Master Print Direction and Reading Flow Skills

You will learn how to follow the right direction when reading books and stories. This skill helps you read words in the correct order so you can understand what you read. When you know how to follow left to right reading direction, reading becomes much easier and more fun.

You always start reading at the left side of the page. Your eyes move from left to right across each line of words. This is how all English books are written.

You can use your finger to point to each word as you read. Start at the left side and move your finger to the right. This helps you follow the words in the right order.

You always start reading at the top of each page. After you finish reading one line, you move down to the next line below it. You keep reading down the page until you reach the bottom.

Think of reading like climbing down a ladder. You start at the top and move down step by step. This helps you read all the words on the page in the right order.

You always start reading a book by opening the front cover. The front cover shows you the title and tells you what the book is about. You read from the front of the book toward the back.

When you finish reading one page, you turn to the next page. You read page one first, then page two, then page three. This helps you follow the story from beginning to end.

Left to Right: You start reading at the left side of the page and move your eyes to the right side as you read each word.

Top to Bottom: You start reading at the top of the page and move down to read each line until you reach the bottom.

Front Cover: The first page of a book that shows the title and picture. You always start reading here.

Back Cover: The last page of a book. You finish reading when you reach this page.

Page: One side of paper in a book that has words and pictures on it.

Line: A row of words that goes from left to right across the page.

Title: The name of the book that tells you what the story is about.

You can practice following print direction by pointing to words as you read. Start at the top left corner of the page and move your finger from left to right. When you finish one line, move your finger to the start of the next line.

You can also practice by looking at the cover of a book first. Find the title and make sure the book is right-side up before you start reading.

This topic connects to Left to Right Reading Direction and Top to Bottom Reading Flow. These skills work together to help you read correctly.

You will also learn about Word Spacing and Direction and Understanding Word Spacing In Print. These topics help you see where one word ends and another begins.

After you master print direction, you will learn about Concepts of print directionality and text features and Caps and Punctuation Marks. These skills build on what you learn here.