The term ‘environmental print’ refers to print that is present in daily life. Brand logos, labels, street signs etc. are examples of environmental print.
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Without a second thought, you probably recognise the signs and symbols in the above list. You are able to do this because you have been exposed to these symbols and signs all of your life, ever since you were a toddler.
Environmental Print: Why Is It Important?
It has been demonstrated that exposing children to environmental print in their sociocultural setting can help them improve their logographic reading abilities. These abilities in turn support the growth of emergent literacy abilities, which are the building blocks of traditional reading abilities. Parents and early childhood educators can utilise environmental print to acquire emergent literacy abilities.
In order to be print conscious, a child must understand that spoken language may be translated into written language, that print is composed of symbols, how to handle a book, how to turn the pages and where to begin reading. These attitudes and ideas are learnt through social interaction. Being exposed to environmental print is a type of social interaction as all kinds of social information are transmitted to children through this.
Children can recognise print around them starting from age three, according to studies.
This recognition is crucial for successful reading even though it is not considered actual reading. Examples of environmental print are stickers, logos, highway signs, billboards and the names of items on a restaurant menu. These prints aid in teaching children about the significance and purpose of prints. It is understood that exposure to environmental print helps children understand letters more easily. Utilising these prints in reading-writing activities encourages children to read stories and write, as well as gives them opportunities to practise writing in preschool years, which helps them recognise letters of different sizes, forms and colours.
Here are some ways to expose your child to environmental print.
- Create a book with your child using print found around your home. This will help them become familiar with it. Cut out labels and logos from magazines, catalogues and product packaging. Then sort them by category (like street signs, food labels, toy logos etc.) and paste them onto cardboard or a noticeboard. You can then ask your child to read it out aloud to you.
- When driving or taking a walk, point to the environmental prints around your child. This increases their print awareness and allows them to learn how symbols and prints around them impact those around them.
- Ask them to create environmental prints which they think should exist. This could be anything, from an instructional to an informative purpose. It is up to the children to come up with the meaning they want to assign to the print. This encourages creativity and gently pushes them to navigate the relationship of words, symbols and pictures in the world.
In summary, print awareness helps to build vocabulary, increase recognition of sight words and develop an understanding of print concepts. Teachers and parents can encourage environmental print awareness by pointing out and discussing different examples of print in everyday life, and by incorporating environmental print activities into their early literacy instruction.
