Abstract
Print awareness and concepts about print are foundational understandings required to be able to learn letter-sound correspondence skills which ultimately allow students to decode and read words (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008; Shanahan & Lonigan, 2010). One of the key goals of emergent literacy instruction is to teach preschool-aged children about how print works through building alphabet knowledge, using shared reading to show that the words can be read, and matching letters to sounds and pictures (e.g., A, apple, /a/). This review investigated effective instructional practices that support the development of print awareness and concepts about print in preschool-aged students. Data was collected and analyzed from 21 experimental, correlational, and observational studies and found systematic, explicit and targeted instruction on letter names and sounds, print concepts, and the alphabetic principle impacted student learning. Teachers, researchers, parents / caregivers, and community aides were found to be effective implementers at providing print-based interventions. Shared reading practices with intentional instructional moves around print knowledge (e.g., print concepts, letter sounds, etc.) were found to be effective. Further, relatively short and consistent lessons were found to be effective at teaching preschool students alphabet knowledge, print awareness, and the alphabetic principle.
