ARTICLE SUMMARY TWO

Fall 2010 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Volume 38, Number 3 23

“Hey, Ms. McMillan, you have three McDonald’s® in
your name.” This observation, made by 4-year-old Jadin as
his prekindergarten teacher wrote her name, reflects young
children’s familiarity with popular logos and commercial
print that they see every day.

Early encounters with environmental print, words, and
other graphic symbols found in children’s surroundings are
among their first concrete exposures to written language
(Goodman, 1986; McGee & Richgels, 2000; Teale, 1986).
These experiences

• provide an introduction to making meaning of
abstract symbols and

• offer children their first opportunity to make
sense of the world through print (Kassow, 2006).

As a result, children typically read print from their en-
vironment before reading print in books (Clay, 1993;
Goodman & Altwerger, 1981).

Why Environmental Print Is
Important in Early Literacy

More than 4 decades of research on the role of envi-
ronmental print has substantiated its important influence
in young children’s literacy development (Reutzel, Faw-
son, Young, Morrison, & Wilcox, 2003). The prepon-
derance of studies on environmental print, however, took
place in earlier decades (Aldridge and Rust, 1987; Durkin,
1966; Heibert, 1978; Kuby, Kirkland, & Aldridge, 1996;
McGee & Jones, 1990) and focused on its impact on early
reading behaviors. Interest in the impact of environmen-
tal print on children’s early writing is a more recent de-
velopment.

Research clearly shows the benefits of exposure to en-
vironmental print for emergent readers and writers. In one
study of preschoolers, 60% of the 3-year-olds and 80% of
5-year-olds could read environmental print in its context

of cereal boxes, toothpaste cartons, traffic signs, and soft
drink logos (Goodman, 1986).

Children are initially dependent on the label or logo as-
sociated with the word (Cloer, Aldridge, & Dean,
1981/82; Kuby, Aldridge, & Snyder, 1994; Ylisto, 1967).
As their understanding of print and phonetic skills neces-
sary for reading increases, they gradually begin to read
words presented separately from the logo.

Children’s responses to environmental print are the di-
rect outcomes of their prior experience with it (Harste,
Burke, & Woodward, 1982). Academically at-risk pre-
schoolers recognized significantly fewer environmental
print logos than did their academically advantaged peers
(Shaffer & McNinch, 1995). However, studies consistently
show that regardless of socioeconomic status (Heath,
1983; Purcell-Gates, 1996) or home language (Teale,
1986; Xu, 1999) all children benefit from exposure to
print in their environment.

How can teachers build on what young children are experiencing in the world around them…and
promote early literacy at the same time? This article describes the many values of incorporating
environmental print in early childhood classrooms.

Children Write Their World:
Environmental Print as a Teaching Tool

Rebecca McMahon Giles and Karyn Wellhousen Tunks

Rebecca McMahon Giles, Ph.D., is Professor of Early
Childhood and Elementary Education, Department of
Leadership and Teacher Education, University of South Ala-
bama, Mobile.

Karyn Wellhousen Tunks, Ph.D., is Associate Professor
Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Department of
Leadership and Teacher Education, University of South Ala-
bama, Mobile.

Giles and Tunks are the co-authors of Write Now! Publishing
With Young Authors: Pre-K Through Grade 2 and have nu-
merous joint publications and professional presentations on
literacy-related topics.

Children typically read
environmental print first.

24 Volume 38, Number 3 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Fall 2010

Choose Suitable
Environmental Print

Using environmental print in pre-
school, kindergarten, and primary
classrooms is an important part of de-
veloping a language/literacy-rich
learning environment. Many products
marketed in the United States are la-
beled in English, French, and Span-
ish, so they can be tools to broaden
children’s language experiences even
further. Even so, reading environ-
mental print is likely to be individual
and dependent upon geographic loca-
tion (Heath, 1983). For this reason,
children should collect much of the
environmental print that they will
learn from at school.

• Experiences in which children
take ownership, such as
cutting out a recognizable
name or label from a
container or magazine found
at home, are particularly
beneficial.

