Reading and Print Awareness

Print awareness — understanding how books and written words work — is an important early step on the path to reading. Long before children read words, they learn that print carries meaning and follows certain rules.

Build print awareness together

• Show that we read from left to right and top to bottom.
• Point to words as you read so print and speech connect.
• Talk about the parts of a book — cover, title, author, pages.
• Notice print in the world: signs, labels, menus and packaging.
• Let your child turn the pages and 'pretend read' favourite stories.

These early understandings give children a strong launch pad for formal reading instruction at school.