Of course, we all know that sharing books with children is a crucial practice to promote their reading skills and development. But a recent post by MindShift suggests that subtle features of the way we act during story time can actually make a big difference in children’s literacy.

A recent study revealed that preschool children are focusing on print only 5-6 percent of the time when we read to them—instead, they’re looking at pictures or looking at us. Researchers are saying “print knowledge”—an awareness of the mechanics of the reading process—is really what advances children’s reading ability.

Ohio State professor Shayne Piasta and her coauthors report that when preschool teachers drew students’ attention to print while reading to them, the children’s skills in reading, spelling and comprehension improved. These positive results were long-lasting, too, still showing up a full two years later. (Read the full post here)

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Influence of verbal and nonverbal references to print on preschoolers’ visual attention to print during storybook reading.