Concepts of Print

1
Concepts of Print

• The Oft Assumed and Seldom Taught Key to Early
  Reading Growth

2
Concepts of Print?

• What does a person need to know about print in
  order to be a successful reader?

3
Print Awareness

• That print carries the message
• An awareness of print in the everyday environment
  (Reutzel et al., 2003).
• An emerging understanding of the concepts about
  how printed language works.
• General knowledge of print and book concepts

4
Print Concepts

• That print is read from left to right with return
  sweep
• What a letter is (how letters and numbers differ)
• What a word is
• What a sentence is
• That there are spaces between words
• The function of capital letters and punctuation
  marks
• That oral language can be written and then read

5
Book Concepts

• That a book is for reading
• The function and location of a books front,
  back, top, and bottom
• How to turn the pages properly
• Where to begin reading
• The functions of print and pictures
• Title, author, and illustrator

6
Print Concepts Research Base

• There is an interactive relationship between a
  beginning readers development of concept of word
  and phonemic awareness (Morris, Bloodgood, Lomax,
  Perney, 2003).

7
Print Concepts Research Base

• Some students enter school already possessing a
  knowledge of how print and text works, while
  others do not (Yaden Templeton, 1986).

8
Print Concepts Research Base

• Many young children have limited access to text
  and learning opportunities around books (Neuman,
  1999 Neuman Celano, 2001).

9
Print Concepts Research Base

• Concepts of print knowledge plays a critical role
  in early reading development (Hiebert, Pearson,
  Taylor, Richardson, Paris, 1998).

10
Print Concepts Research Base

• Learning concepts of print early on influences
  childrens language development, phonemic
  awareness, phonics, word reading, and reading/
  writing development (Morris, 1993 Roberts,
  1992).

11
Print Concepts Research Base

• How important is print awareness to early reading
  achievement?
• Johns (1980) found that beginning kindergarten
  print awareness was highly predictive of
  end-of-year, first-grade reading achievement.
• The NRP Report ranked print awareness among the
  best predictors of early reading achievement.

12
Hiebert et al. (1998) contended that as a result
of these and other findings, teachers,
administrators, curriculum developers, and
publishers need to focus on developing and
assessing print concepts among all young learners.
13
Language Arts Standard 2 (Concepts of Print)
Students develop an understanding of how printed
language works.
14
In what ways can administrators help with
Concepts of Print skills development in the
schools?
15
References and Bibliography

• Hiebert, E. H., Pearson, P. D., Taylor, B.,
  Richardson, V., Paris, S. G. (1998). Every
  child a reader. Ann Arbor, MI Center for the
  Improvement of Early Reading Achievement.
• Johns, J. L. (1980). First graders concepts
  about print. Reading Research Quarterly, 15,
  529-549.
• Morris, D. (1993). The relationship between
  childrens concept of word in text and phoneme
  awareness in learning to read A longitudinal
  Study. Research in the Teaching of English,
  27(2), 133-154.
• Morris, D., Bloodgood, J. W., Lomax, R. G.,
  Perney, J. (2003). Developmental steps in
  learning to read A longitudinal study in
  kindergarten and first grade. Reading Research
  Quarterly, 38(3), 302-329.
• Neuman, S. B. (1999). The importance of classroom
  libraries Research monograph. New York
  Scholastic, Inc.
• Neuman, S. B., Celano, D. (2001). Access to
  print in low-income and middle-income
  communities An ecological study of four
  neighborhoods. Reading Research Quarterly, 36(1),
  8-26.
• Reutzel, D. R., Fawson, P.C., Young, J.R.,
  Morrison, T. G., Wilcox, B. (2003). Reading
  Environmental Print The Role of Concepts of
  Print in Discriminating Young Readers Responses.
  Reading Psychology 24(2), 123-162.
• Roberts, B. (1992). The evolution of the young
  childs concept of word as a unit of spoken and
  written language. Reading Research Quarterly,
  27(2), 124-138.
• Yaden, D. B., Jr., Templeton S. (Eds.).(1986).
  Reading research in metalinguistic awareness A
  classification of finding according to focus and
  methodology. Portsmouth, NH Heinemann
  Educational Books.