Understanding concepts of print is essential for early literacy development. These concepts refer to a child’s grasp of the fundamental elements of written language, such as the structure of books, the recognition of letters and words, and the awareness that print carries meaning. Developing print knowledge not only prepares children for reading but also serves as a strong predictor of future reading success. By engaging in shared reading activities and learning basic book-handling skills, children gradually build this foundational understanding, which is crucial for interpreting written information and connecting it to spoken language.
What are Concepts of Print?
Concepts of print is a child’s understanding of the elements and rules of written language. It includes the understanding of books, letters, words, directionality of text, punctuation and the understanding that print has meaning. Concepts of print represent early literacy skills and is a strong predictor of later success in reading (Snowling & Hulme, 2005).
Why is Print Knowledge Important?
Children develop print knowledge as they participate in reading and literacy activities and learn basic book handling skills and print concepts (Sonnenschein & Munsterman, 2002). Anytime that a parent/caregiver and child participate in shared reading, she is learning concepts of print skills. Book handling (pointing out parts of a book, such as cover, spine and pages), print awareness (pointing to words as they are read or modeling where to start reading) and discussion of story elements (discussion of characters and plot, for example) are simple ways to incorporate concepts of print into children’s daily reading.
Print knowledge enables children to interpret information found in books and media. Children with print awareness can begin to understand that written language is related to verbal language and, like spoken language, carries a meaning (Snowling & Hulme, 2005).
I Can Read books are available exclusively in the Experience Preschool curriculum.
How Do Children Learn Concepts of Print Skills Over Time?
Children exhibit skills in concepts of print as they demonstrate print knowledge. Such demonstrations will look different at each phase of the developmental process:
Infants open/close books and look for or point at printed pictures on the page.
Toddlers turn book pages and recognize if a printed picture is upsidedown. They identify the front/back and top/bottom of a book and know where to begin reading on each page.
Preschoolers begin to identify letters, words, spaces and some punctuation. When handling or examining print, they will follow the direction of the text.
Primary schoolers with developed concepts of print skills will be able to explain the difference between books that tell stories (fiction) and those that give information (nonfiction). They recognize common types of text, e.g., poem, storybook, fact book. They can name the author and illustrator and identify punctuation. An advanced primary schooler will also be able to describe the overall structure of a story, including the introduction, the central dramatic problem and the conclusion.
Our integrated curriculum system uniquely weaves 35 research-based skills into playful games and discovery projects. The cross-disciplinary model supports a child’s on-going social-emotional, physical, language and cognitive development. See what children learn through play and download the Developmental Continuum of Skills.
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