Print Rich Environment

 What is a print rich environment?  

A print-rich environment is an environment in which reading and writing are used for a wide variety of authentic, everyday purposes.

A print-rich environment includes:

• Child-made books (individual and group-process made)
• Teacher-made books
• Books made by the class based on shared experiences
• Picture books
• Children’s magazines
• Pillows, rugs, rockers (to create a soft, comfortable area)
• Flannel board with stories children can re-tell
• Familiar books that children can ‘read’ from memory
• Pictures of children reading
• Story tapes
• Books for reference
• Dictation taken by the Teacher and posted on large sheets of easel paper.
  Children should be asked open-ended questions (preferably on the curriculum topic of interest for that week) and then their quotes should be written down verbatim. This gives children the message that there are symbols for their words. You will also find when you write down exactly what children say as they say it, over the course of time you can see real strides in language development.
• Quotes on children’s artwork, again word for word. Ask the child if he/she would like to tell you about his/her work.
  Ask if they would like for you to write it down, and where they want it on the picture. What children say about their own work tells us what they are thinking and feeling and their views on the world. It is also a great communication enhancer between parent and child.
• Items labeled throughout the classroom.
  Again, this is to give children the message that everything has a set of recognizable, common symbols that are written down that universally identify it.

Here are some highlights of the South End School to help inspire you to create a Print-Rich Environment too!!

LABELS, LABELS, LABELS

Every item in your classroom should have a clearly labeled spot to store it. 

 If you don't have it in a box, then a label on the shelf will do!  

Here are A Few Tips on Labeling

Make sure your labeling is neat.
If you cannot print neatly, do your text on a computer.

Use the style of writing that is consistent with what we teach.
as that is what your children will be learning to recognize. Big ‘puffy’ letters in all capitals may be confusing to children when they are just learning to recognize letters. 

When labeling shelves for toys, try to use a picture as well. Photographs of the actual object are very helpful.  
If the toy is off the shelf and there is no picture, the word itself usually is not helpful to the pre-reader.

Things are written Left-to-Right, starting at the top left hand of the page.
With the exception of a child’s preference on his artwork, all writing in the classroom should start the same way in which children will be taught to read. We are training their eyes to naturally look to the top left hand part of the page. Also, when reading, sometimes the Teacher should use a finger to ‘track’ the words as he/she reads them, illustrating the progression of the story by text.

Check out these pictures from the SOUTH END!

LABELS ON BULLETIN BOARDS

LABEL YOUR BOOKS 

Labeling your library books with blue painters tape helps to keep the books organized!!

LABEL YOUR CENTERS

There are many ways to decide how many children will be in each center, here's how they do it in the South End school.

EVERYTHING HAS A LABEL!

LA CANASTA DE FRUTA

THE FIRST AID BACKPACK

THE PORTFOLIOS

A SIGN TO REMIND THE PARENTS TO SIGN IN!

Stay tuned for more Ideas de Inspiracion!!

Jacie