Print concepts, also known as print awareness or concepts of print, are foundational to literacy development. Without these essential early literacy skills, children will struggle to successfully read and write on their own. Thus, teaching these concepts is necessary in both the classroom and at home!
In this article, we will explain what concepts of print are, why they’re important, and how you can assess your child’s understanding of print concepts. Plus, we’ll share tips on how parents can teach these concepts at home, including fun print awareness activities and games!
Ready to learn all about print concepts and how you can help your child develop these critical early literacy skills? Let’s go!
What is print awareness?
First things first - what is print awareness? Before we get into the specifics, let’s delve into the meaning of this term. Here’s a simple definition.
Print Concepts Definition
Print concepts refer to a child’s ability to recognize and understand how written language is organized and used. Understanding concepts of print is essential for literacy development, spelling, and writing. In fact, print awareness is a top reading readiness skill.
But what are concepts of print, exactly? Below are some specific elements and examples that will clarify this definition.
Elements of Print Awareness
Print concepts, or the elements of print awareness, include understanding that:
- Books contain letters and words.
- Letters make up words, and words make up sentences.
- Spaces separate words.
- Words and sentences have meaning.
- Books are read from front to back.
- Pages are read from top to bottom.
- You read English words from left to right.
- Print has different purposes (e.g., to tell a story, to share information, etc.).
Print Awareness Examples
What do these elements look like in practice? Here are some examples of how a child might demonstrate print concepts.
- Pointing out print or words in the environment.
- Explaining what a particular form of print is used for (e.g., books tell stories, menus share information, etc.).
- Identifying individual words in a story.
- Picking out individual letters in words.
- Following along with the words on a page from left to right using their finger.
- Identifying the top and bottom of a page.
Now that you know what print awareness is and how your child might demonstrate concepts of print, let’s explore why these skills are important.
Why is print awareness important?
Print awareness is critical for the development of reading, comprehension, and writing skills. According to a study published by the Institute of Education Sciences and conducted by Herrera et al. (2021), evidence demonstrates that teaching children print knowledge and phonological awareness may improve decoding and early writing skills. Children may struggle with reading and writing without a solid grasp of print concepts. Thus, these skills are extremely important for children to learn.
Print Concepts Milestones
Is your child meeting early literacy milestones?
Many kids start to develop print awareness skills as infants, and their knowledge continues to grow throughout early childhood. That said, most print concept learning typically occurs from ages 3 to 5 (i.e., preschool and kindergarten).
Here are some important concepts of print milestones to look for.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember that every child learns at their own pace! Your child may reach these milestones earlier or later.
Print Awareness Milestones for Babies (Ages 0-1)
Although they don’t fully understand its meaning, babies begin to notice print in their environment. Therefore, it’s essential to help babies become familiar with books and text.
Here are some key milestones for babies ages 0 to 1 and tips for promoting print concept knowledge at this stage.
Key Milestones
- Shows interest in books (e.g., grabbing, turning pages, looking at pictures)
- Starts to understand how books work (e.g., by putting books in their mouth)
- Recognizes (some) familiar labels or logos (e.g., a favorite cereal box)
Print Concept Milestones for Toddlers (Ages 1-3)
At ages 1 to 3, children begin to understand and more clearly demonstrate the basic concepts of print. Thus, practicing print awareness concepts with toddlers at home is essential.
Here are some print concept milestones for toddlers ages 1 to 3 and tips for helping them practice these skills.
Key Milestones
- Can hold a book the right way up
- Recognizes that books are read from front to back
- Understands that English text is read from left to right and top to bottom
- Knows that print conveys meaning
Print Awareness Milestones for Preschoolers (Ages 3-5)
For many children, preschool is when they begin to develop more advanced concepts of print. Therefore, ages 3 to 5 are significant for print awareness learning.
Here are some key milestones to look for with your preschooler and tips for promoting print concept skills at home.
Key Milestones
- Recognizes individual letters and some corresponding letter sounds
- Understands that spaces separate words in a sentence and can identify the spaces between words
- Can recognize some familiar words, including their name
- Correctly mimics the act of reading on their own by holding a book the right way up, flipping the pages correctly, and following the text on a page from top to bottom and left to right
- Practices (or mimics) writing, adding spaces between “words”
Milestones for Kindergarten Kids (Ages 5-6)
Typically, ages 5 to 6 (kindergarten) are when children develop rapid print awareness.
