Ready to read : developing essential pre-reading skills

Abstract

In my work as Educational Consultant to Ladybird Books, and in my work with parents of young children, and with teachers, I'm frequently required to summarise the key points of current research into reading and to talk or write about developing the essential skills for pre-reading. Interestingly, as more research is focused on children's reading, the more difficult my task is becoming. Research often appears to be contradictory and it is becoming harder to say without qualification that this or that pre-reading skill is one of the absolute essentials. My title here, developing essential pre-reading skills, therefore, is a challenge and I believe a useful one. All of us as educationalists need to be able to identify priorities, and to simplify - and this is especially the case if we develop our work to embrace parental involvement.