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This skill is the basis for reading and writing.

Some milestones that mark a student becoming more familiar with print include:

Noticing print on books.

Recognizing the function of print like on a menu.

Knowing that print is read from left to right.

Knowing that print goes top to bottom.

Knowing that spaces appear between words.

Agknowledging punctuation.

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Most students start printing or acknowledging printing before they even enter school.

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Teach students how books are read: Demonstrate to students that books are read left to right, top to bottom, starting on the left page and reading the full page and going to the next. This helps build knowledge of the way print is to be read.

Functional print: Have young students recreate print that they may have seen previously like shopping lists, schedules, or birthday cards. This helps students recognize the function of print.

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"Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the spoken parts of words, including syllables, onset–rime, and phonemes" ( Reading Rockets)

Knows the sounds that letters make.

Acknowledges that some letters make more than one sound.

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Normally taught between pre-school and first grade.

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Have students tell you the sound that each letter makes. This shows the basic knowledge of phonics and their sounds.

Have students tell you the secondary sounds that letters can make including vowel sounds. This demonstrates a deeper knowledge of phonics and vowels.

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Song: Use a song that has not only the alphabet but also the sounds that each letter makes. This is a good way for students to remember letter sounds.

Animals: Have each letter be associated with an animal that begins with that sound. (Example B: bear) This helps students form a connection between letters and sounds.

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"Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. Both are key skills in getting kids ready to read." (Reading Rockets)

Milestones:

Can identify individual sounds in a word.

Can blend sounds in words.

Segments word sounds.

Can change sounds in spoken words.

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Normally taught between pre-school and first grade.

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ESL: Have students work at home on looking at print in their native language. This will help them become more familiar with the purpose of print without fulling needing to understand English.

Dyslexia: Have students first look at printed pictures and smaller words. Have them work on things like left to right and top to bottom.

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Ask students to exaggerate specific letter sounds in a word. This will demonstrate that the student can identify which sounds are coming from what letter in a word.

Ask students to change a sound at the end of a word. This will demonstrate the students ability to add or change letter sounds.

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Exaggerate letters: The teacher exaggerates a letter in a word and students copy and identify which letter is being exaggerated. This helps build the skills of students identifying blended letters.

Blend minor sounds: Instead of full words have students blend just a few letters together like th, st, or ing. This demonstrates their blending skills.

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"The ability to name letters, identify the sounds they make and their printed shapes." (Reading Rockets)

Milestones:

Knows the names of letters based on printed shapes.

Identify letter sounds.

Can write letters.

Apply letters to skills like reading and writing.

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Students become familiar with letter naming knowledge before they reach school age, but cement this knowledge normally between pre-school and first grade.

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Have students name each letter this shows that they have the skill of naming their letters.

Have students sing the ABC's while following along on an alphabet chart. This demonstrates the student has the skill of recognizing letters shapes.

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Dyslexia: Have students learn one letter at a time. Each week can focus on one letter, and learning all of its sounds. This helps students to have mastery over one letter before moving to the next.

ESL: Use visual aids and words in their native language. Instead of B:bear it could be B: ballena (Whale.) This helps still form that connection to sounds.

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ESL: Use texts that are familiar with in their native language in English so they know the context of the print.

Dyslexia: Students can use books with rhyming language as it helps them make the connection between blended sounds.

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Dyslexia: Teach students vowels last to prevent them from trying to read full words and focus on individual letters. This slows the pace and allows for less confusing learning.

ESL: Have them identify letters in names because it is the same in English and their native language. This helps build a connection between words and their shape.

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https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/print-awareness

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Excerpted and adapted from: Guidelines for Examining Phonics and Word Recognition Programs, Texas Reading Initiative, Texas Education Agency (2002). And from: Tips for Teaching Kids to Read; by Ed Kame'enui, Marilyn Adams, & G. Reid Lyon.

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Print Awareness: Guidelines for Instruction

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Print awareness is a child's earliest understanding that written language carries meaning. The foundation of all other literacy learning builds upon this knowledge. The following are guidelines for teachers in how to promote print awareness and a sample activity for assessing print awareness in young children.

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Explore reading basics as well as the key role of background knowledge and motivation in becoming a lifelong reader and learner. Watch our PBS Launching Young Readers series and try our self-paced Reading 101 course to deepen your understanding.

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Explore reading basics as well as the key role of background knowledge and motivation in becoming a lifelong reader and learner. Watch our PBS Launching Young Readers series and try our self-paced Reading 101 course to deepen your understanding.

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Alphabet knowledge is the ability to recognize and name uppercase and lowercase letters, recognize letter symbols in print, and know that there are sounds associated with each letter. Alphabet knowledge is a key pre-literacy skill and lays the groundwork for future reading success.