Below are some key milestones for kindergarteners.
- Can identify all upper and lower case letters of the alphabet
- Recognizes familiar words, including their name and common kindergarten sight words
- Understands that written words have specific meanings and represent spoken sounds
- Can recognize basic punctuation marks like periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points
- Attempts to write sentences with proper spacing between words
- Can identify the front and back cover of a book and the book title
Not sure if your child understands print concepts? Here’s how you can tell.
Concepts of Print Assessment - Evaluate Your Child’s Print Awareness Skills at Home
Before your child can read and write independently, they must develop basic early literacy skills - including concepts of print. Therefore, assessing your child’s understanding of these concepts will help you determine if there are any skills they need to grasp to support their literacy development.
Before we look at how to assess your child’s print awareness, here’s a quick overview of the skills they’ll need to master.
Print Concepts Checklist
If your child demonstrates all the skills on the checklist below, they have mastered print concepts. If not, don’t worry - we’ve included tips for teaching concepts of print at home, including fun print awareness activities and games.
- My child holds books the right way up.
- My child understands that books are read from front to back.
- My child flips the pages of a traditional (English) book from right to left.
- My child can identify the different parts of a book - i.e., front cover, back cover, title, author.
- My child reads (or follows along with) English words from top to bottom and left to right.
- My child understands that print has meaning.
- My child can specify the first and last letter of a word.
- My child can identify individual letters (and their names) within words.
- My child can differentiate between capital letters and small letters.
- My child can identify single words in a sentence.
- My child knows that spaces separate words.
- My child understands that punctuation marks (periods, exclamation points) indicate the end of a sentence.
- My child can identify different punctuation marks, including periods, question marks, exclamation marks, commas, etc.
*Ideally, children should have these print awareness skills mastered by the end of kindergarten.
It is important to note that these skills do not develop overnight! Children gain some understanding of print concepts as they engage with the world around them. However, providing them with opportunities to develop these skills is essential. So, be sure to try some of the fun and educational games and activities below and offer your child access to helpful tools like the Booka reading app for kids.
Now, let’s look at how you can assess your child’s print awareness skills.
At-Home Concepts of Print Assessment
The informal concepts of print assessment below will help you determine whether your child has mastered the skills in the checklist above. Most importantly, this assessment will help you discover whether there are any print concepts your child still needs to learn.
Here’s how to assess print awareness at home.
1. Give your child a traditional English language book with multiple lines of text on each page.
2. Ask them to show you:
- How they would hold the book
- How they would start reading the book
- How to flip the pages when reading the story
- The front of the book
- The back of the book
- The title of the book
- What order to read the words in (e.g., ask them to run their fingers along the text as if they are reading)
- A letter (and to name the letter)
- Three words that have a specific letter (e.g., three words that have an ‘i’ in them)
- A capital letter
- A small letter
- The first letter of a word
- The last letter of a word
- A single word
- A space
- A sentence
- The first word on a page
- The last word on a page
- The end of a sentence
- A period
- A question mark
- An exclamation point
- A comma
- A quotation mark
Now that you know what print concepts your child should know, we’ll explain how to teach print awareness.
How to Teach Print Awareness at Home
Wondering how parents can promote print awareness at home?
Reading aloud is one of the best ways to teach print concepts. According to an analysis by Swanson et al. (2011), reading aloud with children has “significant, positive effects” on early reading skills, including concepts of print - especially with children at risk for reading difficulties.
But how does reading aloud help? Well, reading aloud allows you to demonstrate concepts of print. For example, you can point at individual words as you read them, show that you’re reading from left to right by tracking the words with your finger, etc. Thus, your child will learn by watching you!
DID YOU KNOW - digital read aloud books can also help teach print concepts? So, if you don’t have time to read to your child every night, have no fear - read alongs can help! Learn more about read along books, their benefits, and the best read aloud books in our Ultimate Guide to Read Along Books for Kids.
Here are some additional tips for teaching print awareness to children of different ages.
Tips for How to Teach Print Concepts to Babies (Ages 0-1)
- Read aloud to your baby daily. Use board books with prominent pictures and simple text.
- Point to and name objects in books to emphasize the relationship between pictures and words.
- Allow your baby to play with books (e.g., board books, cloth books, etc.).
- Show your baby how to turn the pages of a book - and encourage them to try.
