What is a key indicator of a child's emerging literacy skills during reading activities?

Displaying book-handling skills is a fundamental indicator of a child's emerging literacy skills. When children can properly handle books—such as knowing how to hold a book, turning pages, and recognizing that text is read from left to right—they demonstrate an awareness of how books function. This foundational skill is crucial because it reflects the child's ability to engage with text in a meaningful way, which is essential for developing further literacy competencies.

The other options, while related to literacy, indicate more advanced levels of comprehension or skills that typically develop later. Understanding complex narratives and identifying literary themes require a higher level of cognitive development, critical thinking, and comprehension that may not be present in emerging readers. Memorizing text, on the other hand, suggests a focus on rote learning rather than a true understanding of reading mechanics or content. Therefore, book-handling skills serve as a practical and observable metric of a child's initial steps into literacy.