Kindergarten Screening Tools - Concepts About Print

Area Tested: Concepts About Print

Concepts of Print - your child is asked a series of questions about a book

Where is the front of a book? Where is the back of a book? Where would you begin reading? (locating the beginning of a sentence) Point to the first word in the sentence. Where would you stop reading? (locating the end of a sentence) Once you finish this page, where would you go next?

Activities to strengthen concepts of print:

1. Read, read, read! Ask questions about what you are reading.

2. Exposure to all kinds of print - books, magazines, comics, newspapers, print is everywhere!

3. Ask your child to re-tell a story they've heard several times

4. Predict what will happen in a story by looking at the pictures first

5. Point to each word as you read it aloud

To read further on assessing the concepts of print, see

Assessing the Student's Concepts about Print

Reading Role Model

I found a new quote that I wholeheartedly agree with!

"Parents who read have kids who learn to read."

Think about how many times a day you read something to yourself. Is it something you can read out loud to your child? Books, magazines, newspapers, letters, signs, lists. Words are everywhere we look. Point out print and its purpose. Talk about what you are reading. Be a reading role model!

100 Books Every Child Should Hear Before Kindergarten

Our local libraries compiled a list of 100 quality children's books to read with children to help them develop their Early Literacy Skills. I couldn't find the exact same list online, but it close to this. It's a great resource- even printable! For those of you who will have kindergarteners this fall, take advantage of a whole summer of reading opportunities.

http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/booklist/booklist.asp?printme=1&iam=100prek

Grocery List

Grocery shopping with 3 boys has always been a chore. But I keep C, my preschooler, occupied with his very own grocery list. When he was about 3, I drew pictures next to the words. Now I just write the words and we sound them out together. When he figures a word out and finds the item, he gets to cross it off the list.

Little does he realize that my lesson in all of this is seeing a purpose for print, another way we use language to organize and communicate. He feels a sense of pride for "reading" it too!

Go Beyond a Book Today

It's raining. It's pouring.
Staying inside can be boring.
Picked out a book.
About a cook.
Now the kitchen we are touring!

Today I challenge you to go beyond a book. Read one of your favorites and then choose an activity to do that goes with it. We read Jake Baked the Cake by B.G. Hennessy today, and now we're going to make paper chefs hats and I think I'll even let my little chef join me in making dinner tonight. It's easy to extend the learning beyond a book. Read a book about construction workers and build a tower of blocks or paper cups. Read about bugs and go find some to observe. Read about fish then make your way to the pet store. See how easy this is?

Come back and share what you did here so we can bounce ideas off of each other!