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Teaching Pre K-8, May 2001 by Laminack, Lester L

Environmental print in your classroom can encourage more than just letter recognition

Many early childhood educators have been making use of labels and logos to support the emergence of literacy for decades. A tried and true use of environmental print is to help children make connections between the functions and forms of the 26 letters of the alphabet. Children come to school singing the A-B-C song and recognizing some letters in insulation, but it is just as important - perhaps even more so -- to help them understand why letters exist.

Alphabetical order. when helping children make this connection, I use commercially produced alphabet cards and divide a large bulletin board into 26 sections. Moving in alphabetical order from left to right, I attach one letter card in the upper left corner of each section. In the remaining space, I attach packaging from familiar products with the corresponding letters. For example, attach a Colgate(R) toothpaste carton in the "C" section and a Wal-Mart logo from a sales circular in the "W section.

As a way to guide children in becoming more aware of the role letters play in the world around them, invite them to bring in packaging from home. I find that a laundry basket placed under the bulletin board makes a good collection bin. At a designated time each day, you and the children can select items from the collection to examine. For example, select that Colgate carton and hold it up for everyone to see. You might say something like this: "Let's take a look at the item that Trent brought in this morning. Trent, could you join me up here to tell our class about this product?" The child would then explain, "This is toothpaste and I brush my teeth with it three times a day to keep the cavities away."

"That's a good habit," I might say. "Let's take a close look at the carton that Trent has brought for us. It's red and white and has one large word printed on it that tells the name of the toothpaste. Does anyone know what the name of this toothpaste is?" With your help, the children will make the connection between the print and the brand name. Ask them to listen carefully to the word, talk about the first letter in that word and search for the segment on the bulletin board where the carton should be placed.

Lonely letters. After a few days, there will only be a few letters with no product packaging beside them. Point out the letters and invite the students to join in a search over the next several days to find some friends for the lonely letters. As an example, I say to the class, "Let's keep our eyes open and look for things we use at home and at school that begin with the letter 'Y.' "

As the board is filling up, and even after it's complete, it will become a frequently used reference tool. There will be various items in each segment and several different items beginning with the same letter. This will inevitably lead to discussions among the children of initial sounds and invite explorations into the differences in the sound they hear at the beginning of "Com Flakes" and the sound they hear at the beginning of "Cinnamon Toast Crunch." It opens opportunities for sorting the print from our world in another way. Now we can move from a focus on letter name to initial sounds - and we are doing it with print from the world of a child.

Cereal and soap. Another way to extend the use of the print brought in for the bulletin board is to begin sorting the packaging by categories. Keep in mind that you will end up with more material than will fit on the board. Invite the children to gather in small groups around the laundry basket and sort the items in categories. As the sorting begins, let the children know you'll expect them to be able to explain the rules for their sorting. At first they will likely sort on the basis of very obvious similarities - all cereal in one group, all soap in another. Support the thinking behind the categories they create and as they become comfortable, introduce other possibilities such as: things you can eat and things you can't, things that can be eaten out of the box and things that have to be prepared, things that begin with the same sound as "Com Flakes," etc.

A print investigation. Up to this point, all of the environmental print examples have focused on the use of labels, logos and product packaging. After all, that is what most of us think of when someone says environmental print. When I've exhausted these options, I move beyond the print in that laundry basket and point out that print is around us everyday. I extend our exploration of print through a print search throughout the school.

As a team of investigators armed with notepads and pencils, I set out into the school with my class. It's a good idea to have someone in your group bring a Polaroid or digital camera that you can use to record and review your findings later. Move along the hallways and point out room numbers, teacher's names, etc. All throughout the building point out signs like: Exit, Push, Fire Alarm, Principal, Boys, Girls, Teachers Only. Encourage your students to continue their detective work to and from their trip to school.