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Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?

Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?

Being ready for kindergarten means having well-developed preschool skills, and being academically, socially, and physically ready for the transition. Here are some signs that your child is ready for kindergarten.

Concepts of Print Assessment

Concepts of Print Assessment

An informal assessment of the concepts of print, including what the assessment measures, when is should be assessed, examples of questions, and the age or grade at which the assessment should be mastered.

Concepts of Print: Ideas for Parents

Concepts of Print: Ideas for Parents

Discover 16 ways to help your child learn about concepts of print — that print carries meaning, directionality in a book, front and back covers, letter and word awareness, upper case and lower case letters, punctuation, and more.

Concepts of Print: Ideas for Teachers

Concepts of Print: Ideas for Teachers

Discover 20 ways to help children learn about concepts of print — that print carries meaning, directionality in a book, letter and word awareness, upper case and lower case letters, punctuation, and more.

Environmental Print

Environmental Print

Letters are all around us! Here are some ideas on how to use print found in your everyday environment to help develop your child’s reading skills.

preschooler with picture book

Goals for Preschool: Awareness and Exploration

Children go through phases of reading development from preschool through third grade — from exploration of books to independent reading. In preschool, children explore their environment and build the foundations for learning to read and write. Find out what parents and teachers can do to support preschool literacy skills.
Mother and daughter painting an environmental mural together

Grocery Store Literacy Activity Sheets

Everyday activities are a natural and effective way to begin teaching your young child about letters and words. Download and print these colorful “take-along” activities the next time you go to the grocery store or farmer’s market. Turn your regular trip into a reading adventure!

Learning to Read, Reading to Learn

Learning to Read, Reading to Learn

From decades of research about how young children can best learn to read, we know that there are core skills and cognitive processes that need to be taught. In this basic overview, you’ll find concrete strategies to help children build a solid foundation for reading.

Print Awareness During Read Alouds

Print Awareness During Read Alouds

How can you help kids develop print awareness? Here are some sample questions and prompts you can use before, during, and after a read aloud activity to help children activate basic knowledge about print and books.

Print Awareness: Guidelines for Instruction

Print Awareness: Guidelines for Instruction

Print awareness is a child’s earliest understanding that written language carries meaning. The foundation of all other literacy learning builds upon this knowledge. The following are guidelines for teachers in how to promote print awareness and a sample activity for assessing print awareness in young children.

toddler pointing to words in a picture book while sitting on mother's lap

Print Awareness: An Introduction

Children with print awareness can begin to understand that written language is related to oral language. Children who lack print awareness are unlikely to become successful readers. Indeed, children’s performance on print awareness tasks is a very reliable predictor of their future reading achievement.
Birds-eye view of mother at home reading picture book to young child

Read Aloud Daily: Practical Ideas for Parents

Preschoolers who are getting ready to read expand their knowledge of the building blocks of oral and written language, and their use and appreciation of language. Learn activities parents can use at home to support children’s growth in each of these areas.

Dad reading picture book to kindergarten and preschool sons

Reading Tips for Parents of Kindergartners

Play with letters, words, and sounds! Having fun with language helps your child learn to crack the code of reading. The tips below offersome fun ways you can help your child become a happy andconfident reader. Try a new tip each week. See what works best foryour child.

Mom reading picture book to preschool daughter

Reading Tips for Parents of Preschoolers

Read early and read often. The early years are critical to developing a lifelong love of reading. It’s never too early to begin reading to your child! The tips below offer some fun ways you can help your child become a happy and confident reader. Try a new tip each week. See what works best for your child.

Reading with Your Child

Reading with Your Child

With this overview, learn why reading aloud to children from an early age is so important, and how to make it a motivating and meaningful experience.

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