Reading to Young Children

Mother with young daughter sitting on her lap. Mother is reading to the baby.

"Although reading and writing abilities continue to develop throughout the life span, the early childhood years -- from birth through age eight--are the most important period for literacy development." --IRA & NAEYC Position Statement, 1998

What We Know | Activities | Special Needs

 

What We Know

Age Level

Reading Milestones: Babies
0-2 years
Reading Aloud to Infants and Toddlers At Home and In the Classroom Promotes Early Language and Literacy Skills
0-3 years
The Effects of Reading to Infants and Toddlers on Their Early Language Development (pdf)
0-3 years
The Relationship between Age of Onset and Frequency of Reading and Infants' and Toddlers' Language and Literacy Development (pdf)
0-3 years
Why it is Never Too Early To Read With Your Baby (pdf )
0-3 years
Babies First Picture Books (video)
0-3 years
Using Electronic Books in the Classroom to Enhance Emergent Literacy Skills in Young Children (pdf)
0-5 years
Relationships between Inferential Book Reading Strategies and Young Children's Language and Literacy Competence (pdf)
0-5 years
Reading Aloud - Video Clips
0-6 years
Parents, Books and the Roots of Literacy (podcast)
0-6 years
Is Something as Simple as Reading with My Child Worth It?
0-8 years
What Children Like in Books (pdf)
6 month to 5 years
Reading Tips (pdf)
6 month to 5 years
What Works Clearinghouse: Dialogic Reading
0-8 years
What Works Clearinghouse: Shared Book Reading
0-8 years
Children’s active participation in reading and storytelling can enhance early literacy learning (pdf)
2-5 years
Teaching Vocabulary in Storybooks: Embedding Explicit Vocabulary Instruction for Young Children (pdf)
2-6 years
Increasing Young Children's Contact with Print During Shared Reading: What Works Clearinghouse quick review
3-5 years
CONNECT Web-Based Module of Dialogic Reading Practices
3-5 years
Descriptive Observations of Ebook Shared Reading at Preschool (pdf)
3-5 years
Repeated Book Reading and Preschoolers' Early Literacy Development (pdf)
3-5 years
Early Literacy: Narrative Skills - video
3-5 years
Repeated Interactive Read-Alouds in Preschool and Kindergarten
3-7 years
Using Think-Alouds to Improve Reading Comprehension
3-7 years

Top of Page

Activities

Age Level

Sharing Books With Your Baby
0-2 years
Tips on Choosing Books for Babies and Toddlers
0-3 years
How to Make a Personalized Book for Preschoolers
0-5 years
Reading to Two: A Double Challenge
0-5 years
The Do’s and Don’ts of Read-Aloud
0-8 years
Finding the Right Book for Every Child (pdf)
0-8 years
Sharing Books with your 1-Year-Old (pdf)
1 year
Sharing Books with Your 2-Year-Old (pdf)
2 years
Great Early Literacy Books for Talkers
2-3 years
Sharing Books with Your Toddler
2-4 years
Adventures in Reading: Family Literacy Bags
3-5 years
Read With Me (podcast)
3-5 years
Preschool Reading Comprehension and Sequencing
3-5 years
Lil' Fingers Storybooks
3-5 years
Dialogic Reading: How to actively involve your Child in Reading
3-5 years
Read It Again! (podcast)
3-5 years
Nine Great Times to Read in Child Care Settings
3-6 years
Use a PEER When you Read Aloud
3-6 years
Practice Storytelling with a Plot Potluck!
3-6 years
Great Early Literacy Books for Pre-Readers
4-6 years
Sharing Books with Your School-Age Child (pdf)
5-11 years

Top of Page

Special Needs

Age Level

Creating and Using Tactile Experience Books for Young Children with Visual Impairments
0-5 years
0-6 years
Shared Reading: It’s About the Interaction (module from Literacy for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
0-8 years
Adapting Simple Books to Support Language Acquisition
0-8 years
Directions for Making Texture Books (pdf)
0-8 years
Reading with Young Children Who Sign
1-6 years
Sharing Books with ALL Children (pdf)
1-8 years
20 ways to Adapt the Read Aloud
3-8 years