Curriculum Corner-Developing Print Awareness by Leigh Volkers

It is very important for children to start pre-literacy activities at an early age. These activities will help children develop concepts about print. These concepts include knowing how to hold a book the right way, differentiating between print and pictures, and being able to tell the front of the book from the back. Once children have grasped these first basic concepts, children can move on to learning more complex concepts about text. Children will learn that one must read lines of text from left to right and then to go back to the beginning of the next line down. They will also learn that pages are read from top to bottom starting at the top left. Next children will learn to tell words from letters. Lastly, they will pick up on punctuation marks in texts. Each of these stages of gaining concepts can be aided by parents and family members. Developing concepts about print in children at an early age is invaluable to their literacy development. Without a firm grasp on these concepts, children will have trouble learning to read and write. These concepts about text give children the tools they need to read and to write by themselves. In addition, children's knowledge of these concepts in Kindergarten is a major factor in determining their literacy level. Developing these concepts through early literacy experiences is so important that both the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the International Reading Association state that failing to give children literacy experiences until they are of school-age can severely limit the reading and writing levels they ultimately attain (Rog, 2001, p. 10). As you read a book with your child, please select a few of the below items to complete with your child: Ask your child to find the front and the back of the book. Ask your child to find the beginning of the story and the end of the story. Ask your child to point to where you will begin reading. Ask which way you will go. Ask where to go when you get to the end of a line. Notice and discuss punctuation marks with your child. Ask your child to frame a letter with his/her fingers. Can your child name that letter? Next ask your child to frame a word with his/her fingers. Ask your child to find the first (and then the last) word on a page. Ask your child to find a capital letter (then a lowercase letter). Ask your child to find the first letter in a word (then the last letter in a word).