Encouraging a Print-Rich Environment

Letters, letters everywhere. One of the best ways to encourage the emerging literacy of young pre-readers is to surround them with the letters of the alphabet. At home, put magnetic letters on the refrigerator. Buy puzzles and toys with letter-based themes. Have plenty of storybooks in the home that encourage recitation and recognition of letters and words.

As we explain in our book, Flourishing in the First Five Years: Connecting Implications from Mind, Brain, and Education Research to the Development of Young Children, classrooms are particularly great places to post the letters of the alphabet, both upper- and lowercase, with corresponding pictures. Teachers can reinforce these connections with regular group recitations (“A” is for “Apple,” “B” is for “Banana,” “C” is “Cat,” etc.). There are opportunities all around the room to place different forms of print—labeling various items by their name—i.e., table, chair, toy box—and labeling children’s cubbies with their names.

Teachers also can display wall stories, labeled murals, and word displays. Children in classrooms such as these spontaneously use almost twice as much print in their play as those not exposed to a print-rich environment. Print environments are effective in encouraging reading as well as the earliest stages of writing.

Print-Rich Environments Enrich Learning

Helping young children develop literacy is a key task for parents and early childhood educators alike. We have found that one of the most effective strategies is to surround young children with visualizations of letters and words, both at home and in the classroom.

Magnetic letters, for instance, are a fun diversion for toddlers and preschoolers. If they are just learning to spell their names, they will love to pick out the letters and arrange them on a magnetic surface like a refrigerator or dry-erase board.

This is just one aspect of a print-rich environment that early childhood educators and parents should be encouraging both in a classroom environment and at home. Classrooms are particularly great places to post the letters of the alphabet, both upper- and lowercase, with corresponding pictures. These connections can be reinforced with regular group recitations (“A” is for “Apple,” “B” is for “Banana,” “C” is “Cat,” etc.).