Print Awareness

Print awareness (also called concepts of print) is the understanding that print carries meaning,
that books contain letters and words. Print awareness also includes an understanding of what
books are used for and how a book "works" — how to turn pages, how to find the top and
bottom of a page, and how to identify the title and the front and back covers.

Print awareness is a child's earliest introduction to literacy. 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.

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 a
book — such as author and illustrator names, book title, and page numbers. They also learn
about book handling — including 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.

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.

To learn more about print awareness, browse the articles, parent tips, research briefs, and video
below.

https://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading-basics/printawareness

How to promote print awareness

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.
Read to children from books with easy-to-read large print. Use stories that have
predictable words in the text.

Use "big books" to help children notice and learn to recognize words that occur frequently,
such as a, the, is, was, and you.

Label objects in your classroom.

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.

Help children understand the relationship between spoken and written language.

Reinforce the forms and functions of print found in classroom signs, labels, posters,
calendars, and so forth.

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.

Teach and reinforce book awareness and book handling.

Promote word awareness by helping children identify word boundaries and compare words.

Allow children to practice what they are learning by listening to and participating in the
reading of predictable and patterned stories and books.

Provide practice with predictable and patterned books.

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

 the back of the book

https://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101-course/modules/print-awareness/print-
awareness-practice

PRE-READING ACTIVITIES
Pre-reading activities cover a range of possibilities, all directed at helping learners engage in a process of discovery
and to feel authorized to engage with the form and content of the text. What all successful pre-reading activities have
in common is that they are student-centered. The instructor has to identify the potential problems of readability
inherent in a chosen reading text, and then has to help students find ways to surmount those difficulties. Rather than
just provide answers or summarize the content, the instructor can help learners identify the sources of their reading
difficulties.

https://coerll.utexas.edu/methods/modules/reading/02/prereading.php

UNLOCKING OF DIFFICULT WORDS

earning new words when reading
The first way to figure out the meaning of a word is from its context.  The context is the other
words and sentences that are around the new word.  When you figure out the meaning of a word
from context, you are making a guess about what the word means.  To do this, you use the hints
and clues of the other words and sentences.  You won't always be right, but many times you will
be.  You might not be able to guess the exact meaning of a word, but you may be close enough to
get the meaning of the sentence it is in.  A basic strategy for unlocking the meaning of an
unfamiliar word is to search the context of the sentence in which a new word appears for clues.  
Sometimes this can be easy to do because the author may have provided a definition or
a synonym right there next to or near a term that you can use to unlock its meaning.  A definition is
a statement giving the meaning of a word.  A synonym is a word that means almost the same as
another.

Step 1: Check for synonyms or definitions embedded right there.  If you find a synonym or
definition, reread the sentence with the new term keeping that synonym or definition in mind.

Step 2: Check for an antonym clue.  If you find one, think about its meaning, actually telling
yourself the opposite meaning.  Then reread the sentence and rephrase it in your own mind.

Context Clues: Substitution

At times, rereading a sentence that contains an unfamiliar term and substituting a word or phrase
for it that makes sense can help you to unlock the meaning of the unfamiliar word. To understand
the substitution strategy, read the following sentence:

"When we stayed at the military base, each Saturday we

went to the commissary to buy the food and supplies we
would need for the next week."
Although you may never have visited a commissary, given the use of the word in this sentence,
you immediately can substitute the word store for the word commissary. You probably can wrestle
an even more complete meaning for commissary from the overall context of the sentence: a store
for food and supplies that is located on a military base.

Steps in the substitution strategy are as follows:

Step 1: When you read a sentence that you have trouble understanding because of an unfamiliar
word in it, reread the sentence and substitute a word that seems to make sense in the context.

Step 2: Read on.  If the word you substituted does not make sense in the context of the rest of the
paragraph, try again.

Step 3: If the sentence still does not make sense to you and you do not understand the main point
the author is making in the paragraph, look for synonym, definition, and antonym clues. If you are
still uncertain, check a dictionary.

Context Clues: Multiple Meanings

As you have learned, a basic strategy for unlocking the meaning of an unfamiliar word is to search
the context of the sentence in which a new word appears for clues.  This is especially important
when a word has multiple meanings that you already know and you must decide the particular one
that applies.   Try using the following strategy:

Step 1: Check the context for clues: definitions and synonyms given "right there" as well as words
of opposite meaning – antonyms.

Step 2: Substitute each meaning you know in the context of the sentence until you find one that
makes good sense there. (Hennings, p. 48)
https://www.cuesta.edu/student/resources/ssc/study_guides/vocabulary/811_vocab_clues.html

Motivation-motive Question
he motive question is referred to as part of the motivation.

- motive question is a query that is left hanging until the last part of the reading proper.
The question usually centers on an analysis of the entire reading selection or a question
that generalizes the entire reading question.

https://prezi.com/4ztedfo6wyen/motive-question/#:~:text=%2D%20the%20motive%20question%20is
%20referred,generalizes%20the%20entire%20reading%20question.

QUESTIONS:

Answer concisely. Give one (1) example each.

1. What is print awareness?

2. Why is unlocking of difficult words important?
3. Why is motive and motivation question important?