Children’s literacy - Western NSW LHD speech pathology

Early literacy skills, including phonemic awareness, rhyming, and print awareness, are vital for reading and writing development.

WNSWLHD speech pathology hero 2
On this page

Overview

WNSWLHD - Children's literacy icon

Early literacy skills are essential for later reading and writing development. Early literacy skills include:

  • knowing how speech sounds and letters of the alphabet are linked (e.g., the sounds each letter makes)
  • identifying sounds at the start and end of words (e.g., bus starts with a ‘b’ sound)
  • breaking words into sounds (e.g., dog has three sounds d -o-g)
  • clapping out syllables in words (e.g., birth-day-cake, a-ni-mal)
  • rhyming (e.g., cat, hat, mat)
  • print awareness (knowing about parts of books, such as the cover, title, and words on a page)​.

Literacy is a learned skill. Children are not born with the ability to read and write; they need to be taught. Literacy is important because it helps children to participate and learn at school and in other situations.

Some children have difficulty with reading and writing or with early literacy skills. Children with speech and/or language difficulties are at greater risk of developing literacy difficulties.

Speech pathologists can help children with their early literacy skills.

​Terms used to describe children with reading and writing difficulties include phonological awareness difficulties, dyslexia, and reading impairment. A speech pathologist can be part of the team working with a child to support their literacy development.

What is early literacy and how to help

​This short video explains:

  • What is early literacy?
  • What should a child know and when?
  • How can I help a child with early literacy difficulties?​​
3:52

Children's literacy

Children's literacy - What it is and how to help.

Read transcript
Video transcript

Children's literacy

Literacy skills or reading and writing are essential for children to participate and learn at school and in other life situations.

Early literacy skills include knowing how letters and sounds are linked, for example the letter s makes a ssss sound, identifying the sounds that make up words, for instance dog is made up of the sounds d-o-g, and print awareness which includes knowing the book title, where to start reading and which other words on a page.

Children need to learn these early literacy skills to be able to read and write.

Children begin their literacy journey by reading books with others and singing songs and rhymes.

They learn how letters and sounds are linked before learning how to read and write letters of the alphabet and simple words.

Some children have difficulty learning these skills.

Children with speech or language difficulties are at greater risk of developing literacy difficulties.

You can find out more about children's literacy skills in the, what should a child know and when section on this webpage.

If you have concerns about a child's literacy skills, a speech pathologist can help.

Speech pathologists can be part of the team working with children to support their literacy development.

There are also things that you can do while a child is waiting to see a speech pathologist for their early literacy skills.

You can read with children every day, have fun together, talk about the pictures and words on the pages of books, you might say they are climbing up the ladder or this word says cat.

Your local library will have lots of books to choose from.

Talk about words and pictures that start with the same sound, for example bat, ball and basket all start with a b sound or words that rhyme such as map and clap.

Talk about parts of the book such as the cover and practice turning the pages.

Talk about the letters, words and logos that you see around you every day, point out names of places, logos and symbols on signs for children at their favorite places to visit.

Words and letters are all around us.

Sing songs and rhymes with children, especially ones with fun actions to do together.

Reading books every day, talking about parts of a book, talking about letters, words and logos in everyday situations and singing songs and rhymes together will help give children a great start on their literacy journey.

To find out more information and ideas for activities that will help children with their early literacy development, see the what can I do to help section on this webpage.

​What should a child know and when

​​​Children learn literacy skills gradually. Children need to learn early literacy skills (e.g., print knowledge and phonological awareness skills) to be able to read and write. Children’s speech and language skills are foundations for reading, spelling and writing.

Children typically begin by engaging in shared book reading, songs, and rhymes. Children then learn letter-sound relationships, how to read and write the letters of the alphabet and simple common words. Children become more accurate and fluent readers and writers with lots of practise.

Reach Out and Read have a chart summarising children’s literacy development across different ages.

What you can do to help

You can help children learn early literacy skills in several ways.

Reading books aloud with children in an interactive way. This helps develop children’s speech, language and early literacy skills, and helps prepare them for reading and going to school.

  • Talk about the pictures in the book.
  • Point to the words and move your finger along the sentences as you read them aloud.
  • Make comments about pictures and words on the page (e.g., this word says go!).
  • Ask the child questions about the pictures and words (e.g., What do you think this picture is of? What do you think this word says?).
  • Talk about where the cover of the book is, and practise turning the pages.
  • Use intonation to create interest (e.g., by saying things in fun ways and using different voices).
  • Have fun and praise children for having a go and sharing the book with you.

Talk about words and their sounds.

  • Talk about words and pictures that start with the same sound, such as in alphabet books (e.g., pictures of door, dog, daddy all start with ‘d’).  You can pick out words that start with the same sound as the child’s name.
  • Talk about words that rhyme (cat and hat both end in -at, they rhyme).

Read with children every day. Books help children to learn the connections between words and objects/pictures. This helps them learn the meanings of new words and use those new words in their own talking.

Access to books is beneficial for children’s overall language development. Have a selection of books available for children to choose from. Younger children may like pop-up books or lift-the-flap books. Your local library has lots of books to choose from.

Talk about letters, words and logos you see. Point out names of places, logos, and symbols on signs for children at their favourite places to visit. Words and letters are all around us.​

Sing songs and rhymes with children. Many rhymes and songs involve actions which children enjoy.

Printable handouts

Here are handouts to download containing practical activities/ideas you can do with children to help their literacy development.

More information

Visit these websites for more information about supporting children’s literacy development:

Check with your local library for story time or other children’s groups that may be held at the library.

Please note: This web page has been developed for families by Western NSW Local Health District and​ Charles Sturt University, as part of a NSW Health Translational Research Grant titled “Waiting for speech pathology: Device versus advice?”.

Download as PDF Print this page
Top of page