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Recent attention on preparing students for the testing requirements in reading that begin at third grade has refocused efforts toward preparing children at the early elementary ages to meet those oncoming requirements. In turn, a great deal of attention is now placed on reading readiness—helping preschool children become "ready" to learn by the time they enter kindergarten. We know that children are born ready to learn. Because we also know that young children learn by playing (see our article Play With Me!), it is only reasonable to blend into their play the things that we wish them to be able to do when they reach grade school. Given this, how can you help ensure that your child is "ready" for reading without infringing on her playtime. Five tips for encouraging language development as your child approaches reading readiness: Point out letters as you go about your day. While it is not appropriate to point out every letter or make the child recite them to you, noticing them will help her to become familiar with their shapes. When a different font is used, talk about what is similar and what is different about the shape of the same letter. As he is able to assimilate more, talk about the sound individual letters make, then about two or more letters together (br-, cr-, st-), then about different phonemic sounds made by putting two or more letters together (sh-, th-, ch-, ph). Help her learn the letters in her name. Knowing the letters of the alphabet is an important element of preschool literacy.
Do you or someone you know teach or have school age children? Find out the research-based K-12 instructional resources available at the LearningLeads™ homepage, or go the Reading Comprehension overview page. Be sure while you're there to read the article about instruction in the transitional years from kindergarten through grade 2 in Improving Reading Comprehension: Making the Oral Reading Connection in the Early Grades.
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PreKorner™ - Approaching Reading Readiness: Tips for Encouraging Language Development in Early Childhood
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Read to your child often. Reading
with expression helps promote fluency and comprehension. Even if he is
not ready or able to sit still for more than a moment or two, read as
long as he can stand it, as often as he can stand it. Read a variety of
books, songs, and rhymes to him. Reading to your child should be a pleasurable
experience, so if she is not enjoying it, take a break, return to it later,
or read it to her as she plays with something else. Talk about what you
are reading. Encourage him to talk about the book. Is something funny,
scary, or sad in the book? Call attention to details in the book that
are relevant to her. "Listen, this character's name starts like yours,
Nancy. See, his name is Nicholas. Can you hear the /n/ sound?" Read the
same thing several times. Sometimes it is frustrating to adults to read
the same book over and over, but the repetition helps the child to build
vocabulary and comprehension. Encourage him to use what you have read
in his play. "Hey, that is just like the ship that Max used on his visit
to where the wild things lived." "You sounded just like the big billy
goat when you ran across that bridge." 
Play word games with your child—great
on automobile trips! Leave out rhyming words in a familiar chant and have
him fill in the missing words. Take turns changing the rhyming words.
"No more monkeys jumping on my HEAD! No more monkeys jumping, turning
RED!" Ask him to tell which word does not rhyme in a list of three or
four. "Which word doesn't belong? Red, bed, said, seal?" Don't put too
much emphasis on being right. Keep the time used in such games to an amount
that will not frustrate her. Incorporate these games into her play. "The
baby sleeps on something that rhymes with bib." "Let's make something
to eat that rhymes with lake." Being able to recognize and make up rhyming
words is essential to child literacy and child language development.
Help your child take words apart
and put them back together. Separate words into phonemes, or sounds. Help
him listen for beginning, ending, and, later, middle sounds, as vowel
sounds are the hardest for him to distinguish. Change one sound for another.
"What is hat without the /h/ and with a /k/ sound instead?" Have
him plan a lunch menu where all the items eaten start (end) with the same
sound. "Let's have sandwiches, salad, and soda today." Help her make up
alliteration phrases. "Monty mostly met moms this morning." Incorporate
these activities into her play time. Learning to manipulate sounds in
spoken language is an important element in child reading readiness.
Introduce new words to your child
when appropriate. Tell her the meaning of the word, and use the new word
often at first to get her used to hearing how it is used in speech. If
the word is very difficult to pronounce, sound it out very carefully when
you say it, then say it normally, for the first few times. Remind him
of the meaning of the word as often as necessary. Encourage your child
to use the word when appropriate. "You seem elated to see your
grandparents today. Are you very happy?" Help her listen for syllables,
the natural breaks in words. Clap these out, tap them with a stick or
pencil, and, later, count them as you speak. Increased vocabulary, shown
to help comprehension, is a child reading benefit of great importance.
