Your child’s everyday environment is full of print—books, magazines, signs, labels, and more. At first, these written symbols won’t mean anything. But as your young learner gains print awareness, they’ll start to understand the connection between spoken and written words.
Print awareness is a component of reading and writing that we rarely think much about. Instead we tend to focus on the alphabet, spelling, or phonemes. But just as these concepts are essential for early literacy, so is print awareness.
It’s one of the building blocks that helps children develop strong literacy skills. But what exactly is print awareness, and why is it so important? Let’s dive in and find out.
Table of Contents
- What Is Print Awareness?
- Checking Your Child’s Print Awareness
- 12 Ways to Help Your Child Develop Print Awareness
What Is Print Awareness?
Print is everywhere around us. From the books, newspapers, and magazines we read to road signs and billboards we see as we travel the streets to labels on cans in our kitchens, print is omnipresent.
Print awareness helps us interpret all this information. Without it, we’d be stuck in a world filled with lots of letters and words that are neither here nor there.
A child with print awareness notices the print around them and so much more.
They also understand the structure of print (in English, we read from left to right and from the top of the page to the bottom) and that printed words have varying functions (a book tells a story, a restaurant menu tells you what you can expect at that restaurant, road signs help guide drivers, etc.).
You can say that print awareness helps us interpret the print we come across in our everyday lives and it is an essential pre-reading concept for children to grasp.
Of course, this understanding doesn’t happen overnight. Beginning at around two years old, your child will start to become more and more familiar with the purpose of books and how books and other reading materials function.
Why Is It Important?
Print awareness helps a child understand that written words communicate just as spoken words do—that you can say the words that are written down and that every word you say can, likewise, be written. This is not something a child is born understanding.
As children are introduced to different books and stories at school and at home, they may initially think of print and spoken words as two separate entities. However, with more exposure, the concept grows and becomes more sophisticated.
This is something that’s easy to take for granted. Consider this fact: Written language as a way to express and record our thoughts is only about 5,000 years old.
Humans, therefore, existed for hundreds of thousands of years without print. In other words, reading is not something humans are born knowing how to do.
In addition to grasping the connection between printed words and spoken words, print awareness helps children understand:
- Language Directionality: English is read from left to right and top to bottom. You start at the front and work toward the back when reading an English book. Focusing on print awareness will help your child learn how to hold a book and turn the pages.
- Text Organization: Authors don’t just put random letters on a page and call it a story. They use organization techniques to help improve comprehension. Your child will learn that texts have titles, words separated by spaces, and sentences with punctuation.
- Text Purpose: Different types of texts were written for different purposes. Print can be a source of information or enjoyment. It can also communicate ideas, persuade readers, or express feelings. Being able to identify the purpose of a text is an important skill.
- Text Function: Different prints have different functions—a book tells a story, a recipe gives directions for cooking, and so on. Print awareness helps readers learn to navigate all sorts of texts.
- Print Features: Text isn’t simply letters. It also contains punctuation, spaces, and illustrations. Some words might be written in bold or italics. These features work together to help readers understand the text.
By now, we hope you’ve realized the importance of print awareness in early childhood literacy. Without it, learning to read can become a challenge for kids of any age.
Benefits of Print Awareness
Children with strong print awareness have a head start in learning to read. Here are some specific benefits:
Improved Comprehension
Print awareness helps readers recognize patterns and better understand the information presented. This makes it easier to comprehend what you read.
Enhanced Vocabulary
Print awareness happens through exposure to different types of texts. As children read and interact with various print, they’re exposed to new vocabulary words and their meanings.
They’re also learning to look for clues, such as bold or italicized text, to help them understand the meaning of unknown words.
Better Writing Skills
Reading and writing go hand in hand. The more children understand about reading and how text works, the easier it’ll be for them to develop their writing skills.
Print awareness teaches them about different types of sentence structures and how to use punctuation marks. This knowledge will be valuable when they start writing on their own.
Improved Communication
Print conveys meaning, and print awareness helps readers interpret that meaning. Children with a strong grasp of this concept are better equipped to communicate effectively both verbally and through writing.
Boosts Critical Thinking Skills
Understanding how text is organized takes critical thinking skills. It encourages children to ask questions, make connections, and infer meaning from text. These skills are essential for problem-solving in school and everyday life.
How do you know if your emerging reader has mastered print awareness? Let’s take a look.
