Chapter 1
Foundations of Reading Development
Course: Foundations Of Reading 890
Subject: Foundations Of Reading 890
Chapter: Foundations Of Reading Development 5849 9750
Concepts of Print
Before children can learn to decode words, they must first understand how written language works. This understanding is known as concepts of print.
Concepts of print refer to a child's knowledge of the forms, features, purposes, and organization of written language. These understandings develop through repeated exposure to books, environmental print, shared reading experiences, and explicit instruction. They are not a single skill but a cluster of related insights that together explain what print is, what it does, and how it is arranged on a page.
Many adults take these understandings for granted because they have become automatic. An experienced reader never consciously decides to begin at the top-left of a page or to turn pages one at a time. For the beginning reader, however, every one of these conventions must be learned intentionally over time, often through dozens of guided encounters with text.