SCHOOL READINESS

Overview
The home environment plays an important role in the development of reading skills.
It is important to recognize the roles of the parents or guardian in fostering love for
reading at developing reading habits at an early age leading to child’s readiness to
face formal school.
Peace Concepts: Create a Calm Reading Space at Home

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, the students can:
1. identify the characteristics of a print-rich environment;
2. determine the elements of a print-rich and peaceful home environment that
fosters a passion of reading and learning.
3. discuss the ways home literacy practices can support children’s readiness for
school.

Materials Needed:
• E-copy/Printed Lesson Module

Duration: 3 hours

Learning Content: HOME LITERACY ENVIRONMENT AND PARENT/

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Print Rich Environment

A print rich environment means that the child is exposed to text in the home and in
the environment through books, newspapers, magazines, and signs. When children
see print around them, they learn that text is important. A print rich environment can
be used to build early reading skills. Home literacy refers to any reading activity that
take place in the home or with the parents. Parents can foster reading with their
children through talking, singing, and reading at home. Even parents with low
literacy can help their child learn about reading by talking about books, pictures, or
print they see around them, and encouraging the children to read aloud.

Characteristics of a Print Rich Environment

• Print that the child sees supports literacy and is not just pictures or
decorations (can include signs, advertisements, etc.)
• Parents help children create stories (i.e., write down what children say)
• Child work (drawings, scribblings, etc.) is displayed and valued
• Text and reading materials are displayed low enough so that the child can
see them
• There are appropriate books for the child’s reading level and interest

Parent and Community Support

Parents can encourage home literacy activities to support children’s emergent
literacy skills such as scribbling, drawing, looking at pictures and text, pretend
reading, and understanding how books and printed materials like magazines,
books, and newspapers are used. When children understand that books and
reading are valued, they will be more interested in reading (Baker &
Scher, 2002)
Reading aloud to children:
• Helps them learn that written language differs from oral language
• Helps then understand that printed words on a page have sounds
• Helps them appreciate that print contains meaning
(Clark 1984: Clay 1979: Durkin 1982; Holdaway, 1979; Smith, 1978

A few simple ways to create a healthy reading environment:

• Make Reading Material Available in the Home and in the Community Supply
good reading materials: books, magazines, and newspapers
• Be a Role Model Children want to be like their parents.
Children who see their parents and others in the community reading and
valuing books will also want to read.
• Read Aloud to Children
Children who are read to at home, even for a few minutes per day, learn to
read more easily than their peers who are not read to.
 • Encourage Personal Libraries
Find a special place for books and encourage children to keep books that are
important to them, and give (or make) children books as gifts.
• Limit Household Chores, Hard Labor, and Television
It is important to provide time for children to read every day. This can be
reading print that is on buildings and signs, print on supplies and boxes at
stores, or anything that the parents write.
(Burns, Griffin, & Snow, 1999)

THE CONCEPT OF PRINT

Overview:
It talks about how important it is to create a calm and print-rich setting at home and
in the community to help young children learn to read. Teachers can help students
who have different experiences with print outside of school by understanding the
idea of print and noticing signs of development. Getting parents and the community
to work together can help children learn to read even more and create a more
peaceful and inclusive educational journey.
Peace Concept: Promoting Peace at Home

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, the students can:
1. discuss the key ideas related to concepts of print;
2. identify developmental indications of concepts of print;
3. evaluate a child’s development in concepts of print and provide suggestions
for improvement;
4. explain how parents and the community can help young kids learn to read
and how they can do so in a way that promotes peace; and
5. evaluate a child’s home literacy environment and provide suggestions for
improvement.
Materials Needed:
• E-copy/Printed Lesson Module
• Power Point Presentation
• Smartphone/Computer/Laptop

Duration: 3 hours

Learning Content : Concept of Print Brainstorming

Activity:
Reflect on the Teacher Educator’s instructions and discussion, then work in groups
of five to answer the following question. 1. How do young children learn to use
books?