How to Teach Print Awareness to Toddlers (Ages 1-3)
- Point out and read text during everyday activities (e.g., point out and read the writing on a cereal box).
- Read books out loud every day and use your finger to demonstrate the directionality of print. Use books with large text, simple words, and repetition.
- Start reading a book from back to front or upside down, and let your toddler correct you.
Tips for Teaching Print Concepts to Preschoolers (Ages 3-5)
- Ask your child to identify particular letters in words while you’re reading together.
- Have your child use their finger to follow along with the words in a read-aloud story.
- Use magnetic letter or alphabet puzzles to practice letter and letter-sound recognition.
- Write your child’s name (on a drawing, in a book, or somewhere else fun) and have them trace or copy it for practice.
- Encourage your child to try writing while playing. For example, ask them to write a grocery list or a letter to a friend or relative.
- Ask your child to “read” a familiar book out loud.
- Point out and read print in the world around you—for example, signs, packaging, menus, etc. Explain how print is used in different formats to convey various types of information.
- Use print awareness activities and games to make learning these concepts fun! (See print awareness game and activity suggestions below.)
How to Teach Concepts of Print to Kindergarten Kids (Ages 5-6)
- Read aloud with your child regularly. When doing so, be sure to point to the words as you read them (to demonstrate key concepts, like text directionality).
- Label items around the house. This will help your child connect spoken words with written words.
- Encourage your child to write stories at home for fun.
- Play letter-matching games.
- Have your child practice identifying upper and lower case letters.
- Integrate play-based learning (like the concepts of print activities and games below).
- Ask your child to point out familiar sight words while you’re reading together.
- Ask your kindergartener to point out different aspects of print, like spaces between words and specific punctuation marks.
- Use reading apps like Booka to practice print concepts with interactive stories.
Common Challenges When Teaching Concepts of Print
As we mentioned earlier, all children learn at their own pace. And, in most cases, delayed milestones are nothing to worry about. That said, in some situations, a particular challenge may cause delayed learning. In this case, it’s essential to recognize the challenge so you can successfully address it.
Below are several common challenges that can cause a child to struggle with concepts of print.
Linguistic Variations
Learning print concepts may be more difficult if English is your child’s second language. This is especially true if your first language uses reading and writing rules that differ from English.
For example, Arabic speakers may struggle with text directionality, as Arabic text is read from right to left while English text is read from left to right. In some cases, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages are read top to bottom, which may confuse children when learning to read English text from left to right.
To help overcome this challenge, read aloud with your child in both languages. Reading multilingual books can also help. Most importantly, make sure to explicitly point out the variations in the directionality of each language.
Lack of Exposure to Print
It can also be challenging for children to grasp print concepts if they aren’t exposed to enough written materials.
Providing your child with more English reading materials is the best way to overcome this challenge. For example, create a print-rich environment in your home by putting up posters, a word wall, etc.
PRO TIP: Download a children’s reading app like Booka to access hundreds of kids' books all in one place.
Developmental Delays and Learning Disabilities
In some cases, a more serious challenge may cause delayed print awareness. If you believe your child is experiencing a developmental delay or learning disability, we recommend seeking professional help. Collaborating with your child’s teacher may also be helpful - so that, together, you can put a targeted and personalized teaching plan in place.
Lack of Motivation
Some children are simply more interested in reading than others. If your child lacks motivation to read, they may have a harder time learning concepts of print.
It’s crucial to make reading as fun as possible to overcome this challenge! For example, provide engaging reading materials and/or use exciting games and activities to help teach print concepts and other literacy skills.
Looking for more ways to motivate a reluctant reader? Check out this article - Tips for Motivating Reluctant Readers.
Ready to start teaching print concepts at home? Below are some fun and effective ways for parents to promote print awareness skills. Best of all, these games and activities are great for all children, including reluctant readers!
7 Fun Print Awareness Activities and Games
As parents ourselves, we can tell you that these print awareness activities are not only exciting for children but fun for adults, too. So, if you want to promote concepts of print at home, try these activities and games!
1. Letter and Number Sort
Cut out letters and numbers and mix them together. Then, have your child sort the letters into one pile and the numbers into another.
If your child is more advanced, you can enhance this activity by having them combine letters to make words. To take it a step further, discuss the letters that make up each word. For example, talk about the sound each letter makes, other words that start with that letter, etc.