Checking Your Child’s Print Awareness
While reading at home with your child, you can make a few observations to discover if they’ve developed print awareness. Here are some things to look for:
- They are able to show you the title of a book
- They help you turn the pages
- They point to a word and ask, “What does that say?”
- They express an interest in writing their own name
While engaging with print helps develop print awareness, that is not the only way for children to learn this skill. You can also practice print awareness throughout the day—without it feeling like a chore!
For example, you might say a sentence and ask your child how many words are in that sentence. For example, after saying, “Let’s have dinner,” ask them, “How many words was that?”
After print awareness has been established, you can also get into the habit of helping your child understand different punctuation marks. For example, when you see an exclamation mark, point to it and explain that it tells you to read in an excited voice.n exclamation mark, point to it and explain that it tells you to read in an excited voice.
12 Ways to Help Your Child Develop Print Awareness
Now that you understand what print awareness is and why it matters, here are a few tips to help your young learner develop this essential literacy skill.
1) Read Books Regularly
There isn’t enough space in this article to fully explain the importance of reading books to children. But, in a nutshell, reading to children is the single most valuable action you can take to help them become enthusiastic readers.
Reading aloud helps children develop listening and language skills. It also helps expand their understanding of the world around them and stimulates their imaginations. Plus, there’s the fact that it can help improve their reading and spelling skills.
As you can see, reading offers some incredible benefits for kids (and adults), and the younger they start the better. Try to set aside a few minutes a day to read to and with your child.
While you’re reading, you can also do certain small things to help with print awareness. For example, run your finger under a sentence as you read it, and point out the title and author of the book, and let your child turn the page.
2) Teach The Alphabet
Teaching the alphabet doesn’t have to be reserved for school. You can help your child learn the alphabet anytime!
There are plenty of ways to make learning the alphabet more exciting while learning at home. You can:
- Read alphabet books
- Sing the alphabet song
- Use playdough to create letter shapes
These are just a few ideas. The sky’s the limit! The more you familiarize your child with the alphabet, the more comfortable they will be as they start reading themselves..
3) Write For Pretend Play
While reading books helps introduce young learners to print awareness as an essential part of stories, pretend play can help expand this essential skill.
Going grocery shopping later today? Ask your child to help you write down the grocery list. Baking something new over the weekend? You’ll need a recipe for that, and who better to help you write that than your young learner?
And don’t forget to make it fun! Our Mail Adventure Printables are a great way to encourage writing as part of pretend play.
4) Read Other Types Of Print
So often, we focus on reading books for print awareness. Of course, books are essential, but you can also help your emerging reader develop print awareness while going about your everyday life if you’re intentional about it.
For example:
- If you’re at a restaurant, read the menu to your child
- If you’re waiting for your turn at the doctor’s office, let your child flip through a magazine (that’s age-appropriate, of course!)
- While driving or walking, show them that the stop sign and what it means
- Before entering a store, point out how the sign on the store tells you what you can find inside
- Before playing a game, read the instructions to show that they help you play the game correctly
Avoid making these interactions “lessons.” Rather, think of it as simply verbalizing what you would normally internalize.
For instance, “There’s a stop sign. I better stop,” “I need the can that says ‘chicken soup’,” or “Look, peanut butter is on sale today!”
Try to make the interactions natural, not forced. When you do, your child will pick up a lot of skills from observing how you handle different types of print.you do, your child will pick up a lot of skills from observing how you handle different types of print.
5) Do an Author Study
While young learners aren’t ready for an in-depth dive into every aspect of an author’s life, they can learn a lot by doing a simple author study with you.
Pick an author you both enjoy with a unique writing style or easily recognizable illustration. Preschoolers might enjoy studying one of these authors:
- Dr. Seuss
- Mo Willems
- Eric Carle
- Laura Numeroff
- Robert Munsch
- Jan Brett
- Gail Gibbons
Once you pick one, here are some tips for doing a simple author study together.
Read Several Titles
Use the library and gather as many titles by the author as you can. Then, read each one aloud several times over the course of a few weeks. Each time, point out the name of the author and illustrator on the front cover.
Look for Similarities
Every book is unique, but authors often have a recognizable style. Look for similarities in illustrations or in how the story is told. As you read one book, you might say, “This reminds me of a page in this author’s other book…” and go on to explain how.
Create Your Own
After reading several of an author’s books, encourage your child to tell their own story or draw their own illustrations in that style. You might be surprised by what they come up with!