Concepts of Print refers to what children need to know about how text works and
is organized (Honig, Diamond, &Gutlohn, 2008). Fluent readers forget that these
ideas have to be learned. Reading is not an automatic act like language is, so
learning about concepts of print is foreign to beginning readers (Stahl & McKenna,
2009). Children believe that the information for stories is in the pictures, and must
be directed to look at the words on the page. Children must learn how to hold a
book and turn the pages, that spaces separate words, that text runs from left to
right (in English), that the reader starts at the top of the page and goes to the
bottom of the page, that a sentence continues from the end of one line to the next
line until a punctuation park is reached, what punctuation marks mean, etc.
Sensitivity to print is the first developmental step toward learning to read (Burns,
Griffin, & Snow, 1999).
 Purpose
of Print Purpose of Print: Pupils learn
that print is written words, that
print carries a message, that
print can teach us manythings,
and that print can be enjoyed

Concept
of Print
How How
Print Books
Works Work

How Books Work: Pupils

How Print Works: Pupils learn learn that books have a front
that printed language is made up of and back cover, that books
letters, that letters can be different are held upright, that books
sizes and shapes, that words are have a title page, that books
made up of letters, that words are have authors and illustrators,
separated by spaces, that that authors write the words
sentences start with a capital letter and illustrators create the
and end with a punctuation, and pictures, and that pages are
that we read from left to right and turned one at a time from
starting at the top of the page. front to back.

Developmental Indications of Concepts of Print

• Moving from Pictures to Text: Children begin to pay attention to the text in
the book in addition to the pictures.
• Directionality: Children can hold the book upright and turn the pages from
beginning to the end without being told to do so.
• Linking Language and Print: Children will begin to point to words and follow
text left to right and top to bottom as they pretend to read and tell a story.
• Word Isolation: Children begin to point to individual words and may make up
meanings for them.
 • Scribbling: Children begin to scribble in lines starting at the top of the page,
one below the other, and scribbling from left to right as they pretend to write.

Key Idea Lesson Scripts:

Scripted lesson plans help teachers learn exactly how to present new material to
pupils. Study the following scripts for use in class.

Practice:
Work in pairs to practice delivering instruction to one another.
1. (8 min) Use the ‘I do, We do, You do’ approach and the script in your Student
Reading and Resource book to teach the Concepts of Print: Purpose of Print lesson
(using a children’s book or curriculum book).

Script for Teaching Concepts of Print: Purpose of Print

I Do We Do You Do
T: When we read a T: Let’s try this together. T: Now you try. Point to
story, we use the words Look at page x in your the words. [Pupils point
to find out what is book. Point to the words to the words in the title
happening. Pictures can in the title of the story. as the teacher circulates
show us something [Pupils and teacher the classroom to ensure
about the story, but only point to the title— all pupils are pointing to
the words tell us the teacher looks around to the words]
story. be sure all pupils are T: Now point to the
T: Look at page x in your pointing to the text and pictures. [Pupils point to
Pupil’s Book. You can not to the the pictures below the
see words at the top and picture] title].
pictures below. I have T: Now point to the
the story in my book too pictures. [Pupils and
(show TG to pupils), but teacher point to the
it is only the words. You pictures]
have the pictures. T:
Look at the words at the
top of the page [point to
 the title in one of the
Pupil Books and show
the class]. This is the
title of the story. The title
of the story gives us an
idea about what we are
reading.

2. (8 min) Use the ‘I do, We do, You do’ approach and the script in your Student
Reading and Resource book to teach the Concepts of Print: How Books Work
lesson (using a children’s book or curriculum book).
Script for Teaching Concepts Of Print: How Books Work
I Do We Do You Do
T: Books are important for T: Let’s try it together. Is T: Now you try. Show me
learning. Look at the book I everyone holding their the front cover of the book
am holding. See this part? book upright? [check that [pupils place their hand on
[put your hand on the pupils are holding the book the front cover].
cover] This is the front correctly] T: Now point to the title
cover of the book. These T: Let’s put our hand on [pupils point to the title].
words are the title [point to the front cover of the book What does the title tell us?
the title]. This tells me the [teacher and pupils put [pupils say the name of the
name of the book. These hand on the cover]. T: book].
words are the name of the Who remembers what the T: Now point to the author
author [point to the title tells us? [pupils say [pupils point to the author].
author’s name] - the that the title tells us the What is the author? [pupils
person who wrote the name of the book]. say the person who wrote
book. Let’s point to the title the book].
I can open the front cover [teacher and pupils point T: Now open the book and
[open the book] and find to the title]. show me what page to
the first page [turn to the T: Who remembers what begin on [pupils open to
first page]. I know this is the author is? [pupils say it page 1]. How do I know
the first page because it is the name of the person this is where I begin?
has the number 1 right who wrote the book].Let’s [pupils say it is page
here [point to the page point to the author’s name number 1]. T: Now show
number]. [teacher and pupils point to me what to do as I read
 When I read a book, I start author]. the book
here on page 1, at the
beginning. As I read,
I turn the pages one at a T: Let’s open the front [pupils turn the pages
time, like this [turn to cover and find the first one at a time].
page 2]. page [teacher and pupils T: Why should we turn
turn to page 1]. only one page? [pupils
I can only turn one page T: Who can tell me how say that they will miss
at a time or I will miss we know this is the page part of the story].
parts of the story we start on? [pupils say
it has page number 1].
T: Who can show me
what we do as we read
each page? [pupils and
teacher turn the pages
one at a time].
T: What will happen if I
turn more than one
page? [pupils say they
will miss part of the
story].

