My daughter’s preschool teacher said something at a parent meeting that I’ve never forgotten.
“The children who arrive at kindergarten already loving books don’t necessarily read earlier,” she said. “But they almost always read better. And they almost always keep reading.”
At the time I filed it away as something nice a teacher said. It wasn’t until I started reading the research on early literacy skills that I understood she was describing something specific and documented: that what children know and feel about books before they ever decode a single word is one of the strongest predictors of what kind of readers they become.
Early literacy skills are the foundation that reading is built on. They develop between birth and age five — mostly through play, conversation, and shared reading — and they matter more than most parents realize. Not because you need to be doing flashcards or structured lessons. But because the ordinary things you’re probably already doing — reading together, singing songs, talking about your day — are building these skills whether you know it or not.
Understanding what they are makes you better at building them. That’s what this guide is for.
Key Takeaways
- Early literacy skills are not the same as reading. They are the pre-reading foundations that develop between birth and age 5 — the cognitive and linguistic building blocks that make learning to read possible.
- Research from the National Research Council identifies six specific early literacy skills that are the strongest predictors of reading success: vocabulary, print motivation, print awareness, narrative skills, letter knowledge, and phonological awareness.
- Children who enter kindergarten with stronger early literacy skills benefit more from reading instruction — the foundation makes the instruction land.
- You don’t need structured lessons or special materials to build these skills. Daily conversation, singing, and shared reading — done with intention — are the most effective interventions available to parents.
- Shared book reading is the single activity most consistently linked to early literacy development across all six skill areas simultaneously.
What Are Early Literacy Skills?
Early literacy is everything a child knows about reading and writing before they can actually read or write.
This definition matters because it expands what counts. A baby who reaches for a book is demonstrating early literacy. A toddler who turns pages front to back is demonstrating early literacy. A preschooler who tells you a story about what happened at the park — with a beginning, a middle, and an end — is demonstrating early literacy.
None of these children are reading. All of them are building the skills that reading requires.
The research — particularly the National Early Literacy Panel’s landmark 2008 report — identifies six skills that are most strongly predictive of later reading success. They were originally catalogued for early childhood librarians as part of the Every Child Ready to Read initiative, but they belong in every parent’s hands.
Here they are — and more importantly, here is what they actually mean for your family.
The 6 Early Literacy Skills Every Parent Should Know
1. Vocabulary: Knowing the Names of Things
What it is: Vocabulary is the breadth of words a child understands and can use. It encompasses not just labels (“dog,” “cup”) but descriptive words (“enormous,” “shimmering”), relational words (“before,” “beside”), and the kind of abstract language that books use but everyday conversation often doesn’t.
Why it matters: A child who arrives at school with a large vocabulary can understand what they’re reading far more easily than a child who is decoding words they’ve never heard. Reading comprehension depends on vocabulary — you can sound out a word you don’t know, but you can’t understand it.
What the research shows: Hart and Risley’s foundational research found that by age 3, children from language-rich homes had heard 30 million more words than children from language-sparse homes — a gap that showed up directly in vocabulary, reading readiness, and school performance.
What to do tonight:
Don’t simplify your language when talking to your child. Use the real word for things — “spatula” instead of “the flippy thing,” “frustrated” instead of “upset,” “enormous” instead of “really big.” Children’s vocabularies expand through exposure to words they don’t already know.
When you read aloud, don’t skip unfamiliar words. Pause, define briefly, keep going. “She was famished — that means really, really hungry, like we are before dinner.” The word lands in context, with emotional and sensory resonance. That’s how vocabulary actually sticks.
Books that build vocabulary: Picture books with rich language — Last Stop on Market Street, Owl Moon, The Phantom Tollbooth (read aloud) — expose children to words they’d never encounter in everyday conversation.
2. Print Motivation: Loving Books Before You Can Read Them
What it is: Print motivation is a child’s interest in and enjoyment of books and reading. It includes wanting to be read to, choosing books as play objects, pretending to read, and caring about what’s on the page.
