Print Awareness

Print awareness is one of the six early literacy skills necessary for a child to have in order to be ready to learn to read. Print awareness is noticing print everywhere, understanding how to hold a book properly, and understanding that the words and letters on the page have meaning.

Children have to understand how a book works before they can be ready to read. They should know that books have front and back covers, are held a certain way, and that you read from the top of the page down and left to right (in English). They need to know that the words have meaning and that the words and pictures work together to tell the story.

Here are some ways you can help your child develop print awareness:

· Start babies out with soft padded books or board books with rounded corners that they can grasp and chew. It’s important for babies to explore books with all of their senses.

· Point to the words in the book as you read.

· Let your child turn the pages as you read.

· Turn the book upside down and see if your child notices. If not, tell him it was not the right way for reading and turn it right-side up.

· Point out signs as you are out and about and read them to your child.

· Point out print wherever you find it – cereal boxes, restaurant menus, recipes, shopping lists, etc.

· Play “I Spy” with words you see while driving (for example “I spy an M” as you near a McDonald’s).

· Read to your child every day.

These are just a few ideas to help your child develop print awareness. The more your child is exposed to print, the more she will see how print is all around us and used in our lives every day.

Guest post by Allison C.

Making Print Pop!

Print awareness refers to a child's understanding of the nature and uses of print. There are several ways that you can make your child aware of print. When reading books, point to the words and follow along with your finger. You can also point out the words on signs when you’re out and about in your daily life. Recognizing that print exists is an important pre-reading skill because children need to realize that print is there for a reason, it is separate from the illustrations, it is organized in certain ways, and it represents the words and the sounds we say when we talk. In fact, a study found that when teachers did brief print awareness activities when they read, their students became much more attuned to print concepts, and two years later, “[c]ontrolling for fall of preschool emergent literacy skills, children in the high-dose STAR condition had higher word reading, spelling, and comprehension outcomes than children in the comparison condition.”

Guest post by Sarah H. 

Point it Out!

Did you know that when they’re listening to books, 95% of kids’ visual attention is on the pictures? To help your children see that you’re reading the words and not the pictures, try pointing to words as you read. You don’t have to do this for the entire book, but doing it periodically or for repeated phrases will help your kids notice that books contain more than just the illustrations!

Literacy on the Go!

 

Print awareness includes the understanding that print has meaning and the idea that print is all around us. Not surprisingly, it’s a tremendously important pre-reading skill. It’s also a skill that you can foster while you’re going about your busy life. Next time you’re in the car, point out traffic signs and store signs/symbols. While you’re waiting in the doctor’s office or in line at the grocery store, check out the signs and labels, pointing out what they say and what they mean. All of this will help your child see the relationship between the written and spoken word, an important skill for a pre-reader.

 

You don’t have to be home and reading a book with your child to help him develop early literacy skills. This is just one of the many things that busy parents can do to help advance and reinforce these skills while you’re on the go!

There Are WORDS on This Page?!

The illustrations in picture books are often times what attract kids to them. So, it makes sense that when listening to you read a story, your child will primarily focus on the pictures. And, when she’s not looking at the pictures, she’s probably watching you as you read, especially if you’re an animated reader. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with looking at the illustrations and your amusing facial expressions, looking at the print on the page can really help your child learn valuable information about letters, sounds, and words. Here are some tips for helping your child notice and learn from the text:

 -Simply run your finger under the words as you read them. This will help your child see the relationship between the spoken and written words. If you don’t want to do this for the entire book, you can just point out certain parts, like when a character is speaking.

 -Talk about the different parts of the book when you read it. On the cover, point out the title, author, and illustrator and describe what they are. As you read, show your child where you begin—on the left side, at the top—and how you move from there.

-Point out different letters that you see. Your child will get excited to find ones that she knows, like the first letter of her name. It's also a good way to teach her letters with which she’s less familiar. In addition, you can talk about lowercase and uppercase letters and show how they look different in the book.

Doing all of this will contribute to your child’s print awareness and can have a big impact on her future reading success. Hopefully she'll soon begin to notice that there are, in fact, words on the pages of her books. J

Play with a Purpose!

