Which group of readers is described as understanding that print contains a consistent message and may use pictures to predict meaning?

• A. Early Readers
• B. Functional Reading
• C. Emergent Readers
• D. Morphemes

Answer: (C)

Understanding that print carries a message and that pictures can help predict meaning is a hallmark of emergent readers. At this stage, children are just beginning to engage with books and rely on the illustrations to guess what the text is about and what might come next. They understand that the meaning of the print stays the same as they turn pages, and they use pictures as clues to anticipate the story or message. This foundation—print has meaning, and pictures can guide understanding before or alongside decoding words—is what characterizes emergent readers.

Early readers start to blend picture cues with more decoding as they move beyond guessing, Morphemes refers to units of meaning in words rather than a reader group, and Functional reading focuses on reading for everyday tasks rather than using picture clues to predict meaning.