Why it matters: A child who loves books will read more. A child who reads more becomes a better reader. Print motivation is the engine that drives everything else — because skills that aren’t used don’t develop, and skills that are practiced improve. The child who wants to read is the child who becomes a reader.
What the research shows: Print motivation is one of the strongest predictors of voluntary reading in school-age children — and voluntary reading is one of the strongest predictors of reading achievement. The causal chain runs directly: love of books → more reading → better reading.
What to do tonight:
Make books a pleasure, not a performance. Never force a child to finish a book they’ve lost interest in. Let them choose. Let them request the same book for the fourteenth night in a row without sighing. Let them hold the book, turn the pages, look at the pictures while you read the words.
The child who associates books with warmth, closeness, and choice develops print motivation. The child who associates books with obligation and correction does not.
One practical thing: Keep books physically accessible — on low shelves with covers facing out. Children who can easily reach books independently choose them more often. Physical access is one of the highest-leverage print motivation interventions available.
3. Print Awareness: Understanding How Books and Print Work
What it is: Print awareness is the understanding that print carries meaning — that the marks on the page are what’s being read, that text runs left to right and top to bottom in English, that words have spaces between them, that a book has a front and a back and is held a specific way.
Why it matters: Children who don’t understand these fundamentals when they begin reading instruction spend cognitive resources learning them instead of learning to decode. Print awareness is the map of the territory — you need it before you can navigate.
What to do tonight:
When reading aloud, occasionally run your finger under the text as you read. Not always — you don’t want storytime to feel like a lesson — but enough that your child begins to understand the connection between the spoken words and the marks on the page.
Point to your place on the page when you start a new line: “We go back to this side when we finish a line.” This takes five seconds and teaches print directionality more naturally than any worksheet.
Let children see you read — menus, signs, packages, your phone. Print awareness develops when children understand that the marks in the world around them mean something.
4. Narrative Skills: Understanding That Stories Have Structure
What it is: Narrative skills are the ability to understand and tell stories — to sequence events, describe what happened, predict what comes next, and understand that stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. They also include the ability to describe things in organized, coherent ways.
Why it matters: Reading comprehension depends on narrative skill. A child who decodes fluently but can’t track a story’s structure, predict outcomes, or understand character motivation is reading the words but missing the book. Narrative skill is what makes decoding meaningful.
What to do tonight:
Ask your child to tell you what happened in the book after you finish reading it — not to quiz them, but as genuine curiosity. “What was your favorite part?” and “What happened at the end?” are both narrative exercises disguised as conversation.
Tell stories about your day at dinner, with a real structure: “First we did this, then that happened, and finally we got home.” Children who hear structured narrative learn to produce it.
During a book, stop before the last few pages and ask: “What do you think is going to happen?” Prediction is a narrative skill — it requires holding the story’s structure in mind and projecting it forward.
Books that build narrative skills: Books with clear story arcs and satisfying resolutions — We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Charlotte’s Web, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — give children models of narrative structure that internalize through repetition.
5. Letter Knowledge: Knowing That Letters Are Different From Each Other
What it is: Letter knowledge is the understanding that letters have names, that they look different from each other, and that specific sounds correspond to specific letters. It includes recognizing letters in different contexts — in books, on signs, on cereal boxes — and eventually knowing the sound each letter makes.
Why it matters: Letter knowledge is the bridge between spoken language and written language. A child who knows the letter “b” and knows it makes the /b/ sound can begin to decode. Without that connection, decoding is impossible.
What the research shows: Letter knowledge at kindergarten entry is one of the strongest individual predictors of reading achievement in first grade (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008).
What to do tonight:
Start with the letters in your child’s name — the most personally meaningful letters, and therefore the ones most likely to stick. Point them out everywhere: on their lunchbox, on signs, in the books you read together.
