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Reading Readiness Skills
By: Sue Watson
Understanding Text: At this stage the child: pretends to be a reader; holds books the right way;
turns pages at appropriate times; can discuss what is happening and relate it to their own
experiences; knows that the reader is focusing on the print and that it is conveying the
message; makes inferences on both what is read and the pictures; enjoys stories being re-read
and chimes in regularly; likes to turn the pages and knows when to and will make attempts to re-
read the story from memory and picture cues.
Using the Context of the Story: The child can determine meaning from context by saying things
like: 'I like dogs too' and will bring their own experience as it relates to what is being read.
Relating their experiences to stories, television shows, or even ads becomes a popular behavior
when the child uses context to make sense.
Word Meanings: Although the child isn't yet reading, they recognize their own name, brands
(McDonald's 'M', Stop Signs etc.) Recognizes the sounds of letters and makes references
like, 'that ones starts the same as my name, or snakes start with the same letter that Stop
Signs do.
Reading and Print Attitudes: The child starts to demonstrate an interest in printing and will
pretend to print or write. They will ask more questions like 'What does that say?' They like to
chime in when familiar stories are being read. They like to take part in daily reading and never
want to miss their bed time story or story time. They show a greater interest in books and will
enjoy looking at them more frequently even though it may seem that they're looking mainly at the
pictures.
Summary: When a child displays the attitudes described above, they are most likely at the stage
where they are ready to learn how to read. The child will benefit from many alphabet activities,
exploring with the sounds that letter make and reading early stage books. These children will
also benefit from making books like 'A is for Apple and Ate. B is for black bugs. C is for
Cinderella and Candy.
The idea behind this type of book is that the children are encouraged to use the sounds that
letters make (long and short sounds, 'r' controlled sounds - a as in car, and hard and soft
sounds as in Cindy and Candy. When children are encouraged to make these books, they can read
them on their own as they have made the pictures to help them.
Pattern books are another great early writing and reading activity. Again, children draw the
pictures and use patterns like: Blue is for the Sky. Blue is for the Blue-jay. Blue is for
blueberries. Or I like books: I like to run. I like to jump. I like to play.
Lots of praise at this stage will encourage the young reader to develop confidence and will move
forward in their ability to read.
***How to Choose a Book***
"Too Hard" You will miss more than five words on a page and will not
understand what you read.
"Too Easy" You will not miss any words and there is no challenge.
"Just Right" You will understand what you read, need to slow down to
understand only a few words, and these books will help you to become a
better
reader.
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