Which of the following best reflects an appropriate focus for assessing print awareness in early literacy?

• A. Recognizing how letters form words and are printed in books
• B. Analyzing theme across texts
• C. Summarizing a passage
• D. Evaluating author's purpose

Answer: (A)

Print awareness focuses on understanding print as a vehicle for language and how it's organized in books. In early literacy, children learn that letters combine to form words and that those words are printed in a readable, left-to-right, top-to-bottom format in texts. Recognizing how letters come together to form words and how print appears in books directly demonstrates this foundational awareness of how written language works, which is essential before moving on to more complex reading skills.

The other tasks focus on meaning or interpretation of the text—themes, summaries, or an author’s purpose—which are important for comprehension but don’t address how print itself is arranged, used, or recognized in the early stages of literacy.