Reading Tips and Habits · Early Literacy
I’ll be honest with you: when my oldest was four, I had no idea there was a name for what we were doing at story time.
We’d settle in with a book and I’d point to the cover, name the author, track my finger under the words as I read. We’d talk about the pictures. We’d notice letters. I thought I was just reading to my kid.
Turns out, I was building print literacy — one of the most important skill sets a child can develop before they ever step foot in a kindergarten classroom.
And if you’re a parent who reads to your child (which, if you’re here, you probably are), you’re likely already doing this too. You just might not know why it matters so much — or what to look for.
Let me break it all down.
So What Exactly Is Print Literacy?
Print literacy — also called print awareness or print knowledge — is a child’s understanding that print carries meaning, that books work in specific ways, and that written language follows rules.
It’s not about reading yet. It’s about understanding the world of print that reading lives inside.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences identifies three core components of print knowledge that preschoolers should be building:
Concepts of Print — Knowing how books work: where the front cover is, what the spine is, that the title tells you what the book is about, that pages are turned one at a time in order, and that in English, text moves from left to right and top to bottom.
Letter Knowledge — Learning to recognize letters by name and beginning to connect them to their sounds. Research recommends starting with letters in your child’s own name, then building from there.
Word Awareness — Understanding that words exist as distinct units, that spaces separate words on a page, and that words are made of individual letters. This sounds simple, but for a four-year-old, it’s actually a significant conceptual leap.
Why It Matters Before Kindergarten
Here’s the part that might surprise you: print knowledge at the preschool level is a direct predictor of reading success later on.
Research published by the Institute of Education Sciences (Kosanovich, Phillips & Willis, 2020) found that preschool print knowledge is linked to later achievement in decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension. Children who arrive at kindergarten with strong print awareness don’t just learn to read more easily — they’re better equipped to understand what they’re reading once they get there.
NC DPI’s Literacy at Home initiative puts it plainly: recognizing print, understanding that it has meaning, and knowing how a book works are foundational to everything that comes after.
The good news? You don’t need a curriculum or a lesson plan. You need books, consistency, and a few simple practices at story time.
What Should a Pre-K Child Be Able to Do?
By the end of the pre-kindergarten year (around age five), most children are working toward these milestones. Use this as a gentle observation guide, not a checklist to stress about — all children develop at their own pace.
Concepts of Print:
- Recognizes print in the environment (stop signs, cereal boxes, store names)
- Understands that print has meaning — it “tells us something”
- Can point to the front cover, back cover, and title of a book
- Knows the difference between an author and an illustrator
- Turns pages one at a time, in the correct order
- Understands that words (not pictures) carry the story’s meaning
Directionality & Word Awareness:
- Tracks words from left to right with a finger while reading
- Knows to start at the top of a new page and move left to right
- Notices that spaces separate words
- Recognizes that words are made up of letters
Letter Knowledge:
- Can identify some letters by name
- Recognizes the letters in their own name first
- Understands that letters and numbers are different symbol systems
If your child is hitting most of these, you’re doing amazing. If they’re not there yet — read on.
What to Do at Story Time Tonight
You don’t need to overhaul anything. These small additions to your regular reading routine can make an enormous difference.
1. Introduce the book before you read it.
This one takes 60 seconds and builds huge skills. Before you open the book, point to the front cover and say its name. Point to the spine. Find the title. Name the author (“the author is the person who wrote the words”) and the illustrator (“the illustrator made all the pictures”). Then open it and begin.
Do this every single time. It becomes a ritual that teaches your child more than you’d expect.
2. Finger-track as you read.
Move your finger slowly under each word as you read it aloud. Invite your child to track with you. When you turn a page, ask: “Where do we start reading on this page?” Let them point. Let them be right.
This teaches directionality in a deeply natural way — without drilling or flashcards.
3. Draw and transcribe together.
After reading, invite your child to draw something — anything. When they finish, ask them to tell you about it. Write exactly what they say below the picture. Then read it back to them out loud.
Watch their eyes. The moment a child realizes that their own words became print, something clicks. It’s one of the most powerful early literacy experiences available, and it costs nothing.
4. Talk about letters you see.
Point to a word and say: “This word is cat. It has three letters: C-A-T. The letter C is the same letter that starts your name, Camden!” Make it personal. Make it low-stakes. Make it playful.
5. Read the world.
Point to print everywhere you go — stop signs, restaurant menus, grocery store signs, street names. When children see that print exists beyond books and has a real-world purpose (that sign says STOP and cars actually stop!), they begin to understand what reading is for.
A Word About Story Time at the Library
If you attend library story time, know that every element is intentional.
When your librarian holds up the book and points to the cover before reading — that’s print literacy instruction. When she tracks her finger under the words — that’s directionality. When she pauses to ask “what letter does that word start with?” — that’s letter knowledge.
The library story time experience is one of the most research-aligned early literacy activities your child can have. And it’s free, consistent, and joyful.
Ask your children’s librarian for:
- A personalized picture book reading list for your child
- Upcoming story time programs and early literacy events
- Recommendations for alphabet books, concept books, and books with clear, large print
Recommended Picture Books for Building Print Literacy
These titles are excellent for practicing print literacy together. All are available at most public libraries.
For concepts of print and directionality:
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? — Bill Martin Jr. (highly repetitive, great for tracking)
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar — Eric Carle (clear print, predictable patterns)
For letter knowledge:
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom — Bill Martin Jr. & John Archambault (alphabet introduction through rhythm)
- Alphabet Under Construction — Denise Fleming (each letter gets an action)
For environmental print and word awareness:
- The Signmaker’s Assistant — Tedd Arnold (a story about print itself)
- I Spy Letters — Jean Marzollo (letter recognition in real-world contexts)
For expressive print and emotional reading:
- Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! — Mo Willems (text that visually conveys emotion — great for discussing how print looks different when it’s excited or loud)
The Bottom Line
Print literacy isn’t magic. It isn’t complicated. It’s what happens when you read together consistently, point at words, name letters, and talk about books as objects with purpose and structure.
If you’re showing up to story time, reading every night, and talking with your child about what you’re reading — you’re already doing this work.
Now you just know what to call it.
And if you’d like more support, your library is there for you. Every children’s librarian I know loves talking about early literacy with parents.
Sources:
- Kosanovich, M., Phillips, B., & Willis, K. (2020). Foundations in Emergent Literacy: Print Knowledge. IES/REL Southeast.
- NC Department of Public Instruction, Literacy at Home: Digital Children’s Reading Initiative — Print Awareness for Pre-K.
- Reading Rockets, Print Awareness Activities for Your Pre-K Child (PBS/WETA).
Leave a Reply