Early+Literacy

​**Early Literacy **

Early literacy does not mean young children learning how to actually read and write. Early literacy is what young children need to know and what skills they need to posse in reading and writing before they can actually read and write. Early literacy includes vocabulary, phonological awareness, and letter knowledge and recognition. Early literacy is essential for young children to develop literacy skills needed to be successful later on in school when they are taught reading and writing. Almost half of all children in the United States enter kindergarten unprepared, that is they lack the necessary erly literacy skills to begin learning how to read and write. Research has shown that children who start school behind their peers typically stay behind their peers throughout the primary grades and even later. Teaching and developing young children's early literacy skills is essential for them to be successful later on when they develop skills needed to learn how to read and write.

This is an excellent [|website and resource for teachers about early literacy]. It provides assessments, resources, activities, checklists, charts, and other ideas about early literacy.

Another excellent website about teaching young readers, early literacy and helping struggling young readers- [|Reading Rockets]