As your child gets older, you can encourage them to create their own book, like their favorite author. It’s a great way to practice writing.
Learn About the Author
See if you can find pictures of the author or a short biography. Learn about this person together. Is there anything in their life story that influenced their writing?
6) Read Symbols
Before your child learns to read, they’ll recognize environmental print. That includes logos and symbols such as the gold arches of McDonald’s or the red bullseye of Target.
Help your child identify these symbols by pointing them out around town, in magazines, or on TV. When their monthly Little Passports box arrives, point out the logo on the box and ask them if they know what’s inside.
This will help them realize that symbols have meaning—a precursor to reading words.
7) Make Cards for Others
Let your child practice their early writing skills while making a nice surprise for someone they care about. As they create a card, they can draw pictures, practice writing their name, or try to write a simple message.
When it’s done, let them help you put the card in an envelope and seal it. Then, you can show them how addresses get written on the envelope so the post office knows where to deliver it. This is another type of print they can learn about!
8) Capital Letter Hunt
Once your child can recognize several capital letters, hand them an old magazine or newspaper and challenge them to go on a capital letter hunt. They can use a highlighter or crayon to mark every capital letter they can find.
When they’re done, look at their work together for a few minutes. See if they notice any patterns about where capital letters usually appear. Show them how they’re often at the start of sentences or the beginning of specific words.
9) Focus on What They Did Right
Print awareness takes a lot of time and practice, so be sure to praise your child for their efforts along the way. Positive reinforcement can go a long way in helping them feel confident about their reading and writing abilities.
So even if they make mistakes or struggle with certain concepts, always point out what they did right first before addressing anything that needs improvement.
Here are some specific pieces of praise you might be able to offer a young learner:
- You left spaces between your words. That makes it so much easier to read.
- Look, you used a capital letter at the start of that sentence. That’s awesome!
- You showed me where the author’s name is on the book, woo hoo!
- You turned every page the right way and went from the front of the book to the back just like a pro!
10) Make a Grocery List Together
The next time you need to pick up groceries, ask your child to help you make a list. Depending on their age, you can have them:
- Watch you add each item to the list
- Draw a picture of each thing you need
- Write the initial letter for each item you need
- Attempt to write the whole list
When you’re at the store, have your child help you find the items on your list. Ask them to cross off each one you add to the cart.
This activity will help them see how print can be used daily. They’ll connect the word (or picture) on the list with an actual item.
11) Help Foster Digital Print Awareness
In today’s digital world, print doesn’t only exist in physical form. Your child will be exposed to digital print daily, whether on a computer screen, tablet, or phone.
They need to learn how to navigate this digital text. They’ll learn about links and buttons, and how to swipe and scroll.
You can help them become digitally literate by:
- Encouraging them to use education apps or games, like the HOMER app by Begin
- Letting them try typing on a keyboard
- Reading eBooks together and talking about different parts of the text like hyperlinks, page numbers, and headings
- Looking information up together on a search engine
12) Label Things in Your Home
Another way to reinforce print awareness is by labeling items around your home. This will help your child connect the written word with tangible objects.
Create temporary labels with sticky notes and a marker. Label doors, windows, tables, chairs, the couch, and other items.
Once you’ve labeled several things, you can:
- Ask your child to find two matching labels.
- See if your child can find a label that starts with the first letter of their name.
- Set a timer and see how many labels they can read in one minute.
- Have your child copy the word on a label.
- Pull off three labels and see if they remember where they go.
- Have your child organize their toys into labeled baskets.
However, don’t leave the labels up indefinitely. Otherwise, your child will become used to them, and they may not be as helpful. Instead, mix it up. Every few days, remove the old labels and put new ones on other items. This will keep things fresh and encourage more learning.
Reading and Writing Begins with the Basics
Here’s the good news: Children grasp many print awareness concepts quickly. Just a few times of watching you read from left to right on a page and they’ll start doing the same. Their absorbent minds are watching and taking in all that’s happening around them!
This means that print awareness isn’t really a complicated skill to teach but, rather, one that you can help develop in your child as they experience everyday life.
Helping to establish print awareness is one of the many focal points of the HOMER app by Begin. In addition, the app helps build confidence, promote problem-solving skills, and foster a lifelong love of learning.
As children get older, they’ll need to do more reading, writing, text interpretation, and so much more. Let us help you lay a firm foundation so your young learner can thrive through these stages! Check out our Memberships and take the quiz to see which product is right for you.