 

When promoting early literacy, the five practices are key—talking, reading, writing, singing, and playing. Playing is one thing that, as parents, you are constantly doing with your children. Thank goodness, too, because that interaction is incredibly important on so many levels. Even though play of any kind is beneficial, you can target certain areas of development by playing with a purpose in mind. Here are some ideas to reinforce different early literacy skills:

Phonological Awareness (hearing the smaller sounds in words): Play rhyming games with your child. Take turns thinking up words that rhyme with a chosen word. Or, play I Spy, giving clues like, “I spy something blue that rhymes with _______.”

Vocabulary: When your baby’s playing with a toy, use descriptive words to tell her what it is, how it looks, how it feels, etc. Hearing those new words will be a huge vocabulary-booster.

Print Awareness (knowing that print is everywhere and understanding that it has meaning): When you’re engaging in pretend play, make a menu for your restaurant or make labels for items in your pretend grocery store. This will help your child understand that the written words represent something else.

Letter Knowledge: Play with blocks of various color, shape, and size, and practice categorizing them. This will help your child when she starts trying to distinguish between different letters.

Narrative Skills: Act out stories together. You can even jazz it up by adding puppets or props. This is great storytelling practice for your little one.

Print Motivation (interest in/enjoyment of books and reading): Read a book using fun, silly voices. Your child will beg for more!

These activities are not only fun, but they’ll also help your little one prepare to read. So, don’t just play—play with a purpose!

Be Aware!

 

Print awareness is a broad term that includes the understanding that print has meaning, the knowledge of how to handle a book, and the idea that print is all around us. Print awareness is a really important pre-reading skill and is one that you can work on without too much effort as you read with your child.

Babies can learn to turn pages of a book. Even if it takes a little longer to finish the book, it’s worth the wait, since it helps them understand how a book works. Board books are great for this because they're so sturdy. In addition, when you’re reading to them, you can show them that pictures and words represent actual things. For instance, if you’re reading about a truck, point to the truck in the book, and then show them an actual toy truck.

With toddlers, turn the book backward or upside down and see if they notice. Even if you haven’t talked about the proper way to hold a book, chances are they will know that something isn’t right. If not, show them the correct way to hold it and how the pages can be turned when you’re holding it the right way. Another great way to help your toddler develop print awareness is to point to the words as you’re reading them. This will help them to understand that the written words represent the words you are saying, and you’d be surprised at how much doing this little thing will help them to learn to read words.

Your preschoolers love seeing their names written. When they draw pictures, write their names on them. Point out each of the letters and say their names as you're pointing to them. Also, when you're in the car or at a store, make sure you point to signs and writing on products. Realizing that print is all around us is important for these little ones.

Doing these LITTLE things with your children really can make a BIG difference in their journeys to become successful readers!

Coming soon: special storyteller guest appearances!

While I'm at home in the coming weeks taking care of my brand new baby bookworm, you are in for a special treat.  Each week one of our storytellers will be posting about her favorite books, songs, or rhymes.  With a whopping 80 years combined library storytime experience, our family of storytellers are knowledgeable, passionate and blessed with great senses of humor.  Don't miss their recommendations! 

I'll leave you with the Splendid Spotted Snake, a "magic ribbon book" that is quickly becoming my favorite new color book.  With each page turn, an additional strand of bold yellow ribbon appears making the snake "grow" as you read.  This feature makes learning colors AND which direction to turn book pages fun for everyone!

I Want My Hat Back

It is red and pointy, and frankly, the weather is getting nasty, so it is very important I find it.  This is essentially bear's dilemma.  Bear looks a bit more like an over-sized otter to me, but who am I to question the masterfully wry illustrations of Jon Klassen.  At any rate, this otter-ish looking bear queries an assortment of forest animals as to the whereabouts of his beloved hat.  They all agree they have not seen the accessory in question. 

Astute preschoolers will notice that a certain bunny is sporting a suspiciously red-ish, pointy-ish hat, but it takes Bear a few more pages to remember this detail about the guilty rabbit.  In a climax that may leave some in shock and others rolling on the floor, bear indeed reclaims his hat, and errr..."dispenses" with the rabbit.  When squirrel embarks on a similar journey, this time searching for the now-missing rabbit, bear swears, "I haven't seen any rabbits." 