Don’t drill the alphabet in order. Children don’t need to know Z to learn B. Let letter knowledge grow organically — notice letters in the environment, in books, on food packaging. “Look — that’s the same letter as in your name.”
Alphabet books are purpose-built for this skill. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Dr. Seuss’s ABC are particularly effective because the letters are embedded in rhythm and story, which makes them more memorable than isolated drills.
6. Phonological Awareness: Hearing the Sounds Inside Words
What it is: Phonological awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds that make up language — to recognize that words rhyme, to identify the beginning sound of a word, to clap out syllables, to understand that “cat” and “bat” sound similar in a way that “cat” and “dog” don’t. Phonemic awareness — the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds within words — is its most specific subset.
Why it matters: Phonological awareness is the single strongest predictor of early reading success. Learning to decode requires understanding that words are made of sounds and that letters represent those sounds. A child who can’t hear the sounds in words cannot connect them to letters. Phonological awareness is what makes phonics instruction possible.
What to do tonight:
Sing. Rhymes and songs are the most natural and effective phonological awareness builders available — and they require nothing more than your voice. “Twinkle Twinkle,” “Hickory Dickory Dock,” “Down by the Bay” — all of these are doing phonological work simultaneously with the pleasure.
Play rhyming games. “I’m thinking of a word that rhymes with hat — can you think of one?” For very young children, you may need to provide the answer and let them absorb the pattern before they can generate independently.
Read books with strong rhyme and repetition. Green Eggs and Ham, Each Peach Pear Plum, Llama Llama Red Pajama — these books are phonological awareness exercises disguised as stories. The rhythm and rhyme train the ear to notice sound patterns, which is exactly what phonological awareness is.
How the Six Skills Work Together
These six skills are not a hierarchy — they don’t need to be mastered in order, and strength in one doesn’t require strength in all. They are an interconnected set that develops simultaneously, each reinforcing the others.
A child who loves books (print motivation) will be read to more, which builds vocabulary and narrative skills. A child with strong narrative skills will understand what they’re reading once they decode, which makes reading rewarding, which increases print motivation. A child with broad vocabulary finds it easier to connect letters to sounds they already know, supporting phonological awareness and letter knowledge.
The skills build each other. The most effective intervention for all six simultaneously is shared reading — done regularly, interactively, and with pleasure.
Early Literacy Skills by Age: What to Expect
Birth to 12 months: Print motivation begins here — in the association between books and closeness, warmth, and the sound of a beloved voice. Vocabulary exposure begins at birth. Any talking, singing, and reading you do is building the foundation.
12 to 24 months: Print awareness emerges as children begin to understand that books are held a certain way and that the marks on pages are meaningful. Vocabulary expands rapidly. Letter knowledge begins with the letters in their own name.
Ages 2 to 3: Narrative skills develop as children begin to follow and retell simple stories. Phonological awareness begins with rhyming and syllable recognition. All six skills are actively developing and building on each other.
Ages 3 to 5: The period of most rapid early literacy development. Children who have rich language environments and regular shared reading arrive at kindergarten with strong foundations across all six areas. This is the window when intentional, daily reading practice has the highest return.
Kindergarten entry: Children with strong early literacy skills — across all six areas — benefit significantly more from formal reading instruction than children with weaker foundations. The skills don’t replace instruction; they make instruction more effective.
What If My Child Seems Behind?
Early literacy development varies enormously, and most variation is completely normal. But some patterns are worth noting.
Talk to your child’s pediatrician if:
- Your child shows no interest in books or being read to by age 2
- Your child has significant difficulty rhyming or hearing similar sounds in words by age 4
- Your child cannot recognize any letters by age 5
- Your child shows no print awareness (doesn’t understand that books are read front to back, that text moves left to right) by age 5
These aren’t automatic concerns — they’re patterns worth mentioning. Early identification of language or literacy difficulties, when they exist, consistently produces better outcomes than waiting. Your pediatrician is the right first conversation.
