Before kids are ready to read, there are some things they need to understand about how books and print work. In the educational field, we call this book and print awareness. Below is a list from A to Z of things that are great to point out to a child when you’re reading with him.
Also included in this post is a FREE Book and Print Awareness Checklist!
As NJoy {currently 4} and I have been working our way through my Reading the Alphabet curriculum, I have made it a point to focus on a book or print awareness skill that goes along with each letter of the alphabet. As he reads his little readers or I read aloud to him, I mention and model these features and ask him to sometimes point them out as well.
I thought I’d include all these skills in one post to help me stay better organized with my thoughts. Many of these overlap, but that’s okay. Reviewing these skills is a good thing, especially with young children.
Book and Print Awareness: From A to Z
A is for AUTHOR
B is for BACK of the book
C is for COVER
D is for DIRECTION of print {left to right}
E is for EXCLAMATION MARK
F is for FRONT of the book
G is for GO– start reading here {check out this simple tip}
H is for HANDLING of the book– top vs. bottom, right side-up vs. upside down
I is for ILLUSTRATOR/ILLUSTRATIONS
J is for JUST for fun {while we can read books for knowledge, we also read books for pleasure} or JACKET {library books often come with jackets}
K is for KNOW my ABC’s and sounds
L is for LOWERCASE LETTERS
M is for MATCHING voice to print
N is for NUMBER of words on the page
O is for ORDER of the story {where is the beginning of the book, middle, end}
P is for PERIOD or PUNCTUATION
Q is for QUESTION MARK or QUOTATION MARKS
R is for RETURN SWEEP {where to go at the end of the line}
S is for SENTENCE
T is for TITLE or TITLE PAGE
U is for UPPERCASE LETTERS
V is for VOICE matching print or VOWELS
W is for WORD(S)
X is for eXtras {captions, other punctuation marks, dedication page, etc.}
Y is for YOU can do it {ask your child to try it now, use this time to review things you’ve modeled}
Z is for ZOO {as in- you don’t live in a zoo, so treat your books with respect}
FREE Book and Print Awareness Checklist
Click on the image above or HERE to download my FREE Book & Print Awareness Checklist.
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Follow This Reading Mama’s board Emergent Readers on Pinterest.
Enjoy!
~Becky
This is a handy list to have! Pinned. 🙂