Learning to read is a foundational life skill, and a truly exciting time for every child. But before they begin the more formal process of learning the alphabet and discovering phonics, kids start with pre-reading skills, including print awareness. Here’s what that term means, and how to teach it. 

What is Print Awareness? 

Print awareness is the understanding that written language has meaning, and corresponds to spoken language.

Think of it like learning the “rules of the road” for reading. Before you ever get behind the wheel of the car, you have to know in which direction traffic flows, what various street signs and signals mean, and how to navigate.  

Print awareness is similar: kids learn important pre-reading rules about what printed language looks like, what a book is and its various parts, and the differences between letters, words, and sentences. It’s the precursor to the formal science of reading skills they’ll develop next, such as phonemic awareness and phonics.

Why is Print Awareness Important in Early Childhood Education? 

Trying to learn to read without print awareness is like trying to learn to drive without knowing which way traffic flows, what road signs mean, or how to get where you want to go. Without foundational pre-skills, the whole process is much harder.

Early childhood educators have noted that print awareness is a good indicator of academic success. Those with strong print awareness at a young age usually find it easier to learn to read, and are often more eager to learn as well.

They feel more confident about handling books and examining print materials in general, and this encourages them to feel comfortable exploring and building formal reading skills. 

Print Awareness Skills and Examples 

Here’s what print awareness encompasses, and what those skills look like in practice. 

Awareness that Print Has Meaning

As a child develops print awareness, they begin to recognize that letters and words carry specific meaning.

They can distinguish between a series of random shapes and lines of print, even though they don’t know the individual letters yet.

Understanding the Relationship Between Print and Spoken Language

When kids make the connection between written and spoken language, they demonstrate an understanding that printed words and spoken words have the same meaning.

A child who has print awareness recognizes that when someone reads them a story from a book, they are saying out loud the words that are printed on the page.

Recognition of Different Forms and Purposes of Print

Books are just one form of print; we’re actually surrounded by the printed word all day long.

Kids with print awareness recognize that signs give you information about your location, menus show what foods are available, labels tell you what something is, and so on. They demonstrate this by recognizing store or restaurant logos or opening a menu to “decide” what to eat at a restaurant.  

Knowledge of Print Conventions  

In English, we read text from left to right, top to bottom. We hold closed books with their spine to the left, and flip the pages from right to left. Kids who recognize these conventions can open a book at the beginning, follow lines of text with their finger in the right direction, and turn the pages appropriately. 

Recognition of Letters and Words 

As kids begin to learn their letters, they also discover that words are made up of these individual letters. They recognize that we have uppercase and lowercase letters in English, and learn conventions like using an uppercase letter to start a sentence.

They also begin to identify punctuation marks and their purpose. Children with these skills can point out the first and last word in a sentence, identify uppercase and lowercase letters on the page, and show you punctuation marks like periods and question marks. 

How Can I Help My Child Develop Print Awareness? 

Kids develop a lot of print awareness simply by watching the adults in their lives. The more you model reading in your daily life, the more interest your child will take. When children see reading as a valuable and important skill for grown-ups, they’ll want to learn that skill too.  

That means all reading is good reading, any time and anywhere.

Riding in the car? Point out signs and read them out loud to your child.

At the grocery store? Show them their favorite foods and the packaging or signs for them.

Watching TV? Read text out loud when it appears on the screen.

All these things help build the connection between spoken words and printed words, and show little learners the different purposes and types of printed materials. 

Print Awareness Activities 

Looking for practical and creative ways to work on print awareness? Try these activities! 

Write their Words 

Have your child draw a picture about anything they want, as long as it tells some kind of story. Then, have them tell you what’s happening in the picture, and write down their words as they do. Show them what you’ve written, and explain that the marks on the page are the same as the words that they just said. 

How Can ABCmouse Help My Child Develop Print Awareness? 

Through a self-paced program of lessons, games, videos, and more learning activities, ABCmouse’s expert-designed curriculum helps build important preschool skills like print awareness, alphabet letters, letter-sound correspondence, and more.