LitHubAZ
Effective Literacy Practices

A Guide for Practitioners

Reading is vital to a child’s ability to learn and be successful in school. But a child’s ability to read doesn’t happen automatically. Children develop important language skills from birth—and early language abilities are directly related to later reading abilities.


Intended Use

The key to literacy is a progression of skills that begins with the ability to understand spoken words and decode written words, and culminates in the deep understanding of text and written communication. Reading development involves a range of complex language foundations including awareness of speech sounds, spelling patterns, word meaning, grammar, and patterns of word formation, all of which provide a necessary platform for reading fluency and comprehension.

A Continuum of Effective Literacy Practices Task Force was formed in the early part of 2013 to help Read On Arizona align the work of the Arizona Literacy Plan, articulate the components demonstrated in effective practices in the implementation of those standards, and highlight examples of the comprehensive approach critical to success on the state’s path to third-grade reading proficiency. This approach recognizes that a reader’s journey starts from birth and there are strong components and critical milestones that guide the development of a healthy reader.


The key to literacy is a progression of skills that begins with the ability to understand spoken words and decode written words, and culminates in the deep understanding of text and written communication. Reading development involves a range of complex language foundations including awareness of speech sounds, spelling patterns, word meaning, grammar, and patterns of word formation, all of which provide a necessary platform for reading fluency and comprehension.

A Continuum of Effective Literacy Practices Task Force was formed in the early part of 2013 to help Read On Arizona align the work of the Arizona Literacy Plan, articulate the components demonstrated in effective practices in the implementation of those standards, and highlight examples of the comprehensive approach critical to success on the state’s path to third-grade reading proficiency. This approach recognizes that a reader’s journey starts from birth and there are strong components and critical milestones that guide the development of a healthy reader.


How to use this tool

  • To help early educators inform parents and families about their children’s learning milestones
  • To contribute to a unified vision for the early language and literacy continuum in Arizona
  • To provide a framework for implementing high-quality early literacy programs

How NOT to use this tool

  • As standalone teaching practices or materials.
  • As a checklist of competencies
  • As a standalone curriculum or program

The Four Legs of Emergent Literacy

Think of the four table legs represented here as the four components that form the foundation of literacy. When all four components are in place, the table is in balance. If one is uneven, the child’s emergent literacy skills are out of balance and that skill needs a little bolstering. For successful literacy development, all four skills need to be evenly developed in children.