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9.2: Print Rich Environments

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    Print-Rich Environments

    Print-rich environments promote classroom cultures that value literacy explorations. Literacy rich contexts intentionally display children’ own writings, drawings, and pictures alongside a variety of children’s books, writing materials, and engaging charts, diagrams, and signs. Print-rich environments present children with a wealth of reading and writing materials and encourage children to see that print has meaning (McGee, 2007). In print-rich environments children observe adults using printed materials in a variety of ways and for a variety of purposes. In turn, children are guided by educators to use printed materials for their own play purposes. Therefore, careful attention to both the placement of print and the amount of print found within the environment is important.

    Images, symbols, and text designed to cue children’s interactions with text need to be strategically placed to draw children’s attention and encourage sustained engagement. Writing materials, children’s books, and other items that support children’s literacy enactments (e.g., puppet theatres, construction signs in the block center, alphabet stamps in the art center) need to be both visually and physically available so that children instinctively use classroom resources to support their learning explorations. When educators place print-rich classroom literacy materials, including signs, materials, and books, within children’s natural sight lines the literacy materials remain child-centric. This increases the likelihood that children will use the resources in personally meaningful ways. Print that is placed for intentional and functional purposes in “just right spaces” allows children to meaningfully engage and interact with the print. Conversely, print materials positioned in a space “too high” for children to visually or physically access, will not be easily incorporated by children into their play scenarios or learning experiences.

    In addition to deciding where to position print-rich material, educators also need to consider the amount of print in the classroom. Classroom environments with too much print can be overwhelming and distracting to young learners. Environments that overload children’s sensory capacities may impact how children interact with peers and adults and undermine children’s literacy enactments. Ultimately, the print displayed within the classroom should be done so in an intentional manner with children’s literacy interactions in mind. For example, in a veterinarian dramatic play center thematic word and picture charts (e.g., bird, snake, dog, cat), scales for weighing animals, record forms for the children taking care of the animals, and relevant labels (e.g., water, food, check-in) support children’s literacy play experiences.

    The image is of a wall with children's art mounted to it. Each piece of art is labeled with the child's name and the child's verbal statement about the art written out.
    Figure 9.2.1 Children’s verbal statements and a photograph next to their artwork enhances the print-rich environment.

    References

    McGee, L. (2007). Language and literacy assessment in preschool. In J. Paratore & R. McCormack (Eds.), Classroom literacy assessment: Making sense of what students know and can do (pp. 65–84). Guilford Press.

    Image Credits

    Figure 9.2.1: Longwood University. [Writing on the Wall: Print Rich Environment] CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

    This page titled 9.2: Print Rich Environments is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Christine Pegorraro Schull, Leslie La Croix, Sara E. Miller, Kimberly Sanders Austin, and Julie K. Kidd via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.