Reading out loud to your child can be a very enjoyable activity that leads to bonding and can help your child become a reader. We may assume that children automatically notice the words and print in the book when we read to them. But according to research tracking the eye movements of 4 and 5 year olds listening to a storybook (Evans, Williamson &Persoo, 2008), children will look at the words as they listen to a story less than 6% of the time. If we point out the words and features of the books we can increase this time and teach our children more about how books work.

As a parent reading with your child there are numerous ways that you can draw attention to the structure, form, and function of printed language when sharing books.  Highlighting features of print ( words, letters, titles, author etc..)  in books either verbally, with gestures or pointing is Print Referencing. Print referencing is something so easy that you can and should sprinkle into any shared reading experience with your child. By simply pointing to the title of the book as you read it you are showing your child that books have titles on the cover which is the front of the book. If they follow your finger they will see that we read from left to right. Pointing out letters and sounds in books as you read can help your child to learn and recognize letters of the alphabet and their sounds. Pointing to specific words shows your child what a word is, and will familiarize them with sight words. 

Questioning your child about the print is another way of print referencing. Here are a few ideas for questioning. 

Letter recognition- What does Chester’s name start with? 

                               Can you find 6 H’s on this page?

Word recognition- What does this word say?

                              Can you find the word “and” ? 

Concepts of Print - How many words are in the title?

                               Can you find a question mark? 

Rhyme and word - Which word in this sentence rhymes with pig? 

Any book can be used for print referencing but alphabet books and books with words in bold or highlighted are perfect for this. Have fun with your child investigating words a little each day and watch their knowledge grow. 

Happy reading, 

Ms. Cox 

See Works Cited here