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Skill: The concept of print is teaching students how to properly use reading materials (books, magazines, articles). This entails teaching students that we read from top to bottom and left to right, where to find the title and author, table of contents, and glossary, and that written words have meaning, there are spaces between words, and punctuation is used.

Age/Grade: Exposure can be as early as birth or taught around 5 years old or in kindergarten.

Evidence-Based Instruction: Teachers should use explicit step-by-step instruction when introducing this skill. Using books with large print will make it easier to see words, spaces, punctuation, & illustrations when you are pointing them out to students. Another good idea to reinforce the idea that words have meaning is to label items around the room.

Assessments: Using formal and informal assessments are 2 ways that you can check a student's understanding of the concept of print. You could make observations during exposure, ask students questions, or use a universal screener like DIBELS or I-Ready.

Mastery: Once students can navigate reading materials properly and know words have meaning, they have mastered this step in learning to read and are ready for phonological awareness.

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Skill: Phonological awareness is made of multiple literacy steps and is the foundation of learning to read. The steps are rhyme, syllable segmenting, onset/rime blending, & manipulating phonemes. The purpose of phonological awareness is to get students to recognize sounds and establish a foundation for learning to read.

Age/Grade: Exposure begins when children are learning to talk and continues through Pre-K and Kindergarten.

Evidence-based Instruction: You will need to use explicit step-by-step instruction when introducing these concepts. It is suggested to be taught systematically, building on as you go. Instruction should be short, about 10 minutes. per day with materials relevant to students so they can begin to make personal connections to reading.

Assessments: Using formal & informal assessments are 2 ways that you can check your students' understanding of the material. Making observations during lessons, asking students to demonstrate, or using a screener like PAST are examples of these kinds of assessments.

Mastery: Once your students have advanced through the individual steps successfully, they are considered phonologically aware. The last step in this continuum is phonemic awareness.

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Skill: Phonemic awareness is the last step in the continuum of phonological awareness. It is considered an auditory skill that involves being able to identify & manipulate individual sounds in spoken language.

Age/Grade: This is typically taught between the ages of 6-7 years old or Kindergarten to 1st grade.

Evidence-based Instruction: You will use explicit step-by-step instruction when introducing this new skill. Lessons should be short an average of 15 minutes. Using blocks or pictures to make connections to the material will help reduce the amount of memory needed to store this information and help it become a natural reflex. Lessons should involve blending, segmenting, adding, & deleting letters.

Assessments: Using formal & informal assessments are 2 ways to assess how well a student is grasping the material. Doing things like asking questions, having students demonstrate skill, & using a screener like Heggerty are examples of these kinds of assessments.

Mastery: By the end of 1st grade, it is expected that students should be able to manipulate phonemes. Once this is complete, they have accomplished being phonologically aware and are ready for the alphabetic principle.

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Skill: This skill is being able to recognize letters in the alphabet, understand that letters have sounds, and know which letter corresponds to what sound.

Age/Grade: This skill is typically taught before Kindergarten and through 1st grade.

Evidence-based Instruction: You should use explicit step-by-step instruction when introducing this skill. Letters and sounds should be taught in isolation, doing letter names first, then their shapes, and finally their sounds. Starting with letters and sounds that can be held in the mouth is preferred (M=mmmmm). You will also need to make students aware of upper & lower case letters.

Assessments: Using formal & informal assessments are 2 ways that you can assess how well your students are learning the material. You can make observations during lessons, ask students questions, ask students to demonstrate, and use a universal screener like DIBELS are examples of these assessments.

Mastery: When a student has mastered this concept, it means they will know the 26 letters of the alphabet and most of their sounds. They will also recognize upper & lower case versions of letters.

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Differentiation: When it comes to working with students who have special needs such as dyslexia, foreign language, ADHD, Autism, or anything that affects their ability to learn, you will need to make adjustments to your lessons and provide these students with accommodations & interventions that are individually tailored to fit their needs. Here are some accommodations that you may need to use for these students.

For All: Create an inclusive learning environment, use explicit systematic instruction, repeat directions throughout the lesson, provide multiple opportunities to practice, pair up with a buddy, provide multiple modalities, and use text-to-speech or books on tape.

ESL/ELL: Encourage use of native language to make connections, provide bilingual materials, and use objects or pictures that are culturally responsive.

Dyslexia: Use easy-to-read fonts, have them turn lined paper vertically to separate letters, and teach mnemonic devices to help remember material.

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References

Ages & stages of phonological awareness | reading therapy for children. (n.d.). Blc-New. https://www.blcspeech.com.au/agesstages-of-phonological-awareness

Bates, C. (2022). Concepts About Print and Early Reading Behaviors: Considerations When Using eBooks. The Journal of Reading Recovery, 22(1), 31. https://readingrecovery.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/JRR_22-1_fall_2022_bates_klein_schubert.pdf

Center, N. (2025, March 12). Phonemic Awareness: What Is It and Why Is It Important? National Center on Improving Literacy. https://www.improvingliteracy.org/resource/phonemic-awareness-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-important

Chard, D. J., & Dickson, S. V. (1999, May). Phonological awareness: Instructional and assessment guidelines. Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness/articles/phonological-awareness-instructional-and

Heggerty. (2025). What is Phonological Awareness? Heggerty.org. https://heggerty.org/blog/what-is-phonological-awareness/#Phonological_Awareness_Activities

International Dyslexia Association. (2023). Accommodating students with dyslexia in all classroom settings. Reading Rockets. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/dyslexia/articles/accommodating-students-dyslexia-all-classroom-settings

Phonological Awareness Assessments: A Guide for Teachers and Homeschooling Parents. (2024, October 22). Learninga-Z.com; Learning A-Z. https://www.learninga-z.com/site/resources/breakroom-blog/phonological-awareness-assessments-guide-for-teachers-and-homeschooling-parents

Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Basics: Alphabet knowledge | reading rockets. Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/alphabet-knowledge

Reading Rockets. (2023a). Basics: Print Awareness. Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/print-awareness

Reading Rockets. (2023b). Screening and assessment. Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/helping-all-readers/screening-and-assessment

Reading Rockets. (2024). Phonemic awareness assessment | reading rockets. Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/assessment-and-evaluation/articles/phonemic-awareness-assessment

Robertson, K., & Breiseth, L. (2009, October 19). Reading 101 for English Language Learners. Colorín Colorado; Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/reading-101-english-language-learners

Texas Education Agency. (2024). The Alphabetic Principle | Reading Rockets. Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/phonics-and-decoding/articles/alphabetic-principle