Emergent Literacy

Although for most children formal reading instruction will begin when they start school, the period before this is often regarded as fundamentally important for successful literacy development.  Statements such as “there is no substitute for reading and telling stories to children, from the earliest days” are not uncommon.  There is a strong belief that reading to pre-school children is an activity that stimulates children to develop an interest in literacy. There are clear benefits to stimulating children's interest in reading activities. Children who are routinely questioned during storybook reading score higher on measures of vocabulary knowledge.

The research also shows that although the amount of reading that parents do with their children is not generally related to the children’s later reading ability, the manner of interaction is important.  Active participation in story-book reading is beneficial for later reading skills.  Children who are asked by their parents to pick out letters or words found in stories achieve higher scores on measures of reading skills than children whose parents simply read to their children.