LumiraWhat happens at this level
Oral language, rhyme, and phonological awareness before print. Entirely oral by design — no letter tiles or books yet.
There are no books at this level by design — it is entirely oral. Phonological awareness develops before print, and pushing letters too early gives a child something to fail at rather than something to build on.
The research behind it
This level's sequencing is taken from published structured literacy frameworks rather than designed in-house:
- Chall (1983/1996), Stage 0: Prereading
- IDA Structured Literacy Knowledge and Practice Standards — phonological awareness domain