Early Childhood - Connecticut State Department of Education

Language And Literacy Development Chapter 5
CONCEPTS ABOUT PRINT
AND WORD AWARENESS
Performance Standards
Demonstrate book awareness.
Recognize matching sounds and some printed letters.
Recognize several printed words.
Reading books with adults presents opportunities for
children to notice print and develop an interest in reading.
Experiences of connecting with stories and other texts
are powerful for increasing vocabulary and developing
background knowledge, and may contribute to reading
achievement in the elementary years (Dickinson and
Neuman, 2002).
As children witness significant adults using
print for a variety of purposes, they become interested
in the many functions of language, and learn that
reading and writing are ways to gather information
and to communicate their ideas. Research indicates
that children benefit from intentional instruction and
modeling of concepts such as: the story title and author,
the difference between words and letters, the progression
Teacher Strategies
Draw attention to the cover of the book, and the
location of the title and author.
When modeling writing, articulate aloud that you are
starting on the left side and when you get to the end
of your thought you will use a period.
Motivate a “love for words” with children by
modeling language that is rich with descriptive
words.
Assist children in recognizing the difference between
individual letters and words.
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of reading and writing from left to right, and the one-toone
correspondence between words in text and words
read (Morrow, 2001; National Research Council, 1998).
Exposing children to print-rich environments is not
enough. Teachers must plan opportunities to draw
children’s attention to these important concepts.
Reading experiences help children learn to
distinguishlettersfromnumbersandrecognizetheirown
name and many sight words from environmental print.
Although they may not yet grasp the ideas that letters in
printed words represent sounds, they begin writing by
experimenting with letters and creating strings of letters
to convey their message. Spaces between letters and
words often emerge as children develop the idea that
words are separate units. At this time children create
visual images for words that correspond to the object.
For example, a child might take a great deal of space to
write bus because a bus is long. But the corresponding
word symbol for mosquito, representing something very
tiny, might be only a few letters. Eventually, through
experiences with books and words, children come to
understand that a word represents an idea or object and
is not tied directly to its size or power.
Suggested Experiences
Point out the title, author and illustrator’s names.
Suggest that children can be authors of their own
books.
Find opportunities to write with the children, such
as thank-you notes or morning news. Intentionally
support concepts about print as you write their
thoughts. Point out and discuss that some words are
long and others short, and that there are many words
in a sentence.
Build a collection of big and small books for shared
reading. Encourage children to use them during choice
time and free play. Children reenact the reading times
they witness.
Call children’s attention to signs in the community.
Encourage them to “read” them to their parents.
Play games where children are asked to find favorite
letters or words they know in stories or around the
room.
Label areas like cubbies and children’s mailboxes with
print and pictures to facilitate word recognition.
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