Children who have an awareness of
print understand that the curvy lines on a page represent spoken language. They
understand that when adults read a book, what they say is linked to the words
on the page, rather than to the pictures.
Children with print awareness understand that print has different functions
depending on the context in which it appears — for example, menus list food
choices, a book tells a story, a sign can announce a favorite restaurant or
warn of danger.
Print
awareness
is understanding that print is organized in a particular way — for example,
knowing that print is read from left to right and top to bottom. It is knowing
that words consist of letters and that spaces appear between words. Print
awareness is a child’s earliest introduction to literacy.
While some children enter school with
print awareness firmly in place, others do not.
Print
Awareness: In Depth
Print awareness is a key pre-reading
skill. Children with print awareness can begin to understand that written
language is related to oral language. They see that like spoken language,
printed language carries messages and is a source of both enjoyment and
information.
Most children become aware of print
long before they enter school. They see print all around them, on signs and
billboards, in alphabet books and story books, and in labels, magazines, and
newspapers. Seeing print and observing adults' reactions to print helps
children recognize its various forms.
The ability to understand how print
works does not emerge magically and unaided. This understanding comes about
through the active intervention of adults and other children who point out
letters, words, and other features of the print that surrounds children.
When children are read to regularly,
when they play with letters and engage in word games, and later, when they
receive formal reading instruction, they begin to understand how the system of
print functions; that is, print on a page is read from left to right and from
top to bottom; that sentences start with capital letters and end with periods,
and much, much more.
As they participate in interactive
reading with adults, children also learn about the features of books — authors'
and illustrators' names, book titles, tables of content, and page numbers, and
so forth. They also learn about book handling — how to turn pages, how to find
the top and bottom of a page, how to identify the front and back cover of a
book, and so forth.
As part of this learning, they begin
to develop the very important concept of a "word" — that meaning is
conveyed through words; that printed words are separated by spaces; and that
some words in print look longer (because they have more letters) than other
words.
Books with predictable and patterned
text can play a significant role in helping children develop and expand print
awareness. These books are composed of repetitive or predictable text, for
example:
Two cats play on the grass.
Two cats play together in the
sunlight.
Two cats play with a ball.
Two cats play with a toy train.
Two cats are too tired to play.
Most often, the illustrations in these
books are tied closely to the text, in that the illustrations represent the
content words that change from page to page.
As they hear and participate in
reading the simple stories found in predictable and patterned books, children
become familiar with how print looks on a page. They develop book awareness and
book-handling skills, and begin to become aware of print features such as
capital letters, punctuation marks, word boundaries, and differences in word
lengths.
Awareness of print concepts provides
the backdrop against which reading and writing are best learned.
Print
awareness as a predictor of future reading achievement
Some children lack strong print
awareness skills when they enter kindergarten. When a child tests poorly on
print awareness tasks, it can be a red flag for future reading difficulties.
Effective early literacy instruction becomes even more critical to help that
child catch up.
Print
Awareness: In Practice
There are many activities that teachers,
caregivers, and parents can do to build print awareness skills in young
children. Here are some guidelines below.
How to
promote print awareness
1. Make
sure students know how books are organized. They should be taught the
basics about books — that they are read from left to right and top to bottom,
that print may be accompanied by pictures or graphics, that the pages are
numbered, and that the purpose of reading is to gain meaning from the text and
to understand ideas that words convey.
2. Read to children from books with easy-to-read large print. Use stories that have predictable words in the text.
3. Use
"big books" to help children notice and learn to recognize words that
occur frequently, such as a, the, is, was, and you.
4. Label
objects in your classroom.
5. Encourage
preschool children to play with print. They can pretend to write a shopping
list, construct a stop sign, write a letter, make a birthday card, etc.
6. Help
children understand the relationship between spoken and written language.
7. Reinforce
the forms and functions of print found in classroom signs, labels, posters,
calendars, and so forth.
8. Teach
and reinforce print conventions such as print directionality (print is written
and read from left to right), word boundaries, capital letters, and end
punctuation.
9.Teach
and reinforce book awareness and book handling.
10. Promote
word awareness by helping children identify word boundaries and compare words.
11. Allow
children to practice what they are learning by listening to and participating
in the reading of predictable and patterned stories and books.
12. Provide
practice with predictable and patterned books.
13. Provide
many opportunities for children to hear good books and to participate in
read-aloud activities.
Teaching Tip
To assess print awareness, give a student a
storybook and ask her to show you:
· - the
front of the book
· - the
title of the book
· -where
you should begin reading
· -a
letter
· -a
word
· - the
first word of a sentence
· -the
last word of a sentence
· -the
first and last word on a page
· -punctuation
marks
· -a
capital letter
· -a
lowercase letter
You can use the sample format below or
customize one that fits you and your students.
Before
Reading
·
Introduce
the story by stating the title, then the author's name and asking students,
"What does an author do?" (Students should respond, "Writes the
story.").
·
State
the illustrator's name and ask, "What does an illustrator do?"
(Students should respond, "Draws the pictures.").
·
Hold
up the book and say, "This is the front of the book, (turn it sideways and
state) and this is the spine." Turn the book to the back cover and state,
"This is the back of the book." Then ask, "Do we begin reading
from the front or the back of the book?" (Students should respond,
"From the front.").
·
"Let's
look at the picture on the front."
·
Hold
up the book with the front cover facing the students. Ask: "What do you
think will happen in this story? Remember, I want you to answer using complete
sentences."
·
Select
vocabulary words from the story that you need to discuss prior to reading the
story. Write them on sentence strips or on the board. Discuss the words with
students.
·
Please
note the use of open-ended questions that will require the students to give
responses that extend beyond Yes/No answers. Remember to use open-ended
questions as you read the story and in your discussion after the reading.
·
Encourage
students to draw upon what they know about the words from their personal lives.
For example, if the word is the verb fish, perhaps some of the children have
gone on fishing trips with their parents. Encourage a brief telling of personal
stories. Their personal stories allow students to make connections with the
text.
During
Reading
·
Briefly
discuss the pictures on each page after reading that page.
·
Encourage
students to guess/predict what will happen next.
After
Reading
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