Print awareness is a child's first introduction to literacy, where they understand that printed words convey meaning and that reading and writing are ways to get ideas and information. Developing print awareness can be a predictor of future reading success.
When children develop print awareness, they learn that print has different functions, like books telling stories and menus listing food options. They also learn that print has a particular organisation; it's read from top to bottom, left to right, and words consist of letters.
To develop print awareness, children should interact with various forms of print. Below are some examples.
Label objects in the classroom. Labelling objects around the classroom makes the children curious about reading and writing (Pinter 2017: 81). At the same time, this also illustrates that words children are familiar with orally can be represented in writing.
Play with print. Preschool children can pretend to write a shopping list, construct a stop sign, write a letter, make a birthday card, etc.
Provide children with a variety of books and print materials to help them learn about the different parts of a book, such as the cover, title page, author, and illustrator.
Use a "big book" to read a story aloud.
Here are some suggestions if you'd like to develop children's print awareness in a more playful way!
Making a menu
Materials: paper, glue, pictures of food, crayons, names of different foods clearly written on index cards
Steps:
1. Go through the pictures and review the vocabulary.
2. Choose a meal for the children to put on the menu.
3. Lay out the pictures of food.
4. Have the children pick out a few pictures.
5. Help them write “MENU” at the top of the paper.
6. Invite them to glue the pictures of the selected foods down the left side of the paper.
7. Help the children find the names of the selected foods on the cards. They can either glue the name next to the food or copy it directly onto the paper.
8. Encourage the children to read the menu back to you.
Catch a fish
Materials: construction paper, string, magnet, stick, scissors, marker, large paper clips
Steps:
1. Cut out 26 fish shapes from the construction paper.
2. Invite the children to decorate one side of each fish.
3. On the other side of each fish, write a letter of the alphabet.
4. Slide a paper clip onto each fish’s tail.
5. To make the “fishing rod,” tie the string to the end of the stick. Tie the magnet to the other end of the string.
6. Scatter the fish on the floor with the letter side down.
7. Encourage the children to “catch” a fish with the fishing rod and say the name of the letter on that fish.
8. For a more advanced version of the game, you may ask the children to say a word that starts with that sound.
Find a pair
Materials: same-coloured index cards, markers
Steps:
1. Using only the letters in the child's name, write each letter on two cards so that you have several pairs of cards.
2. Shuffle the cards and spread them out face down.
3. Ask the child to turn over any two cards. If the cards match, help the child name the letter. The child then keeps the cards. If the cards do not match, the child turns the cards back over and tries again.
4. Play continues until all matches have been made.
5. Help them put the letters in order to spell his or her name.
Comments