Environmental Print in Kindergarten: How Reading One's Surroundings Influences Early Literacy Development

Abstract

Whether found on billboards, containers, road signs or labels, environmental print is all around us. It is the text of one’s everyday world. This project probes the question of how environmental print impacts kindergarteners' literacy development - oral language, reading and writing abilities. It discusses the school-home connection (based on environmental print) and its impact on students' literacy development. It explores the perceived self-awareness of kindergartners as both readers and writers. The purpose of the research was the examination of how students' spontaneously use environmental print as well as how they respond to activities initiated in the classroom. The project took place in a general education kindergarten classroom of 23 students of varying skill levels, and of that number, 18 consented to participation in this research project. Within the classroom setting, multiple forms of environmental print were incorporated. The research study focused on these items, as well as others brought in by the students, to supplement a literacy unit focused on environmental print. Both implicit and explicit environmental print activities were utilized in classroom lessons, discussions, and activities. Data collection included classroom observation, student interviews, parent surveys, and student work. Communication with families in partnership with the classroom work and observation allowed greater understanding of this emerging concept for literacy at the kindergarten level.