Early Literacy Development

Infants, toddlers and preschoolers develop oral language and pre-literacy skills everyday that will help them become readers. It's an exciting and critical time of learning! Parents, teacher and childcare providers can find additional information about our youngest learners in the sections on Preschool and Childcare, Oral Language, Print Awareness, Phonemic Awareness, and in the section especially for preschool teachers

Featured partner: Reach Out and Read

Featured Video: Early Literacy Development

See all Early Literacy Development video

Our PBS Series:
Launching Young Readers

Rita Moreno

Explore the challenges of teaching English language learners to read, and the different ways schools are working to create bilingual readers.

Henry Winkler

Learn how brain scientists are working to solve the puzzle of why some children struggle to read and others don't.

Professional Development Webcasts

Listen, watch, and learn from top experts in these engaging roundtable discussions. Each webcast features a 60–minute video as well as recommended readings and suggested discussion questions.

Additional Resources We Recommend

Florida State University, First Words Project
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
"There is no frigate like a book, to take us lands away" — Emily Dickinson