Concepts of print

SARAH M. PILI
District ELLN Coordinator
Bago E/S
 Concept of prints

Refers to the awareness of 'how print

works. This includes the knowledge of
the concept of what books, print, and
written language are, and how they
function. It encompasses a number of
understandings that allow the reading
process to take place
 What are Concepts of Print?

• Reading from left to right

• Reading from top to bottom
• The fact that letters and words convey a
message
• Print is what we read.
• The "return sweep", to move from one line to the
next
• Illustrations in a book correspond to the print
• Every book has a front, back, and an author
• The alphabetic principle is the "understanding
that words are made of letters, which stand for
the sound we say when we say words.  It
includes the understanding that by putting
letters together in different ways, we make
different words.
Concepts of Print can be broken down
into two parts-
•Book Awareness
•Print Awareness.
 What Is Book Awareness?

• Your child has book awareness when

he or she knows how to hold a book
when they are reading and the parts
of a book.
Does Your Child Have Book Awareness?
• When checking to see if your child has book
awareness, hand him or her a book with the back
cover facing up or upside down. Next, you can
observe your child to see if he or she will turn
the book around or flip it over so that it is facing
the correct way for him or her to read.
You can ask these questions:

• Can you point to the front cover?

• What is the title of the book?
• Where is the author’s name?
• Where is the illustrator’s name?
• Can you point to the back cover?
• Can you point to the spine of the
book?
 What Is Print Awareness?
• Your child has print awareness when he or she
understands that the print in the book is what we
read and it has meaning. It tells a story or gives the
reader facts about a topic. A child with print
awareness understands that we read from left to
right and from top to bottom. He or she understands
that we move from one line to the next or “return
sweep” as we read too.
 Does Your Child Have Print Awareness?

When checking to see if your child has print

awareness, open a book and ask him or her these
questions:
• Where is the first word on the page?
• Where is the last word on the page?
• Can you find a capital or uppercase letter?
• Can you find a lowercase letter?
• Where is the first letter of a word?
• Where is the last letter of a word?
• Can you find a sentence?
• How many words are in the sentence?
• Where do I start reading?
• Which way do I go when I read the words?
• When I get to the end of a line, where do I read
next?
• Can you point to the words as I read?
• Can you find a period?
• Can you find an exclamation mark?
• Can you find a comma?
• Can you find quotation marks?
• Do the pictures match the text/words?
Why are Concepts of Print Important?

• teach children how reading "works“.

• teach children at an early age how to
orient themselves in terms of
reading
• foreign to beginning readers
•are a great predictor in a child's future success
as a reader
•influence a child's fluency and accuracy as a
reader later in life.
 How are Concepts of Print
Expected to Develop?
• Concepts of print start to develop early in a child. By the
time a child reaches school, they may still be developing
their concepts of print. There is no known sequence to
learning concepts of print. The order is dependent on the
child. Affective instruction early in a child's life is
extremely important. Many times, children will create
their own theories on how concepts of print work.  
Ways to learn concepts of print
• Read books to your child on a daily
basis making it a pleasurable
experience.
• Sit beside your child or hold him/her
on your lap. 
• When you see your child looking through a book
occasionally you may want to ask him/her to show you
the cover, point to the title, talk about the book as
he/she pages through it, and finally to show you the
back cover.
• Point to words when reading with your child to show
that print carries a message.
• Point to words when reading with your child to show
left to right movement.
• Periodically ask your child to show you where to begin
reading on a page.
• Have your child follow along with his/her finger as
you read a story
• Point to words on a sign at a store as you
read the sign.
• On occasion, have your child point to
first/last word or letters in a story you are
reading.
• When your child has learned to recognize
words such as “dog,” “the,” “friend,” the
name of your city, etc., make a game out of
looking for that word in a newspaper or
magazine.
• Read alphabet books to your child.
• Make alphabet cookies and refer to them
by name as they get eaten.
• When eating alphabet shaped cereal or
soup, point out the letters you eat,
particularly the letters in the child’s
name
• Make or purchase alphabet letters and
encourage children to play with them.
• Occasionally have your child find
examples of specific punctuation marks
in a newspaper, magazine, or story.
• Model using punctuation marks in
your writing.
• Build a print rich environment even
at home.
• Reference environmental print often.
• Do letter and number sorts.
• Name building activities.
• Do Book Walks or Picture Walks
• Encourage journal writing
 DIOS MABALOS!
MARAMING SALAMAT!
THANK YOU!
MUCHAS GRACIAS!