The Resource Site for Families and Educators
Early Literacy Milestones
6 - 12 Months
MOTOR
- Reaches for book
- Puts book in mouth
- Sits in lap, head steady
- Turns pages with adult help
COGNITIVE
- Looks at pictures
- Vocalizes, pats pictures
- Prefers pictures of faces
WHAT PARENTS CAN DO
- Use books that child can safely put in mouth
- Choose books with large pictures and few words
- Hold child comfortably, with face-to-face gaze
- Follow baby's cues for "more" and "stop"
- Point to and name pictures
12 – 18 Months
MOTOR
- Sits without support
- May carry book
- Holds book with help
- Turns board pages, several at a time
LANGUAGE AND COGNITIVE
- Points at pictures with one finger
- May make same sound for particular picture
- Points when asked, “Where’s …?”
- Turns book right side up
- Gives book to adult to read
WHAT PARENTS CAN DO
- Respond to child’s prompting to read
- Let the child control the book
- Name and describe pictures
- Ask, “Where’s the…?” and let child point
- Accept child’s short attention span and desire to move around while you read
18 – 24 Months
MOTOR
- Turns board book pages easily, one at a time
- Carries book around the house
LANGUAGE AND COGNITIVE
- Names familiar pictures
- Fills in words in familiar stories
- “Reads” to dolls or stuffed animals
- Recites parts of well-known stories
- Attention span highly variable
WHAT PARENTS CAN DO
- Relate books to child’s experiences
- Use books in routines, such as at bedtime
- Ask, “What’s that?” and give child time to answer
- Pause and let child complete the sentence
24 – 36 Months
MOTOR
- Learns to handle paper pages
- Goes back and forth in books to find favorite pictures
LANGUAGE AND COGNITIVE
- Recites whole phrases, sometimes whole stories
- Coordinates text with picture
- Protests when adult gets a word wrong in a familiar story
- Reads familiar books to self
WHAT PARENTS CAN DO
- Choose a variety of book types – picture, story, alphabet, rhyming and counting books
- Keep using books in routines, such as a bedtime
- Willingly read the same story over and over
- Point to pictures and ask, “What’s that?”
- Have conversations about the story
- Relate books to child’s experiences
- Provide paper and various markers
3 Years and Up
MOTOR
- Handles books well
- Turns paper pages one at a time
LANGUAGE AND COGNITIVE
- Listens to longer stories
- Can retell familiar story
- Understands what text is>
- Moves finger along with text<>/li>
- “Writes” name
- Moves toward letter recognition
WHAT PARENTS CAN DO
- Have conversations with child about the story and pictures
- Encourage writing and drawing
- Let the child tell the story
- Continue choosing a variety of books
- Provide plastic or wooden alphabet letters
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