Early Literacy

Early literacy refers to the foundational skills, knowledge, and attitudes related to reading, writing, and language development that children acquire from birth to around 8 years of age (the early childhood period). It encompasses a child’s ability to recognize letters, sounds, and words; understand spoken language; develop vocabulary; and begin using print to communicate ideas.

Early literacy is not just about teaching young children to read and write. Instead, it involves fostering an environment where children can develop critical pre-literacy skills, such as:

• Phonemic awareness: Recognizing and manipulating sounds in spoken words.
• Alphabet knowledge: Understanding that letters represent sounds and combining them forms words.
• Vocabulary development: Learning the meanings of words and how they relate to each other.
• Print awareness: Recognizing how print works (e.g., reading left to right, top to bottom).
• Comprehension: Understanding and interpreting what they hear or read.

Early literacy builds naturally through everyday interactions, such as talking, singing, reading stories aloud, drawing, and playing.