Word Wonders: A Free Early Language and Literacy Curriculum

Children can learn about language through everyday play. Download our complete preschool early literacy curriculum, activity guide and songs.

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Build Early Literacy Skills Through Play

Supporting Early Language and Literacy Skills

Strong early language and literacy skills help children enter kindergarten ready to learn—and they’ve been shown to support literacy achievement all the way to high school.

Our free, downloadable early language and literacy curriculum for children ages 18–48 months helps educators and caregivers nurture children’s learning across four domains that align with the science of reading:

Phonological Awareness
Print Awareness
Writing
Language Use

How does this learning take place? Through joyful, play-based learning experiences. Word Wonders is easy to implement and ready to use. No special materials needed. Each unit supports mastery through everyday interactions, movement, and play.

Word Wonders includes:

20 play-based early language and literacy activities that support foundational reading skills
10 specially composed songs and rhymes that strengthen language, listening, and phonological awareness
A Teacher’s Guide with implementation strategies, developmental guidelines, and an explanation of our research base (coming soon)
Easy-to-use classroom materials designed for integration into your existing preschool and early learning curricula

Built for Real Classrooms

We talked to early educators across the U.S. and they told us what they wanted from Word Wonders: Fun and flexible early learning activities they could adapt to different ages
High-quality children’s literature suggestions, designed to promote dialogue and engagement with children
Teacher instructions that aren’t too long or complicated
Guidance on making activities more or less challenging—so it’s easy to meet children where they’re at
Suggestions for embedding learning across daily routines and interactions

A strong foundation of language and literacy skills starts with meaningful early experiences with sounds, words, rhymes, and more. Word Wonders helps children build the skills that matter most — listening, communicating, and understanding — while having fun with teachers and peers.

Because early experiences don’t just matter. They shape what comes next!

Download the free Word Wonders early literacy curriculum now!

Inspired by evidence-based early learning practices, the Word Wonders curriculum helps children build vocabulary, phonological awareness, print knowledge, listening comprehension, storytelling skills, and a love of books through engaging, hands-on activities.

Fill out the form below to get the entire Word Wonders Early Literacy & Language Curriculum at no charge, including Teacher's Guide and songs!

The development of  Word Wonders was made possible by the generous support of General Motors Foundation.

What are early educators saying about Word Wonders ?

Word Wonders was developed with educators and tested in real classrooms.

Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what our pilot sites had to say:

"Literacy is a big area and there are many sub-domains under it. Word Wonders was great for us because each activity was labeled with the sub-domain so we always knew what components of the literacy umbrella we were addressing."

Program Director, Word Wonders Pilot Site

"We really enjoyed how so many of the activities included games with movement. When we had those movement activities, all the students wanted to join in too. These were so engaging!"

Early Educator,
Word Wonders Pilot Site

"I really love how the Word Wonders activities are tied to children's literature and a story sharing experience. It helps children to practice new skills in the context of a story - it makes so much more sense."

Early Educator,
Word Wonders Pilot Site

"Word Wonders boosted children's literacy learning because the prompts helped us start a conversation with the children about each story we shared. It gave us ideas of more we could do beyond just reading the story."

Early Educator,
Word Wonders Pilot Site

"Initially I worried about whether children would be able to stay with the activity, but Word Wonders was a great experience for seeing what children could do and learn."

Early Educator,
Word Wonders Pilot Site

Bring Word Wonders to your early education or preschool system!

ZERO TO THREE can help with professional development for teachers, a train-the-trainer experience, ongoing coaching, and more.

Why Early Literacy Matters

Early literacy is the development of skills that prepare children to read and write later in life. It begins at birth and grows through everyday experiences with trusted adults. Strong early literacy skills help children enter school ready to learn and support success throughout life.