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What it is: Understanding how print works in the world around us (Examples: print carries meaning, you read left to right, top to bottom, words are separated by spaces, letters and punctuation have functions).

Milestones:

Emergent: Recognizes print exists; holds and handles books correctly; understands that the story is inside the book; can turn pages in order.

Early: Understands that print carries a message; can point to words/letters as they are read aloud; recognizes some environmental print (logos, signs).

Transitional: Knows directionality and basic book conventions (title, author, where to start reading); can retell a simple story using the book as a cue.

Independent: Uses book handling routines independently; demonstrates understanding that print is read for meaning and can locate specific pages or sections.

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Age/Grade Range: Pre-K to 2nd grade (roughly ages 4–8), with continued reinforcement in upper elementary for non-fiction texts and new genres.

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Print Concepts Checklist: Observational rubric during shared reading and independent reading; record accuracy of page turning, directional tracking (left-to-right, top-to-bottom), and understanding of book parts (title, author, pages).

Concepts of Print Interview/Checklist: Ask targeted questions (e.g., “Where do you start reading?” “What does this space between words mean?”) to gauge understanding of print conventions and meaning.

Running record with print-focused prompts: While child reads or speaks about a text, note for evidence of understanding of directionality, word boundaries, and the concept that print carries a message.

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Strategy: Explicit, with-scripting print concepts mini-lessons embedded in daily read-alouds and shared reading.

Part of the skill taught: Directionality and one-to-one print-to-sound correspondence at the word level; understanding that spaces separate words; book conventions (title, author, pages).

How it’s taught:

Quick, targeted 5–7 minute mini-lesson at the start of literacy block.

Use a big-book or enlarged text to model tracking with a finger as you read left to right, top to bottom.

Pause to ask questions like “Where do we start reading?” and point to the first word.

After modeling, have students practice with predictable/choral reading while pointing to words.

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Visual supports and manipulatives: Use page-tracking tools (color-coded finger sliders or tracking sticks) to help with directionality; provide bilingual print cards showing print concepts in home language as appropriate for ELs.

Explicit multi-sensory practice: Combine tracing letters/words in sand or on their desk while saying the sentence aloud to reinforce print-to-sound mapping; for students with dyslexia, provide multisensory cues (sound-out, finger-tracking, and oral recitation) to reinforce concepts of print.

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What it is: The broad ability to notice, think about, and work with sounds in spoken language (rhymes, sentences, syllables, onset-rime, and phonemes). Foundational for decoding.

Milestones:

Emergent: Detects rhymes and alliteration; orally segments claps or taps syllables in words.

Early: Identifies and produces rhymes; counts syllables; begins blending onset and rime (e.g., /m/ + /at/ = mat).

Middle: Breaks words into phonemes; substitutes or deletes phonemes in simple words to form new words.

Advanced: Consistently isolates and manipulates phonemes (phonemic awareness) within multiletter words; can blend and segment unfamiliar words.

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Preschool through 2nd grade, with ongoing refinement through elementary years.

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Rhyme and Alliteration Tasks: Quick screening of ability to hear rhymes and alliteration in familiar words; note accuracy and fluency.

Syllable Count Task: Clap or tap syllables in spoken words; track accuracy across a word set.

Phoneme Manipulation Probes (short, simple tasks): For example, “Say 'cat' without the /k/ sound.” Use standardized short probes or researcher-developed checklists.

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Strategy: Explicit Phonological Awareness Instruction with a focus on blending and segmenting sounds, starting at larger units and moving to smaller units.

Part of the skill taught: Phoneme-level awareness (blending and segmenting) after establishing larger units (rhymes, syllables).

How it’s taught:

Warm-up with rhymes and songs to build auditory discrimination.

Use sound-by-sound blending games (e.g., blending phonemes to form words: /s/ /a/ /t/ → sat).

Progress to segmenting sounds in one-syllable words, and then manipulating phonemes (substituting/deleting).

Provide immediate corrective feedback and repeated practice with plenty of modeled examples.

