Put Reading First

Becoming a reader involves the development of important skills, including learning to:

* use language in conversation
* listen and respond to stories read aloud
* recognize and name the letters of the alphabet
* listen to the sounds of spoken language
* connect sounds to letters to figure out the “code” of reading
* read often so that recognizing words becomes easy and automatic
* learn and use new words
* understand what is read


http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first2.html