This article presents pedagogical approaches to the development of the foundations of early literacy among first graders students, which are systematized within the framework of a monographic study «Formation of literacy fundamentals in first grade children: psychological and pedagogical aspect». The article provides indicators of the functional literacy of Kazakhstani schoolchildren, presents a classification of the types of "literacy" and "new literacy", and gives the modern concept of literacy. Also presented are the scientific-theoretical, methodological, procedural (technological) and instrumental stages of the study, types of correctional tasks, the result. The article presents world and domestic measures of the foundations of early literacy among first-graders, the role of reading skills. Separately, it should be noted the importance of international measurement procedures, in which Kazakhstani schoolchildren take part. These include are PIRLS, PISA, TIMSS. In many countries, tools for assessing the educational environment in preschool and school are used, for example, ECERS и  SACERS, Early Development Instrument (EDI). The State Program for the Development of Education in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2020-2025 includes the participation of Kazakhstani schoolchildren in the PIRLS, which assesses the quality of reading and comprehension of text on an international level. In the experimental part, we involved 640 first grade students in Uralsk. The following diagnostics became diagnostic tools: methods  of  M.R. Ginzburg, a projective technique for diagnosing school anxiety (A.M. Prikhozhan).  The results of the research were a system of concepts according to the concept of "early literacy", the results of pedagogical diagnostics, and recommendations.