Comp 4: Concepts About Print/Letter Recognition

Question 1

What are the 4 main concepts about print?

Answer 1

1) The relationship between spoken/written English and that print carries meaning
o Printed words are “talk written down”
2) Recognizing letter, word and sentence representation
o Knowing the difference between letters, words and sentences
o Word boundaries: how many words there are in a line of text
o How does a sentence end and begin (capital letters, end punctuation)
3) Directionality of Print/Tracking of Print
4) Book Handling
o How to hold the book, where the story starts, the title and back cover

Question 2

Concepts About Print are basic principles about how …?

Answer 2

letters, words, and sentences are represented in written language

Question 3

Letter recognition

Answer 3

ability to identify both the uppercase and lowercase letters when the name of the letter is given

Question 4

Letter naming

Answer 4

the ability to say the name of the letter when a teacher points to it

Question 5

Letter formation/Production

Answer 5

the ability to write the uppercase and lowercase letter legibly

Question 6

Alphabetic principle

Answer 6

English sounds are represented by letters

*We are teaching the names of the letters, NOT the sounds of the letter when teaching letter recognition/letter naming

Question 7

Reading Aloud to Students will teach what?

Answer 7

o reading aloud will teach that print carries meaning
o reading aloud will teach that recognizing cover/back of books

Question 8

Shared Book Experience (Big Books) teaches what?

Answer 8

• Big Books teaches all the concepts of print
  1) Pre-Reading: Point out features of the book and ask predictive questions
  2) Reads with enthusiasm/Emphasize directionality by pointing while reading
  3) Discussion
  4) Re-read/Act out to enjoy language patterns

(1) the relationship between spoken and written english that print carries meaning. (2) recognizing letters, words, and sentences. (3) directionality/tracking of print. (4) book-handling skills.

Question 9

4 in notebook

Environmental Print is what? and teaches what?

Answer 9

• these are printed messages that people encounter in daily life like wrappers, menus, cereal boxes, t-shirts

o This teaches that print carries meaning, letter/word/sentence differentiation
o CANNOT teach book orientation or directionality

Question 10

How to Teach: Language Experience Approach (LEA):

Answer 10

Students dictate an experience where the teacher records verbatim
o Can teach most concepts of print (directionality, letter/word/sentence differentiation) and can be used later for class reading and writing instruction
o CANNOT teach book orientation unless published into a book

Question 11

How to Teach: Print-Rich Environment

Answer 11

Labels/Captions, Morning Messages, Mailboxes are visible in the classroom and can promote that print carries meaning

Question 12

How to Teach: Explicit (direct) Teaching of Concepts About Print

Answer 12

The objective of the lesson should be directly related to a concept of print that you hope to teach

Question 13

What is the Importance of Letter Recognition in Reading Development?

Answer 13

The ability to identify letters is a strong predictor of reading achievement of word identification and comprehension

Question 14

What is the Role of the Alphabetic Principle?

Answer 14

knowing the alphabetic principle will help students manipulate the sounds to create words
*When students know the alphabetic principle, they are more likely to be able to sound things out when they spell
*Instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling ALL reinforce the alphabetic principle

Question 15

How to teach letter recognition, letter naming, and letter formation: associating names and things with letters

Answer 15

o Give a letter and name/collect things that start with that letter
o Write a large letter on board and write things that start with that letter

Question 16

singing the alphabet teaches ___ , ___, and ___

Answer 16

letter recognition, letter naming, and letter formation

Question 17

ABC books teach what?

Answer 17

letter recognition, letter naming, and letter formation

Question 18

Practicing writing both uppercase and lowercase letters and saying the name of the letter teaches what?

Answer 18

letter recognition, letter naming, and letter formation

Question 19

How to teach letter recognition, letter naming, and letter formation: Tactile and kinesthetic methods

Answer 19

Tactile: refers to touch
o Modeling Clay or tracing letters over sandpaper
Kinesthetic: refers to motion
o Make exaggerated movements and pretend the write letters in the air

Question 20

How to Systematically Introduce Visually and Auditory Similar Letters

Answer 20

o Teach all lowercase first or all uppercase, NOT all at the same time
o Teach one letter at a time and review previously learned letters
o With letters that are similar, highlight differences while writing

Question 21

5 Forms of Differentiated Instruction for struggling readers on CAP/Letter Recognition

Answer 21

1) Focusing on key concepts and skills
2) reteaching concepts, letters and skills that are lacking
3) Using a variety of concrete examples to explain a concept or task
4) Providing extra practice
5) Using visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile techniques

ex: one-on-one to reteach directionality with focusing on teacher’s finger to track as the read left to right and make the return sweep
ex: one-on-one to reteach how to write a letter but use sand or clay

Question 22

How to teach CAP to: Struggling Readers and Students w/Reading Difficulties or Disabilities

Answer 22

o With directionality, kinesthetic movement by following along with their own finger while teacher reads
o Using letter tiles, sand or modeling clay to show letters and spell words

Question 23

How to teach CAP to: EL’s

Answer 23

o Capitalize on the transfer of relevant knowledge and skills from their primary language
o Recognize that not all languages are alphabetic and that key features of alphabets vary, including letters, directionality and phonetic regularity
o Latin-based language (Spanish) and German-based language (Danish) move left to right, HOWEVER, Semantic languages (Arabic, Hebrew) move right to left and Chinese and Japanese move vertically
o Chinese language is not alphabetic, but logographic where thousands of symbols represent morphemes

Question 24

How to teach CAP to: Advanced Learners

Answer 24

o Increasing the pace of instruction
o Building on and extending current knowledge and skills

Question 25

Formal/Informal Assessments of Concepts About Print

Answer 25

o Concepts of Print Test: where students point to the front cover, beginning and end of sentences, where the teacher should start reading.
o Have students count how many words are in a line of text, ask students to write something to show how print carries meaning, observation checklist while independent reading
o Ask student to write something and if they write letters, they understand print carries meaning

Question 26

Formal/Informal Assessments of Letter Recognition, Letter Naming and Letter Formation

Answer 26

o Give students a letter and ask them to point to it, vice versa
o Ask students to write the letter when given
o Encoding in context task- student forms each letter legibly when writing

Question 27

Formal/Informal Assessments of the Alphabetic Principle

Answer 27

o Observe students when reading aloud/writing to see if they understand the relationship between sounds and letters

Question 28

Entry-Level, Monitoring Progress and Summative Assessment for Concepts About Print/ Letter Recognition

Answer 28

1) Entry-Level Assessment
o One-on-one assessment in grades K-1: Letter recognition, letter naming and letter formation
2) Monitoring Progress
o Observing children while reading/writing and recording results
3) Summative Assessment
o Formal, one-on-one assessment of all concepts

Question 29

Instructional Strategies for CAP/Letter Rec

Answer 29

· Choral reading
· Echo reading
· Modeled reading
· Shared reading
· Partner reading
· Buddy reading
· Guided reading
· Shared Book Experience
· Language Experience Approach (LEA)
· Environmental Print