Early Literacy Resources - Concepts About Print

Print awareness helps children understand that words they see, hear and speak are connected and carry meaning. Letters and words in the form of street, restaurant, store signs, posters, food labels, books, etc., are environmental print. When children begin to connect printed, and spoken language, a strong foundation for learning to read and write is formed.

Providing opportunities to engage with letters, words, and sentences in the home and outdoors is excellent for exposing young children to the essential pre-reading skill of print awareness. Below you will find five ways to bring concepts of print into your home as part of your daily life and routines.

1) Sharing Books

Make reading books with your child a part of your daily routine.
Model reading left to right.
Model reading top to bottom.
Talk about the parts of a book (front cover, back cover, spine, title, illustrations)
Point out and talk about the letters, words, and sentences in the books you read.

2) Environmental Print

When you are out and about, point to letters and words on signs, restaurants and shops
Use a marker and index cards to create labels. Write the names of some items in your home (chair, table, door) and attach the label to that item. Point out the letters on the labels. Discuss what the item is and how the label has the item's name written on it.
Talk about the letters in the child's name and the sounds they represent.
Point out the letters on the keyboard of your computer.
Read cereal boxes and other food packaging at mealtime or when out shopping at the grocery store.
Take babies and young children to the library to explore books and participate in story time events.

3) Books, Videos and Games

Play with alphabet puzzles with both upper and lower case letters.
Read alphabet books.
Play card games like Alphabet Go Fish or upper and lower case letter matching games.
Watch children's programming that focuses on introducing print concepts like letters, words, sentences, and the features of books.
Have upper and lower case magnetic alphabet letters available.

4) Model How Books Work

Model how a book is held.
Model turning the pages.
Talk about how the words tell the story.

5) Point out Punctuation

As you are reading with your child, periodically point out punctuation marks.
If you are pointing out an exclamation mark, explain that it is used to show excitement. Read that sentence with expression illustrating the use of punctuation.
If you are pointing out a question mark, explain that it is used to ask something. Read that sentence with expression illustrating the use of punctuation.
Point out punctuation marks on street or shop signs in your environment. This sign has a question mark like the one in the story we read, where the character wanted to know something, so they asked a question. Connect it back to your reading.

For more information on promoting pre-reading concepts of print skills, check out this video here.
Also, download my Early Literacy Handbook here.
Download a variety of Alphabet Cards included free in my set 1 literacy kit here.

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