What does a child's ability to point to words indicate during early reading stages?

A child's ability to point to words during early reading stages signifies their understanding of the correspondence between written and spoken language. This skill reflects the foundational concept that written text represents spoken words, commonly referred to as the concept of print. By pointing to words, children demonstrate that they can track text and recognize that each word corresponds to a spoken word, which is crucial for developing reading skills. This understanding is essential for building phonemic awareness and comprehension, laying the groundwork for fluency and overall literacy.

While developing reading fluency, identifying letters, and comprehending story details are important aspects of literacy development, they are more advanced skills that build upon the foundational knowledge of understanding the relationship between written and spoken words.