Develop Your Child's Concepts of Print Ensuring Reading Readiness

 

One very important test your child will take is called the "Concepts of Print" test.   Many times children develop these "concepts of print" naturally during daily reading sessions.  If your child has developed these "concepts of print," it means that he/she understands how books work.  Just to be sure that this is developed, you can include some of the following periodically during your book reading sessions:

Show your child and then periodically be sure that she can show you:

1. the front of the book

2. the back of the book

3. the title of the book

4. where you start reading a book (first page)

5. find the first word on the page

6. find the last word on the page

7. understand that when you finish reading one page, you turn the page to continue reading the book.

8. that when you read, you go from left to right on the page

9. that when you read, you go from the top of the page to the bottom

  If you do these simple things, you will help develop your child's "concepts of print"

• Hand your child the book upside down and backwards and show him how to turn the book to the front and turn it right side up.

• Run your finger under the words as you read to show that we read from left to right, top to bottom, and that the story is told by the words not the illustrations.

• Point out words in his/her environment (names, signs, words on food boxes and toys, etc.) to emphasize that words represent spoken language.

• Point out the difference between a letter and a word.

 

Return To Top of Page