Comp 4: Concepts About Print/Letter Recognition Flashcards
What are the 4 main concepts about print?
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
Concepts About Print are basic principles about how …?
letters, words, and sentences are represented in written language
Letter recognition
ability to identify both the uppercase and lowercase letters when the name of the letter is given
Letter naming
the ability to say the name of the letter when a teacher points to it
Letter formation/Production
the ability to write the uppercase and lowercase letter legibly
Alphabetic principle
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
Reading Aloud to Students will teach what?
o reading aloud will teach that print carries meaning
o reading aloud will teach that recognizing cover/back of books
Shared Book Experience (Big Books) teaches what?
- 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.
4 in notebook
Environmental Print is what? and teaches what?
- 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
How to Teach: Language Experience Approach (LEA):
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
How to Teach: Print-Rich Environment
Labels/Captions, Morning Messages, Mailboxes are visible in the classroom and can promote that print carries meaning
How to Teach: Explicit (direct) Teaching of Concepts About Print
The objective of the lesson should be directly related to a concept of print that you hope to teach
What is the Importance of Letter Recognition in Reading Development?
The ability to identify letters is a strong predictor of reading achievement of word identification and comprehension
What is the Role of the Alphabetic Principle?
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
How to teach letter recognition, letter naming, and letter formation: associating names and things with letters
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
singing the alphabet teaches ___ , ___, and ___
letter recognition, letter naming, and letter formation
ABC books teach what?
letter recognition, letter naming, and letter formation
Practicing writing both uppercase and lowercase letters and saying the name of the letter teaches what?
letter recognition, letter naming, and letter formation
How to teach letter recognition, letter naming, and letter formation: Tactile and kinesthetic methods
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
How to Systematically Introduce Visually and Auditory Similar Letters
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
5 Forms of Differentiated Instruction for struggling readers on CAP/Letter Recognition
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
How to teach CAP to: Struggling Readers and Students w/Reading Difficulties or Disabilities
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
How to teach CAP to: EL’s
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
How to teach CAP to: Advanced Learners
o Increasing the pace of instruction
o Building on and extending current knowledge and skills
Formal/Informal Assessments of Concepts About Print
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
Formal/Informal Assessments of Letter Recognition, Letter Naming and Letter Formation
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
Formal/Informal Assessments of the Alphabetic Principle
o Observe students when reading aloud/writing to see if they understand the relationship between sounds and letters
Entry-Level, Monitoring Progress and Summative Assessment for Concepts About Print/ Letter Recognition
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
Instructional Strategies for CAP/Letter Rec
· Choral reading
· Echo reading
· Modeled reading
· Shared reading
· Partner reading
· Buddy reading
· Guided reading
· Shared Book Experience
· Language Experience Approach (LEA)
· Environmental Print