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ELs: Use bilingual or dual-language rhyme patterns; provide visuals and gestures to represent sounds; pair with native-language phonological awareness tasks when possible.

Dyslexia support: Emphasize explicit, systematic practice with decodable texts, small-group guidance with deliberate practice on specific phoneme clusters; use multisensory activities (tapping, clapping, letter tiles).

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What it is: A subset of phonological awareness focusing specifically on the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words (without print).

Milestones:

Emergent: Recognizes that words are made of sounds; can blend simple sounds to form a word when prompted.

Early: Segments words into phonemes, and can add or delete a phoneme to create new words.

Middle: Manipulates phonemes in more complex words (e.g., changing initial sounds to form new words; replacing final phoneme to alter meaning).

Advanced: Demonstrates automatic and accurate phoneme manipulation across a range of words and contexts.

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Preschool through 2nd grade, with ongoing practice in subsequent grades for decoding fluency.

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Phonemic Awareness Probes: Quick tasks targeting blending, segmentation, and manipulation of phonemes in one-syllable words; record accuracy and time to complete.

Dynamic Assessment of Phonemic Awareness: Observational approach to assess how well students apply strategies to manipulate phonemes in unfamiliar words.

Progress Monitoring Probes: Short, frequent checks to track improvement (Example: every 4–6 weeks) for specific phonemic tasks.

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Strategy: Explicit Phoneme Manipulation Instruction with guided practice.

Part of the skill taught: Focus on phoneme manipulation (blending and segmentation) in single-syllable words, building toward more complex word structures.

How it’s taught:

Begin with blending: orally present phonemes one by one and have students blend them to form words.

Move to segmentation: have students break a spoken word into its phonemes.

Expand to manipulation: substitute, add, or delete phonemes to create new words.

Use concrete supports (letters on magnets, sound boxes) to reinforce phoneme positions.

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ELs: Provide concrete examples and bilingual phoneme cards; use pronunciation guides and modeling in both languages when possible; pair with bilingual peers for practice.

Dyslexia: Short, frequent practice with explicit feedback; use multisensory techniques (air-writing, letter tiles) to anchor phoneme awareness; scaffold with simpler words first.

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What it is: Recognizing and naming the 26 uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet, and understanding that letters correspond to sounds in words (letter-sound knowledge is closely related but distinct).

Milestones:

Emergent: Recovers some letter names through songs, alphabet chants; can point to letters in their own name.

Early: Names many uppercase and some lowercase letters; begins to match letters with sounds.

Middle: Names nearly all letters; can identify letters in isolation and in simple words; demonstrates awareness of letter shapes.

Advanced: Names most letters quickly; can connect letters to common sounds in simple decoding contexts and begin recognizing high-frequency letter patterns.

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Pre-K through 2nd grade; ongoing reinforcement in later grades for fluency.

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Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) Probes: Timed tasks to name as many letters as possible in a set period; track progress across weeks/months.

Letter-Sound Association Checks: Quick checks to see if students can name the letter and its most common sound; suitable for quick screening.

Alphabet Knowledge Inventory: A broader assessment that includes naming letters, identifying uppercase/lowercase, and recognizing letters within words or on cards.

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Strategy: Systematic Letter-Sound Instruction integrated with letter naming.

Part of the skill taught: Letter naming as a foundation for phonemic awareness and decoding; linking visual letter forms to sounds.

How it’s taught:

Use explicit modeling of letter names and sounds with visual aids (letter cards, alphabet wall, magnetic letters).

Engage in daily short routines: letter of the day, quick naming checks, and sound association tasks.

Incorporate multi-sensory practice (air writing, tracing letters, saying sounds aloud) and quick dictation of sounds to build automaticity.

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ELs: Provide letter-name and sound support in home language when possible; pair with bilingual buddy; use visuals and realia to anchor letters.

Dyslexia: Short, high-frequency, multisensory practice; emphasize automaticity and rapid naming of letters; scaffold with letter-sound correspondences and decoding practice; provide sentence-level practice once letter naming is stable.