Reading Milestones for Preschoolers

Children begin to recognize familiar words. They may learn whole words that they can see, like stop signs, before learning individual letters.

Children learn that stories have a clear structure and specific elements. As children listen to stories, they learn that all good stories have a beginning, middle and end. Based on the book cover and illustrations, they learn to predict what the story will be about, what might happen next or how the story will end. Young children learn that there are characters in stories and that the setting (where and when it takes place) is something that a listener wants to know.

Children may “pretend” to read. Children who have been read to frequently will pretend to read books to themselves or to their stuffed animals, using their own words or phrases from the story. Parents and caregivers may also observe children incorporating pretend reading into their play — “reading” a recipe as they make a cake or “reading” a shopping list as they put groceries in their basket.

Children become aware that the world is filled with letters. During the preschool years, many young children will be able to recite or sing the alphabet. They may begin to recognize familiar letters, especially letters in their own names, followed by letters from parents’, siblings’ and friends’ names.