Teach Your Child To Read With Environmental Print

Traffic signs, restaurant logos – our world is filled with special symbols, words, colors and designs which represent the names of stores, brands and companies. These are all examples of environmental print. The Coca-Cola logo or Target Store bullseye are all recognizable symbols, and “reading” them usually fills children with excitement. In truth, being able to recognize these symbols is a vital pre-reading skill.

Most children will begin reading environmental print before they begin reading letters and words in books. Recognizing environmental print has an important effect on children because it teaches them that symbols have meaning. When a child realizes the Golden Arches stand for the written letters in the name of the restaurant, McDonald’s, they have made a visual connection between the letters on the sign and the picture to make it mean something to them. Children get excited about environmental print because they can experience reading success. And since environmental print is all around us, children get plenty of chances to use and develop their skills. Here are some other fun ways to use environmental print to teach your child to read.

• Pantry Shopping: Save logos or labels from items you use often in the kitchen. Then send your child to the pantry or kitchen cupboards to “shop” for the needed items. You can use newspaper ads and coupons or digital pictures to create a visual list, but be sure to clearly write the name of each item on the list as well. When this becomes too easy, try writing out a list of items for your child to do the shopping and see if they can locate the correct products using only words.

• Environmental Print Bingo: Make bingo cards using your child’s favorite logos for foods, brands, companies and signs. For more of a challenge you can add logos your child might not be familiar with as well. Make a collection of cards with the logos used and the names of the companies, stores, restaurants, etc. printed on the cards. Hold up the card you choose, have your child find the logo on their card and cover it with a coin or other small flat item. As your child becomes more familiar with the logos and words together, try covering up the picture on the card you hold up, and see if they can still find the match using only the words.

• Magazine Hunt: Let children look through magazines and in newspapers to find logos they recognize. They can cut out the logos, or just mark them with a sticky note or bookmark. Your child will love being able to read the newspaper or a magazine, just like a grown-up.

• Label Hunt: Take a trip around your home with your child. Ask them to name items in a room. Let them watch as you clearly print the name of each item you name on a sticky note or piece of paper. Then allow them to place the label on the item. Once the items are labeled, try challenging your child to find all the items in a room starting with a certain letter, such as dresser and desk for letter “D”, or toothpaste and toothbrush for letter “T”.

• Environmental Print I Spy: You and your child can take turns describing items using visual cues, such as color, shape or beginning letter. For example you might refer to a box of spaghetti as: I spy with my little eye something green, a green rectangle, a box full of skinny sticks or something that starts with the letter “S”.

Using environmental print offers many fun opportunities for activities you can use to help your child to read. Since environmental print is all around us, your child will be learning words they see in a variety of settings, and provide opportunities for them to read without help. Children enjoy being able to feel a sense of accomplishment when they can do things by themselves. Enjoy teaching your child to read by using environmental print today.