3. (8 min) Use the ‘I do, We do, You do’ approach and the script in your Student
Reading and Resource book to teach the Concepts of Print: How Print Works
lesson (using a children’s book or curriculum book).

Script for Teaching Concepts of Print: How Print Works

I Do We Do You Do
Step 1: Step 1: Step 1:
T: When we read a book T: Let’s do this together. T: Now it is your turn.
or a story, we read the Look at your Pupil Book Put your finger under the
words. Pictures show us page x. Point to the first first word and then move
something that is word in the line and your finger under all the
happening, but we read move your finger under words in the line. [Pupils
the story from the words. the words in the line. point to the first word
T: I will read the words [Teacher and pupils and move their fingers
on this line. [Teacher both point to the first under all the words in
points to the first word in word in a line and move the line as the teacher
a line of text and moves their finger under all the reads the line— teacher
finger from left to right words in the line as the circulates the
under teacher reads

the line as it is read the line—teacher is room correcting pupils

aloud—this is called watching the pupils to as needed] Step 2:
tracking text]. be sure they T: Now it is your turn.
Step 2 (when Pupils are understand. If a student Put your finger under the
able to do Step 1 with is doing this incorrectly, first word and move your
several different stories, the teacher prompts finger under all the
without help or with: “Watch me and do words in the line. When
corrections): as I do. Put your finger you get to the end, go
T: Watch what I do when under the first word and down to the first word in
I read words in a story. then move your finger the next line. [Pupils
When I get to the end of under all the words in point to the first word
the line, I move my the line.”] Step 2: and move their fingers
finger to the first word in T: Let’s try this together. under all the words in
the next line [Teacher Look at your Pupil book the line as the teacher
tracks text under the first page x. Point to the first reads the line— teacher
line, then returns the word in the line and circulates the room
finger to the first word in move your finger under correcting pupils as
the second line and all the words in that line. needed]
continues reading] T: When you get to the **Note: Once Pupils
end of the line, move have learned to do this,
your finger down to the the teacher should
first word in the next line constantly monitor that
[Teacher and pupils pupils are tracking text
track text along the first as they are practicing
line and down to the reading. This will allow
 second line as the teachers to see which
teacher reads the text— pupils are on task and
teacher is watching the which students still need
pupils to be sure they instruction in How Print
understand. If a student Works**
is doing this incorrectly,
the teacher prompts
with: “Watch me and do
as I do. Put your finger
under the first word and
then move your finger
under all the words in
the line. When you get
to the end of the line, go
down to the first word in
the next line”]

Evaluating Pupils’ Knowledge of Concepts of Print

Look at the directions and checklist below. You may practice doing this with a child
in your household or in your neighborhood. (Include this in your reflective journal for
this week.)

Checklist to Evaluate Concepts of Print

Choose a book that has the features listed below. The book should be
developmentally appropriate and reflect the child’s interests and literacy
experiences. It should contain examples of the following features:
• Print and illustration on a single page or two consecutive pages
• Multiple lines of text on a single page
• A variety of punctuation marks (periods, question marks, exclamation marks,
quotation marks, and commas)

Give the child the book and ask the following Correct Incorrect
questions:
1. Can you show me the front of the book?
2. Can you show me the back of the book?
3. Can you show me the title of the book?
4. How should I hold the book?
5. Where should I start reading the book?
Open the book to a pre-selected page and ask the following questions:
6. Can you show me with your finger where I should start
reading on this page?
7. Can you show me with your finger the direction I should
read?
8. Can you point to a letter?
9. Can you point to a word?
10. Can you point to the first word on the page?
11. Can you point to the last word on the page?
12. Can show a sentence?

13. Can you show me the end of a sentence (the

punctuation mark)?
14. Can you show me a space?
15. How many words are in this sentence?
Point to last sentence on page and ask the following:
16. Can you show me where I read next when I have
finished reading this sentence?