This is surely a book that preschoolers, once they are in on the joke, will want to share with others, waiting eagerly to see their reaction when they discover what bear has done.  This is also an excellent choice for readers in early elementary grades learning about reading and writing dialogue, as each of the animal's lines appear in a different color.  If stories of comeuppance aren't your cup of tea, pass on this one.  Personally, I think the rabbit had it coming.

"Both of these babies,

as everyone knows, had ten little fingers, and ten little toes."

This repeated refrain in Mem Fox and Helen Oxbenbury's newest collaboration is pitch perfect for sharing with babies and toddlers.  The larger format of the book, called a "lap board book", is heavier than a traditional board book, making it better suited for sharing with children not yet strong enough to hurl it like a weapon. 

Remember that it's okay to let your little ones rough house with our board books, it's why we have them in such a sturdy format!  They are learning the basics of how to handle books before we give them options with flimsier pages.  We refresh our collection regularly, so bring in those ten little fingers and ten little toes to check them out!

Press Here.

Does deceptively simple and utterly delightful sound like your kind of picture book?  I dare you to pick up Herve Tullet's Press Here and not smile to yourself as you turn each page.  Each spread shows colorful dots and instructions for what to do with them.  Pressing, shaking, and rubbing make the dots change color and rearrange themselves on the page.  The premise is perfect for getting children involved in the reading process.  The "instructions" are funny and conversational.  After one page asks the reader to shake the book, the following page shows most of the dots have "fallen off."  The text reads "Oooops.  That might have been a little bit too hard.  Stand the book up straight to make those dots drop down again." 

If you can't get enough of these shape and color concepts, you'll love Lots of Dots and Dog's Colorful Day

I spy with my little eye...

a book! I spy Look! A Book! to be exact.  This "zany seek-and-find adventure" is perfect for kids who aren't quite ready for Where's Waldo or more detailed I Spy books.  The cut-outs on each page reveal something specific on the next, helping little eyes focus on what to find.  The rhyming words near each cut-out are also great for helping children make predictions.  For example, one double-page spread reads, "Look! A wheel! A seal! A banana peel! A moon! A spoon! A square balloon!" 

Use this with curious toddlers to help them associate print words with individual objects.  Make a game of looking through a circle made with your thumb and forefinger at objects around your house.

I can make you say "banana."

But you'll have to read this book to find out how...

The best way to help your children become familiar with books is to READ to them.  Yes, it really is that easy!  You may hear someone refer to this as "print awareness," and it simply means your child is starting to grasp that you are reading the black squiggly lines on the page instead of just describing the pictures.

Granted, any book will do, but why not practice with a hilarious option that makes the reader part of the story?  Mo Willems' most recent We Are in a Book! does just that and has the added bonus of two familiar favorites, Gerald the elephant and Piggie the pig.

If you love Mo Willems as much as we do, join us for a family storytime featuring some our favorites on Saturday, January 29th at the Centerville Library. It is appropriately called More Mo (I bet you can get the storyteller to say BANANAS)!

Snail Mail

Even in this age of email, text, and skype there is still something special about the ritual of opening the mailbox and finding a letter with your name on it, especially if you are a child. Have your child practice writing and storytelling skills by composing a letter or drawing a picture for a friend or relative. Hint: choose someone that you know will write back, so that you can check the mail together in anticipation.

Last week I received a delightful note from one of my former storytime girls in which she “reviewed” a book I recommended to her. The book, A Sick Day for Amos McGee, is about a thoughtful zookeeper and his sympathetic animal companions. The pencil sketches are startlingly beautiful and the relationship between Amos and his friends is filled with subtle humor and the quiet kind of love that comes from knowing just what to say to a friend in need.  It comes highly recommended from a certain story-lover I know.

Slobber Not Included

Babies explore their environment by touching, tasting and playing. This includes books! Our library children’s room has specially designed book displays that hold our books low to the ground for your children to explore. We also have a pretend book drop to encourage imaginative play.

Because board books have sturdier pages, they are designed to withstand the inquisitive hands (and slobber) of a baby or toddler. It’s OKAY if your baby bangs his/her book on the floor, tastes it or puts it enthusiastically in our book drop! These positive interactions will help your child become familiar with and learn to enjoy books. Look for the The Baby Hustle  for its unique interactive elements!

Hint: If you are ever trying to locate books with flaps or moveable parts, search for Toy and Moveable Books as a keyword in our catalog - we have hundreds!