Normally one of a child's first attempts at the written word is to write her own name. It is a good representation of a child's cognitive development and her understanding of the connection between written and spoken language.
Accurate, rapid naming of the letters of the alphabet is one of the best indicators of early reading achievement. Children are asked first to name upper case letters, and if they are mostly accurate, they are asked to identify lower case letters as well.
The ability to recognize individual sounds in a word and identify rhyming words are important skills to have before beginning to learn to read.
An essential part of becoming a reader is knowing that writing represents the sounds of spoken words. Children should be able to identify printed words in their environment, know that it is the print that is read in stories, and understand that there are different types of print for different functions.
There is a significant relationship between learning to read successfully and awareness of nursery rhymes. The rhythm and rhyming of these classic texts help children develop the ability to recognize rhyming.