Working with Environmental Print

Marian Hodge, kindergarten teacher and consultant as well as contributor to Cheryl Sigmon's teacher resource site, suggests having your early readers work with environmental print to promote literacy and confidence. Hodge begins by having students collect and bring in examples of environmental print - a picture of a stop sign, the Applebees logo from a take-out menu, etc.

She then uses their collection of recognized print, to create fun literacy games...

• Adding the logos, signs, and words to printable grids, Hodge suggests providing kiddos with fun manipulatives in order to play a game of BINGO.
• Use the environmental print to create cards, print two of each card and, placing them face down on a flat surface, have students test their memory and matching skills with a game of Concentration.
• Arrange the logos and other environmental print into 9 x 9 grids, inviting students to partner up and play a game of Tic-Tac-Toe.
• Create grids of the environmental print and play a Lotto game, calling out clues and having your students cover or cross off the appropriate print {i.e. "cross off the red sign that cars must stop at", etc}. By the end, students should only have one square uncover/not crossed off.

Be sure to head on over to Cheryl's site for more great ideas!