Pre-K: Getting Ready to Read and Write
Teachers and caregivers play a critical role in preparing young children for school and life success. In addition to a warm and nurturing environment, the adults in children’s lives should also focus on the building blocks of reading and writing.
This overview is designed to walk teachers and caregivers through several important building blocks, including sounds, print awareness, letters and more. Within each section, you’ll find easy to read and use resources for learning more, and for trying some activities within your setting. Short videos bring concepts to life, booklists provide ideas for extension, and we provide guidance about when to have concerns about a child’s development.
Pre-K Guide: Reading and Writing Readiness
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
What’s important? Creating literacy-rich environments
There’s no doubt that building skills in a few areas during the preschool years can make a huge difference when a child enters school. Browse through to learn more about helping your child learn about sounds, print, letters, and words. Finally, learn how to choose and read children’s books that will help you and your child enjoy reading together for years to come.
Learn more about:
- Sounds
- Print Awareness
- Letters
- Vocabulary and Oral Language
- Reading Together
- Writing
- Developmental Milestones
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
Sounds
Babies, toddlers and preschoolers can learn to have fun with sounds! Figuring out words that rhyme, coming up with words that share a beginning sound, and saying silly words all help build a child’s phonological awareness; that is, the ability to notice, think about, and play with sounds in words. These skills will be used every time your child reads and writes!
Watch the video
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
Sounds
Watch & Learn 
Children's Books
Learn More
- Phonemic Awareness: An Introduction
- Why Phonological Awareness Is Important for Reading and Spelling
- Preschool Language and Literacy Practices
- The Development of Phonological Skills
Try It!
- Phonemic Activities for the Preschool or Elementary Classroom
- Speech Sounds: Suggested Activities
- Playing with Word Sounds: Stretch and Shorten
- Tips for Teaching Your Child About Phonemes
Have concerns?
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
Print Awareness
Print awareness is understanding that print is organized in a particular way — for example, knowing that print is read from left to right and top to bottom. It is knowing that words consist of letters and that spaces appear between words. Print awareness is a child's earliest introduction to literacy.
Watch the video
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
Print Awareness
Watch & Learn
Educational Apps
Children's Books
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
Letters
One strong predictor of success in reading is a child’s familiarity with the letters of the alphabet. This includes knowing a letter’s name, shape and sound. Most good alphabet activities help kids get practice in each area.
Watch the video
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
Letters
Watch & Learn
Children's Books
Learn More
- Straight Talk About Reading: How Parents Can Make a Difference During the Early Years
- The Alphabetic Principle
- Assessing and learning the letters of the alphabet
Try It!
- Emergent Readers: Look! That's My Letter!
- Letters and Sounds: Practical Ideas for Parents
- Grocery Store Literacy Activity Sheets
- Alphabet Matching
Have Concerns?
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
Vocabulary and Oral Language
Kids who hear more words spoken at home learn more words and enter school with better vocabularies. This larger vocabulary pays off exponentially as a child progresses through school. It’s never too soon to talk to your baby, and make it interesting!
Watch the video
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
Vocabulary and Oral Language
Watch & Learn
Educational Apps
Children's Books
Learn More
- Young Children's Oral Language Development
- Nurturing Oral Language Skills
- How to Raise Verbal Children
- Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children
Try It!
- Oral Language: Expanding Your Child's Vocabulary
- Building Your Child's Vocabulary
- Talking and Listening: Practical Ideas for Parents
Have Concerns?
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
Reading Together
Sharing books with your child can be among the most special moments of the day. These moments with books teach your child many reading readiness skills. Our resources in this section describe the why's and how's of reading with even the youngest child.
Watch the video
Pre-K Guide: Reading and Writing Readiness
Reading Together
Watch & Learn
Children's Books
Learn More
- A Fresh Look at Your Home Library
- A Quick Guide to Selecting Great Informational Books for Young Children
- Dialogic Reading: An Effective Way to Read to Preschoolers
Try It!
- Reading Tips for Parents of Babies
- Reading Tips for Parents of Toddlers
- How to Read With a Squiggly Baby (or Toddler!)
- Reading Together: Tips for Parents of Children with ADHD
Have Concerns?
Pre-K Guide: Reading and Writing Readiness
Writing
Children, even our youngest learners, enjoy putting crayon to paper. What often starts as scribbling ends up being important clues to a child’s understanding that print carries meaning. Four-year olds often enjoy “writing” their name and other special words like Mom, Dad, love, and you. Helping your child develop writing readiness skills includes making the most out of everyday writing and providing lots of opportunity to practice!
Watch the video
Pre-K Guide: Reading and Writing Readiness
Writing
Watch & Learn
Children's Books
Learn More
Try It!
- Developing Writing and Spelling at Home: Pre-K
- Grocery Store Literacy for Preschoolers
- Pre-K Writing Activities
Educational Apps and
Interactive Tools
Have Concerns?
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
Developmental Milestones
Find out what language accomplishments are typical for most children from birth to age three. If you have questions or concerns about your child's progress, talk with your child's doctor, teacher, or a speech and language therapist. For children with any kind of disability or learning problem, the sooner they can get the special help they need, the easier it will be for them to learn.
Pre-K: Reading and Writing Readiness
- Reading and writing readiness
- Literacy-rich environments
- Sounds
- Sounds
- Print awareness
- Print awareness
- Letters
- Letters
- Vocabulary and oral language
- Vocabulary and oral language
- Reading together
- Reading together
- Writing
- Writing
- Developmental milestones
- Explore Reading Rockets
Having fun with words
This brief Parenting Minute video from WNET talks about how parents and caregivers can help build their children’s language skills through storytelling, talking, singing, playing rhyming games, as well as by pointing out and discussing things throughout the day. (Video also available in Spanish, Bengali, and Chinese)
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