Activities for Developing a Literacy-Rich Environment
Adding Print In the Environment
Children need many opportunities to see print in their environment. Surrounding children
with print helps them to build strong mental images of what letters and words look like.
Through this activity, children will:
• begin to understand what letters and words are
• learn that words are used to convey meaning
• learn that everything has a name—and that words are used to name things
• begin to develop an understanding of what letters and words are
• connect words to the items they name.
Directions: There are many ways to fill your classroom with print. The following
suggestions are for use in classrooms and homes. Remember to use both upper- and
lower-case letters. Only the first letter of children’s names should be written with a
capital letter.
1. Make signs for each of the interest areas or learning centers in your classroom.
Post these at the eye level of the children. Use words and appropriate pictures on
each sign.
Home: Make a sign for the child’s room: “Joseph’s room.”
2. Label the containers used to store toys. Put the word, and an identifying picture on
each label. Place an identical label on the shelf so children can match the label on
the toy container to the place on the shelf where the container should be returned.
Home: Make signs for as many furnishings/objects as possible: refrigerator, door,
bed, dresser, closet, etc. Point out printed words that appear on billboards, store
signs, and restaurant signs.
3. Put children’s names on their cubbies, mailboxes, and/or lockers. Add their
pictures, as well. Provide charts with the children’s names and pictures by a signin sheet near the entrance, near the writing center, and near the art center.
Home: Put children’s names on their belongings.
4. Take advantage of natural opportunities to write down children’s language on
large chart paper. Display charts on the walls. For example, “What we might see
at the farm,” and “What we saw at the farm.”
Home: Take advantage of natural opportunities to write down children’s
language. Some examples include dishes that children would like you to prepare
for dinner, sentences that describe their art, and written reminders for themselves,
or other family members. Hang these in a place where children will see them
often.
Project ELIPSS • Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood • 27 Horrabin Hall • Western Illinois University
Macomb, IL 61455 • 309-298-1634 • www.wiu.edu/thecenter/