Early literacy refers to the basic skills which enable children to become skilful readers. We can divide it into the following components: oral language (listening, speaking, communication skills), awareness of script and the ability to write (adequately developed fine motor skills), pre-reading skills (phonological awareness and the basic ability to recognise differences between letters / adequately developed auditory and visual perception), vocabulary (understanding words), as well as general knowledge of the world, acquired before starting school. The study presented in this paper was conducted with the aim of determining the differences between boys and girls in their year before starting school, namely in the areas of fine motor skills, auditory perception, speech, pre-reading skills, and reading readiness. The study was conducted using a sample of children between 6.3 and 7.2 years of age, and their teachers. The surveys given to the participants were related to the assessment of fine motor skills, auditory perception, speech, pre-reading skills, and reading readiness. The results of this study can serve as quality guidelines for a better selection of more appropriate activities for acquiring early literacy before starting primary school, while also respecting the individual differences of each child.
Keywords: Early literacy, children, pre-reading skills, reading.
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