Concepts of Print (COP)
Concepts of Print is a criteria-referenced assessment which shows whether or not children in the pre-reading and early learning stages of reading understand:
- how a book works (e.g. front and back, pages)
- the conventions of print (e.g. left to right directionality and backward sweep)
- the important terminology needed for learning to read (e.g. picture, word, letter)
- simple punctuation marks such as full stops and question marks.
Age range
4–6 years (or older if at the pre-reading or early stages of learning to read).
Who can use it?
Mainly teachers.
How is it used?
The teacher selects any book that will appeal to the child. The book should have:
- print and illustrations on the same page or on a double-page spread
- more than one line of print on at least one of the pages
- some basic punctuation marks.
The teacher sits one-to-one with the child and asks the child to help them read the book, ensuring that all the questions on the concepts of print pro forma are included. If the child appears to be losing interest at any point, it is permissible (as this is not a standardised assessment) to stop the assessment and complete the unanswered questions on another occasion with either the same or a different book as the stimulus. There are no time limits. There are instructions about how to use COP with second language learners.
What can it tell us?
The analysis of the responses will show which concepts are known and identify those that need to become part of the child’s teaching programme.
Pros
- Simple to carry out and is non-threatening to the child as it is just like sharing a book.
- It is important to ensure that the child knows about how print and books work so that they can gain maximum benefit from teaching.
- Particularly important for use with deaf children as these concepts are often picked up incidentally by hearing children, but this may not be the case with deaf children.
- Any books that appeal to the child can be used.
Cons
- Old fashioned presentation.
- There are many different types of issues that EAL children can have with concepts of print. Different languages have different concepts of print. For example, Arabic and Hebrew read from right to left while English, Spanish and French all read left to right.
Is there a cost?
No. The assessment can generally be downloaded free of charge.
Where can I access it?
A web search for ‘concepts of print’ will provide several downloadable examples. One option is Legit Literacy. This website includes suggested teaching strategies for all the different concepts. It also features a YouTube video of a teacher describing what COP is and how students work with it.