Print Referenced Reading

I just read a collaborative report on print focused read alouds in preschool classrooms. It was really interesting. The study showed that four and five year old children who were read alound to with “print focus” (i.e. engaging the child by referencing specific print intermittently) had increased pre-literacy skills compared to their peers. The implications of this report is that parents and tea…chers alike can utilize this best practice method and have a positive impact on their child’s literacy development. Let’s not forget however, that literacy development, like speech, is more complex than a single prong teaching method. Children benefit from adults modeling good literacy techniques. This is just one more idea for our tool box of strategies to promote the good habits of literacy development.