk with your child about what is going on around you. Talk about how things work, feelings and ideas.


Learning words begins at birth and grows throughout a child’s life. Most children start school knowing between 3,000 and 5,000 words.

• When your child talks with you, add more details to what she says.
• Use many words and a variety of words.
• Speak in the language that is most comfortable for you.
• Explain unfamiliar words.
• Read together every day. When you talk about the stories and pictures, your child hears and learns more words.
• Read books which have a different vocabulary from conversation.
• Learn together by reading some true books on subjects that your child likes.

Print Motivation
Children who enjoy books will want to learn how to read.

• Make book sharing a special time for closeness between you and your child.
• Schedule is not as important as the moods of the child and the adult too!
• Let your child see you reading.
• Visit your public library often.
• Let your child, or children, see that reading is fun!
• Even short periods of time spent reading are valuable.
  

Print Awareness
Being familiar with printed language helps children feel comfortable with books and understand that print is useful.

• Read aloud everyday print—labels, signs, lists, menus. Print is everywhere!
• Point to some of the words in the book as you say them, especially words that are repeated.
• Let your child turn the pages of the book.
• Let your child hold the book and read or tell the story.
• Hold the book upside down. See if your child turns the book back around.
  

Narrative Skills
Being able to tell or retell a story helps children understand what they read.

• Listen to your child carefully when he talks.
• Ask your child about something that happened. Let him tell you about a picture he drew.
• Share books together.
• Name things (both real and pictures in books).
• Add description.
• Stories help children understand that things happen in order—first next, last.
• Read a book together that your child already knows. Switch what you do. You be the listener and let your child read or tell the story.
• Ask “what” questions. Point to a picture and say, “What’s that?” or “What is happening here?”
• Add to what your child says. If your child says “big truck” then you say, “Yes, a big red fire truck.”
• Ask open-ended questions like, “What do you think is happening in this picture?”
• Help your child relate what is happening in the story to her own experience, for example, “What happened when we went on a picnic?”
• Let your story retell a story with props, dolls or puppets.
• Read a story several times and let your child tell you what happens and what happens next.
  

Letter Knowledge
Knowing the names and sounds of letters helps children figure out how to say written words.

• Write your child’s name.
• Make letters from clay or use magnetic letters.
• Point out and name letters when reading alphabet books, signs or labels.Show your child that the same letter can look different.
• Write words that interest your child (like “dinosaur” or “truck”) using crayons, magnetic letters or pencil and paper.

Most children who have an understanding of phonological awareness have an easier time learning to read. Help your pre-reader become aware of the smaller sounds that make up words.

Phonological Awareness

• Ask whether two words rhyme: “Do ‘cat’ and ‘dog’ rhyme?” “Do ‘cat’ and ‘hat’ rhyme?”
• Say words with word chunks left out: “What word would we have if you took ‘hot’ away from ‘hotdog’?”
• Put two word chunks together to make a word: “What word would we have if we put ‘cow’ and ‘boy’ together?”
• Say words with sounds left out: “What word would we have if we took the ‘buh’ sound away from ‘bat’?”
• Say rhymes and make up your own silly, nonsense rhymes together.
• Sing songs. Songs have different notes for each syllable in a word.
• Read some poetry together. Make up short poems together. Say the words that rhyme.
• Say rhymes and sing songs in the language that is most comfortable for you.
  

Handy Tips:

• Pick a good time and read regularly.
• Have books on hand at all times (home, car, doctor’s office).
• Talk about what you read.
• Offer praise and encouragement.
• Follow your child’s interests when choosing books.
• Choose books with lots of action and interaction.
• Utilize booklists provided by your public library to help you choose books.
  

Have Fun!

 

 

Based on information from Every Child Ready to Read @ your library®, a program of the Public Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children, divisions of the American Library Association. (www.ala.org/everychild)