Reading Readiness Milestones for 3-Year-Olds
- Handles books well – knows the front and back of the book and can turn individual pages.
- Gains more hand and finger control for drawing and scribbling.
- May continue to use the whole hand to hold crayons, markers or other writing tools.
- Shows longer attention span for stories – enjoys books with more words and remembers the sequence of events for familiar stories.
- Uses longer sentences when talking – includes more descriptive words and combines two simple sentences into one. (“I brushed my teeth and got my shoes.”)
- Asks questions – uses the words “what,” “where,” “why” and “who” to ask simple questions.
- Moves finger from left to right under print.
- Begins recognizing a few letters – these often are the first few letters in your child’s name or those at the beginning of the alphabet.
- Have conversations with your child – ask questions to see what your child thinks about an experience or a story and then elaborate on what your child said.
- Choose many different kinds of books, such as picture books, alphabet books, counting and story books.
- Give your child plastic, magnetic or wooden alphabet letters to play with.
- Provide writing and drawing opportunities – use unlined paper, old newspaper or chalk on the sidewalk.
- Show how reading and writing help you in your daily life – such as when you read recipes, write lists, send email or text notes.
- Does not enjoy reading stories – tends to resist book reading with you; does not bring you books to read.
- Does not hold writing tools with any control – cannot keep marks or scribbles on a large sheet of paper; does not coordinate looking at the writing surface with hand movements.
- Does not show steadily growing spoken vocabulary and sentences.
HOW You Read to a Child Is Important
Down by the Bay
Lola Loves Stories
Eating the Alphabet
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Top 10 Things You Can Give Your Child to Build Pre-Reading Skills
