Understanding early reading
Early reading is all about laying the groundwork for your child’s journey into literacy. It begins with listening, speaking, exploring pictures and print, and gradually learning to decode words using phonics. These foundational skills are essential for becoming a confident reader.
Why is it important?
Reading is a vital life skill and a gateway to learning. Encouraging a love of reading early on helps children develop language, expand their vocabulary, and understand how words and sentences work. It also supports speech development and opens up a world of imagination and knowledge.
What could early reading look like at different ages?
Up to 12 months
- Reaching for books
- Attempting to turn pages
- Exploring books by touching and looking at pictures
- Reacting to stories with sounds or movements
One to two years
- Recognising favourite book covers
- Pointing to pictures
- Turning pages independently
- Naming familiar objects and characters
- Repeating known words and phrases
Three to four years
- Handling books with care
- Talking about pictures
- Enjoying rhymes and action songs
- Identifying rhyming words
- Retelling and acting out stories
- Understanding reading direction (left to right, top to bottom)
- Realising that print carries meaning
- Noticing environmental sounds and print
Four years plus
- Predicting story outcomes
- Asking and answering questions about stories
- Retelling stories using words or pictures
- Suggesting alternative endings
- Recognising letters and sounds
- Sounding out words
- Matching sounds to letters
- Identifying common sight words
How can you support your child’s reading at home?
- Share books, rhymes, and stories regularly
- Visit your local library
- Create a cosy reading corner at home
- Let your child see you reading various materials
- Involve them in reading tasks like recipes or film titles
- Read in different places – the garden, bath, park, or a homemade den
- Give books as gifts
- Encourage book swaps with friends and family
- Explore pictures and photos together
- Ask open-ended questions like “I wonder why…”
- Use expressive voices and tones when reading
- Let your child join in and share their thoughts
- Use props or puppets to bring stories to life
Developmental milestones in early reading
Based on the Development Matters framework, here are typical reading milestones by age group. But remember, every child develops at their own pace.
| Birth to three | Three to four | Reception age |
|---|---|---|
| Enjoys songs and rhymes | Understands print has meaning | Says sounds for individual letters |
| Joins in with songs and rhymes | Recognises different purposes of print | Blends sounds to read short words |
| Says words from rhymes | Understands reading direction | Reads letter groups and says sounds |
| Copies gestures and finger movements | Knows book parts | Reads common exception words |
| Sings and recites rhymes | Sequences pages | Reads simple phrases and sentences |
| Enjoys sharing books | Identifies rhymes | Re-reads books to build fluency |
| Responds to pictures and words | Counts syllables | |
| Seeks favourite books | Recognises initial sounds | |
| Repeats familiar phrases | Talks about stories | |
| Asks questions about books | ||
| Plays with story ideas | ||
| Notices environmental print |