New to this topic? Start with our companion article: Concepts About Print: Pre-Reading Skills Every Brisbane Child Needs
You don't need flashcards, apps, or a teaching degree to help your child build concepts about print. In fact, the single most powerful thing you can do is what you're probably already doing — sharing books together. The trick is knowing how to make the most of that time by drawing your child's attention to the print on the page, not just the pictures.
In our previous article, we explained what concepts about print are and why they matter for reading development. In this article, we'll share practical strategies you can use during shared reading and everyday life to build your child's print awareness — naturally and without pressure.
What Is Print Referencing?
Research by Justice and Ezell (2004) introduced the concept of print referencing — the idea that adults can significantly boost children's print awareness simply by drawing attention to print features during shared reading. Their research showed that when adults made deliberate comments and asked questions about the print (not just the pictures), children's concepts about print developed faster.
Print referencing doesn't mean turning story time into a lesson. It means weaving small, natural comments about print into your reading — pointing things out, asking the occasional question, and modelling how print works. Done well, it feels like a normal part of sharing a book. I use this approach with my own boys at bedtime too — and they barely notice I'm doing anything "educational." They just think we're reading together, which is exactly the point.
Strategies for Shared Reading
Here are a few practical things to weave into your regular reading routine:
Point to Words as You Read
Running your finger under the words as you read — moving from left to right — is called finger-point reading, and it teaches your child several things at once: that we read left to right, that the squiggles on the page are what you're actually reading, and that each spoken word matches a written word. You don't need to do this for every page or every book. Even a few pages at a time builds the connection between spoken and written language. It's one of those tiny habits that, across the many families I've worked with, I've seen pay off far more than you'd expect.
Talk About Letters, Words, and the Gaps Between Them
Draw your child's attention to the difference between a letter and a word. "See this? This is one letter — 's.' And this whole thing here — 'snake' — that's the word. It's made up of lots of letters." Pointing out the spaces between words helps too: "See these little gaps? They show us where one word ends and the next one starts." Noticing punctuation fits in here naturally — a full stop is "a little pause," a question mark means "let me read it in my asking voice."
Ask the Occasional Print-Focused Question
Alongside your usual picture-based questions ("What's happening here?"), sprinkle in the occasional question about print — "can you show me where I should start reading on this page?" or "can you point to a word on this page?" One or two per reading session is plenty. The goal is curiosity, not quizzing.
Activities Beyond Books: Environmental Print
Books are brilliant, but they're not the only source of print in your child's world. Environmental print — the words, letters, and signs that surround us every day — is one of the most useful and underused tools for building print awareness. Pointing out road signs, shop names, and cafe menus ("I can see 'pizza' — it starts with 'p'") is one simple version. Another is letting your child watch you write — shopping lists, birthday cards, notes on the calendar — and narrating what you're doing. "I'm writing 'milk' on the list so I remember to buy it." Any kind of mark-making your child does in response, even scribble, helps build the understanding that writing is meaningful communication.
For Educators in Early Childhood Settings
If you work in early childhood education, you're in a wonderful position to embed concepts about print throughout the day. The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) 2022 update recognises early literacy — including print awareness — as part of Learning Outcome 5: "Children are effective communicators." A few things that tend to work well: creating a print-rich environment where labels, routines, and children's names are displayed meaningfully throughout the space; using print referencing during group reading (briefly drawing attention to where you start, the direction you move, or interesting punctuation, without interrupting the flow of the story); and embedding print in play areas — a "cafe" with menus, a "post office" with envelopes, a "vet" with appointment cards. When children use print in play, they're learning that reading and writing have real-world purposes.
Linking to Speech Pathology
Justice, Kaderavek, Fan, Sofka, and Hunt (2009) found that a print-referencing intervention embedded in shared reading led to significant gains in children's print awareness — particularly for children who were at risk of literacy difficulties. Concepts about print are one piece of the early literacy puzzle. They sit alongside phonological awareness, oral language skills, and letter-sound knowledge as the foundations for reading. Speech pathologists assess all of these areas and can identify when a child's print awareness is underdeveloped relative to their age.
If your child is approaching school and seems to have limited understanding of how books and print work — or if they have existing speech or language differences that place them at greater risk of literacy difficulties — a speech pathology assessment can provide a clear picture and guide you toward the right support.
The Key Takeaway
Building concepts about print doesn't require special materials or formal instruction — just attention, curiosity, and regular time with books. Every time you point to a word, name a letter on a sign, or let your child turn the page, you're building the foundation for reading. For families across Brisbane's south side and Logan, get in touch with Speaking Speech Pathology if you'd like to know more about your child's early literacy development. Any actual clinical work — assessment, diagnosis, or therapy — happens through a proper consultation tailored to your child.
Alexandra Bouwmeester is a Senior Speech Pathologist (MSPA, CPSP) and certified Sounds-Write Clinician with over 14 years' experience supporting early literacy. She offers mobile speech pathology to families across Brisbane's south side and Logan.
References
- Justice, L. M., & Ezell, H. K. (2004). Print referencing: An emergent literacy enhancement strategy and its clinical applications. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 35(2), 185–193.
- Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2022). Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (V2.0). Australian Government.
- Speech Pathology Australia. (2021). Child and adolescent literacy clinical guidelines. Speech Pathology Australia.
