Environmental Print

        Environmental print is a term that the parents of every young reader should know.  It is the print words and logos we see all around us.  It could be the label on the box of cereal your child loves or the logo on the jar of peanut butter your family buys.  Environmental print includes the logos of favorite fast food restaurants as well as the brightly colored print and symbols on traffic signs and billboards. 

          Environmental print is usually the first print children recognize.  These familiar print items are captivating and carry strong meaning for children.  Importantly, recognizing environmental print makes children feel successful at "reading" and motivates them to read more.

          You can encourage your child to read environmental print.  As you prepare meals at home encourage your child to read the labels on cans and boxes of food.  While riding in the car, ask your youngster to read traffic signs and billboards.  When you walk into stores, work with your child to read the signs and the labels on the products being sold.

          In our kindergarten classroom, we are engaging in literacy activities that draw attention to the letters and sounds in familiar environmental print.  You can help bring environmental print into the classroom.  Please begin collecting familiar print samples with your child.  Newspaper and magazine ads are an excellent source for print samples, as well as coupons and labels on packaged foods.  Send in as many samples as you can; repeats are welcome.  These samples will be used in conjunction with various phonemic awareness activities in our classroom.

          Please start collecting today!  As always, thank you for helping our young readers to grow.

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