Understanding the basic sounds of individual letters is an important basic skill in learning to read. Child care providers sometimes call this “learning the alphabet.” It also is called phonological awareness, which is the ability to pay attention to, identify, and use sounds of speech. Phonological awareness helps children break words into sounds and to blend sounds into words.
For example, children need to tell the difference between “d” and “t,” or “b” and “p.” Some letters can have a …
Literacy and language develop together in children. Reading and writing develop along with speaking and listening. And it all begins at birth with a child’s first cooing. There are many ways child care providers can boost children’s language skills at different ages. Here are several ways to help expand the language and literacy skills of children in your child care program.
As children become more familiar with books, their abilities to remember and comprehend stories will improve. Comprehension means that children understand what they have read. It is a skill that becomes important as children enter school. As children better comprehend stories, they will be better at remembering, analyzing and using the information.
Child care providers can learn to ask questions in ways that help children better understand what they have read. The …
