Simple and Effective Literacy Activities: ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT
This post is part of a series of FREE Simple and Effective Literacy Activities. To read more about my personal philosophy on how to help teach a love of all things literacy, head here.
WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT?
Environmental Print is the print we see every day all around us. It’s the name given to the print that appears on signs, labels, and logos. Environmental Print includes street signs, candy wrappers, jars of food, grocery store aisle names and reader boards in front of fast food joints. And, it can include whatever you choose to label in your classroom and/or all around the house!
WHY IS ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT EFFECTIVE AS A LITERACY ACTIVITY?
Environmental Print is one of the most powerful LITERACY tools we have available to us. And, it is available everywhere and it is available all of the time. And, it benefits people of all ages by easily connecting text with a known object.
After moving to a foreign country, I recall the impact that the signs had on me. There was something so simple about connecting new words in an unknown language to a storefront I could identify visually. So, I quickly learned the new words for bank, fast food, salon, movie theater, police station, school, etc.
Then, decades later, I witnessed my own three-year-old son stopping dead in his short, stubby-legged tracks to try his best to read an EXIT sign at a hotel. It was in that moment, that I realized he knew there was something to read amongst that light-up contraption above the door. He just did not know know how to read it. So, I taught him.
And, on the other end of life’s continuum, I noticed that my father, as he suffered from Alzheimer’s, would read whatever sign he could find along the short paths in between doctor’s visits. It was something he could still do, so he did.
Environmental Print is powerful. And it is also totally free and simple to use!
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT?
As told in my little story above, I truly believe everyone can! But, if you’re trying to decide whether papering your home with labels is worth it, I would say that environmental print would benefit several levels of readers beginning with true pre-readers up through those embarking on independence.
It’s really all about WHAT you label. Label the simple, everyday type word {book, desk, table} but also label the more obscure, complex items {chandalier, alcove, halogen} AND everything in between!
HOW SIMPLE IS IT TO USE ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT?
If you think making a WORD FLIPBOOK was easy, wait until see how simple it is to implement ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT! All you need is this ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT PRINTABLE, a pair of scissors and some tape {or other adhesive product.}
Once you have those simple supplies gathered, all you need to do is print the pack and follow these easy steps. {You can find these directions in the free PRINTABLE too, of course.}
HOW CAN ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT BE MODIFIED?
The beauty of ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT is how easy it is to adapt it for anyone, anywhere. You just simply decide whether to label more or fewer items, write in big or small text, and use single words or thorough descriptions. You can also label things in only one room or, heck, do what I did and label everything in every room. Really, my neat-freak husband just about pitched a fit when I hung an index card sign to one of the fan blades in the living room. But, he did graciously allow it and learned to laugh as more and more signs showed up everywhere.
Sidenote….when we moved out of that home, we left the sign on the fan blade. 🙂
But, however you decide to put ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT to use, I strongly encourage you to do so!
Simple and Effective Literacy Activities: ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER SIMPLE & EFFECTIVE LITERACY ACTIVITIES
this is brilliant!
Wow, I never knew what it was called! I’m now 61 y.o. and I learned to read before I could say the words. My parents found a program in the early 60’s (maybe even earlier) that had cards with names of items on them. They taped them EVERYWHERE!
They would point at the thing, lets say a lamp. The word lamp was taped to it and they would say the word out loud. Many other items were similarly labeled. Then later, they would take the labels down and randomly show me the cards. Then I pointed to the object. Later I learned phonics and continued in my adventure of reading!
The funny thing about it is, my parents owned a General Store in Fox, Alaska at that time. Customers would come in and they would notice the word cards. They’d look at my folks and say things like… “I know that is a lamp, why the labels?”
Anyhoo… I was tickled to read about your resource!
Tammy,
Fairbanks, Alaska