Levels of Reading
Development
6-12 months:
Motor: reaches for book, puts book in mouth, sits in lap - head steady, turns pages with help.
Cognitive: looks at pictures, vocalizes, pats pictures, prefers pictures of faces.
12-18 months:
Motor: sits without support, may carry book, holds book with help, turns board pages.
Cognitive: no longer mouths, points at pictures with finger, may make same sound for a particular picture, points when asked "where", turns book right side up, gives book to an adult to read.
18-24 months:
Motor: turns board book pages easily - one at a time, carries book around the house, may use book as a transitional object.
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.
24-36 months:
Motor: learns to handle paper pages, goes back and forth in books to find favorite pictures.
Cognitive: recites whole phrases, sometimes whole stories, coordinates text with pictures, protests when adult gets a word wrong in a familiar story, reads familiar books to self.
3 years and up:
Motor: competent book handling, turns paper pages one at a time.
Cognitive: listens to longer stories, can retell familiar stories, understands what text is, moves finger along text, "writes" name, moves toward
letter recognition.
Motor: reaches for book, puts book in mouth, sits in lap - head steady, turns pages with help.
Cognitive: looks at pictures, vocalizes, pats pictures, prefers pictures of faces.
12-18 months:
Motor: sits without support, may carry book, holds book with help, turns board pages.
Cognitive: no longer mouths, points at pictures with finger, may make same sound for a particular picture, points when asked "where", turns book right side up, gives book to an adult to read.
18-24 months:
Motor: turns board book pages easily - one at a time, carries book around the house, may use book as a transitional object.
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.
24-36 months:
Motor: learns to handle paper pages, goes back and forth in books to find favorite pictures.
Cognitive: recites whole phrases, sometimes whole stories, coordinates text with pictures, protests when adult gets a word wrong in a familiar story, reads familiar books to self.
3 years and up:
Motor: competent book handling, turns paper pages one at a time.
Cognitive: listens to longer stories, can retell familiar stories, understands what text is, moves finger along text, "writes" name, moves toward
letter recognition.