Targeted Print Concepts: ability to identify letters, understanding that letters make up words
2. Sentence Scramble
Take a sentence from a book you are reading, write it out, and cut it into individual words. Then, scramble the words and have your child put them back together in the correct order. This will help your child understand that written words make up sentences that have meaning.
Targeted Print Awareness Skills: understanding that words make up sentences, understanding that spaces separate words, understanding that words and sentences have meaning, understanding that words are read from top to bottom, understanding that English words are read from left to right
3. Secret Message
Write your child a secret message, omitting some letters and words throughout. By omitting letters, your child will see that the word's meaning changes when letters are removed - perhaps the word no longer makes sense! Similarly, by omitting words, you can demonstrate how the meaning of a sentence changes when words are removed. Thus, this game helps children understand that letters are used to create words, and words are used to form sentences.
Targeted Concepts of Print: understanding that letters make up words, understanding that words make up sentences, understanding that words and sentences have meaning, understanding that words are read from top to bottom, understanding that English words are read from left to right
4. Words of the World
With your child, point out words that you encounter during daily activities. This could be words on a cereal box, billboard, etc. Words are all around us!
Targeted Print Awareness Skills: ability to identify words, understanding that words have meaning
5. Draw and Share
Have your child draw a picture and explain the story behind it. As they share, record their words. Then, read the story they created aloud together.
Targeted Print Concepts: understanding that words make up sentences, understanding that spaces separate words, understanding that words and sentences have meaning, understanding that pages are read from top to bottom, understanding that English words are read from left to right, understanding that different print has different purposes
6. Wacky Reading
Start reading a book out loud to your child - but hold it upside down. Ask them why the book is so hard for you to read! Your child should be able to show (or tell) you that the book is upside down. If not, point it out yourself - e.g., “Oh yikes, the book was upside down!” - and flip it to the proper orientation.
This activity is helpful for young children who are just beginning to understand the basic concepts of print.
Targeted Print Awareness Skills: understanding the right way to hold up a book
7. Letter Hunt
Open a story on the Booka reading app for kids and ask your child to find all the words that start with a particular letter. For example, say - “Let’s find all the words on this page that start with the letter ‘B.’”
Want to make this print concept activity into an exciting game? Turn it into a competition! Whoever can find the most words that start with the chosen letter wins!
Targeted Concepts of Print: ability to identify single words, understanding that spaces separate words, ability to identify individual letters within words, ability to identify particular letters (i.e., alphabet knowledge)
The Role of Technology in Print Awareness
Technology, like reading apps for kids, can be invaluable when teaching print concepts at home.
In fact, a study conducted by López-Escribano et al. (2021) found that, when properly selected and used, eBooks helped children develop literacy skills (like print concepts) equally as well or, in some cases, better than print books. In addition to supporting a child’s development of print and phonological awareness, the study also found that eBooks supported vocabulary development, spelling development, and reading comprehension skills.
Here are some tips to help you use technology to teach print awareness at home successfully.
Tips for Using Technology To Teach Print Concepts
Technology is undoubtedly a helpful tool for teaching concepts of print. However, tech-based tools like reading apps for kids work best when combined with parental involvement.
Here are a few quick tips for using digital tools like Booka to promote print concepts.
- Use reading apps together. Digital “Read To Me” books with professional narration are an amazing tool to help children practice reading! But it’s also essential that parents spend time reading aloud with their children. One-on-one reading can help boost your child’s early literacy skills and provide much-needed bonding time!
PRO TIP: When reading aloud with your child, be sure to point out various print awareness concepts. For example, follow the words with your finger as you read them out loud to demonstrate text directionality.
- Use technology to provide a range of reading materials that interest your child. Some kids’ reading apps provide an automatically curated list of books based on your child’s interests. This can be extremely helpful for promoting reading skills, as children are more likely to be engaged and to read for longer when they have access to books on topics they love!
- Choose high-quality tools. Top-rated reading apps like Booka provide a wide range of engaging reading materials and innovative features that will help you teach print concepts at home.
- Set limits on screen time. While technology is a helpful tool, it should be used alongside traditional reading materials and hands-on print awareness activities.
Teach Print Concepts with the Booka Reading App for Kids
If you’re looking for a fun, interactive, and inexpensive tool to help you promote concepts of print, check out Booka!
With hundreds of books, including read-alouds with professional narration, Booka is one of the best tools to help you promote print awareness at home.
Want to give Booka a try? Download the app today and get 7 days of FREE reading!