FAQ: What Parents Actually Search About Early Literacy
What are early literacy skills? Early literacy skills are the pre-reading foundations that develop between birth and age 5. Researchers identify six core skills: vocabulary (knowing words), print motivation (loving books), print awareness (understanding how print works), narrative skills (understanding story structure), letter knowledge (knowing letters and their sounds), and phonological awareness (hearing the sounds within words). These skills predict reading success more reliably than any other kindergarten-entry measures.
How do I build early literacy skills at home? The most effective approach is daily shared reading with conversation — pausing to name things, ask questions, and expand on what your child says. Beyond reading: talk constantly, narrate daily routines, sing songs and rhymes, point out letters in the environment, and tell stories at dinner. None of this requires special materials or structured lessons.
What is print awareness and how do I develop it? Print awareness is the understanding that print carries meaning and that it works in specific ways — left to right, top to bottom, with spaces between words. Develop it by occasionally running your finger under text while reading aloud, pointing out print in the environment (signs, menus, packages), and letting children see you reading regularly.
What is phonological awareness and why does it matter? Phonological awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds that make up words — rhyming, identifying beginning sounds, clapping syllables. It’s the single strongest individual predictor of early reading success because decoding requires connecting letters to sounds, and you can’t make that connection if you can’t hear the sounds. Build it through songs, rhymes, and books with strong rhythmic text.
What is print motivation and how do I build it? Print motivation is a child’s interest in and enjoyment of books. Build it by making reading consistently pleasurable — never forced, always warm, with choice and repetition honored. Keep books physically accessible. Read aloud with expression and genuine engagement. Let your child see you read for pleasure.
At what age should early literacy skills develop? All six early literacy skills begin developing at birth and continue developing through the preschool years. Most children show significant growth across all six areas between ages 2 and 5. The goal is not to “complete” these skills by a specific age but to provide a rich language and reading environment that supports continuous development through kindergarten entry.
How does reading aloud build early literacy skills? Shared reading simultaneously builds all six early literacy skills: it exposes children to rich vocabulary, builds print motivation through positive associations with books, develops print awareness when adults point to text, builds narrative skills through story structure, introduces letter knowledge through text, and reinforces phonological awareness through rhyme and rhythm. No other single activity builds all six skills at once.
One Last Thing
The preschool teacher was right. The children who arrive at school loving books become better readers — not because love is magic, but because love drives behavior, and behavior drives skill.
A child who loves being read to will be read to more. A child who is read to more will have a richer vocabulary, stronger narrative skills, better phonological awareness, more print awareness. All of this will make learning to read easier, which will make reading more rewarding, which will make the child want to read more.
The loop is self-reinforcing. Your job, in the early years, is to start it spinning.
You probably already are. Now you know why it matters.
Keep exploring on ZestRead:
- Dialogic Reading: The Simple Technique That Makes Every Storytime Count
- What Age Do Kids Learn to Read? Reading Milestones by Age
- How Many Words Should a 2-Year-Old Know?
- Best Books for 2-Year-Olds: What They’ll Actually Sit Still For
- Best Books for 3-Year-Olds: What Actually Works at Storytime
- Classic Children’s Books Every Family Should Own: A Real Mom’s Guide by Age
References
- National Early Literacy Panel. (2008). Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. National Institute for Literacy. https://lincs.ed.gov
- Hart, B., & Risley, T.R. (1995). Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children. Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
- Whitehurst, G.J., & Lonigan, C.J. (1998). “Child Development and Emergent Literacy.” Child Development, 69(3), 848–872.
- American Library Association. (2011). Every Child Ready to Read, 2nd Edition. Public Library Association / Association for Library Service to Children. https://www.ala.org
Laura Bennett is the founder of ZestRead and a mom who didn’t know what phonological awareness was until her daughter was four — and then realized she’d been building it for years through bedtime songs and rhyming games without knowing it had a name. She writes about children’s reading, early literacy, and the ordinary moments that build extraordinary readers. Reach her at info@zestread.com