• Contributing their own ex-
amples of environmental
print to create class books or
displays also strengthens the
home-school connection.

Activities like these reinforce the fact
that readable and writable print can
be found everywhere, while ensuring
that the print is actually familiar to
the children.

The purpose of using familiar envi-
ronmental print for instruction is to

form a bridge between the known and
new, so it is important that teachers use
examples that are meaningful for the
children in each group. Horner (2005)
recommends emphasizing the use of
child-familiar logos—such as those
from toys, movies, and television
shows—rather than community signs
or household items. These were found
to be most recognizable by both males
and females of various ages. For in-
stance, the journal entries in Photo 1,
by two kindergarten girls, reflect their
recognition of and interest in the text
found on a classmate’s lunchbox.

Horner (2005) also points out that
an educator’s use of logos could imply
approval of the products they repre-
sent. She recommends that teachers

All photos courtesy of the authors

Photo 1: Two lunchbox-inspired journal entries by kindergarten girls. Child-familiar logos—such as those from toys, movies, and
television shows—were found to be most recognizable by both males and females of various ages.

Fall 2010 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Volume 38, Number 3 25

use nutritious food logos and widely
acceptable toy names whenever possible.

Children usually enter learning set-
tings already familiar with a wide va-
riety of commercial environmental
print, such as road signs and house-
hold product logos. Their classrooms
often are filled with homemade envi-
ronmental print, such as daily sched-
ules, labels on shelves, and a list of
birthdays. Initial experiences with
both types of environmental print en-
able children to associate print with
meaning (Kuby, Aldridge, & Snyder
1994; Vukelich, 1994). This enables
them to build confidence in their abil-
ity to read, which is necessary for be-
coming successful readers (Adams,
1990; Chall, 1996; Cunningham,
1998; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).

In addition to supporting young
readers, recent research demonstrates
how print from the environment gives
young children confidence to experi-
ment and use print resources to im-
prove their writing (Tunks & Giles,
2007). These researchers found that
children experimenting with writing
engage in “environmental printing”—
copying conventional forms of
print—directly from sources in their
immediate surroundings. This study
of kindergarteners’ journal-writing be-
havior revealed three distinct ways
children used environmental print.

• Some children used en-
vironmental print simply as a
source to copy without regard
to its meaning.

• Environmental print also
served as a resource for the
correct spelling of particular
words or phrases, such as the
day of the week, needed in
the child’s message.

• Environmental print inspired
children’s choices of writing
topics.

For all three uses, children relied on
the print found in their immediate
surroundings to successfully convey
a message.

Reading familiar logos contributes
to children’s view of themselves as
competent readers and helps them ap-
proach learning to read with enthusi-
asm and confidence (Wepner, 1985).

Similarly, copying available text con-
tributes to children’s views of them-
selves as writers by allowing them to
produce readable text.

After children realize that “real
writing” is compiled from a set of pre-
determined characters (letters), they
often replace or supplement their
drawing and scribbles with letters or
words copied from the environment.
Whether or not children can read or
comprehend these words is irrelevant.
Their choice to include them is evi-
dence of their understanding of the
difference between pictures or sym-
bols and text. This use of environ-
mental printing allows emerging
writers to convey an understandable
message to others, and the positive re-
sponse they receive for this accom-
plishment reinforces their future
attempts at writing the words that
they see (Tunks & Giles, 2007).

Three distinct ways young
children use environmental
print:
• As a source to copy without

regard to its meaning
• As a resource for the correct

spelling of particular words
or phrases, such as the day
of the week, needed in the
child’s message

• To inspire children’s choices
of writing topics (Tunks &
Giles, 2007)

Photo 2: Kindergarteners’ contributions resulted in this classroom display of
environmental print. Show environmental print samples that children bring from home,
such as sales fliers, healthy-food wrappers, safe household product containers, or
art-supply cartons. Colorful displays draw children’s attention to familiar packaging and
related print while serving as a springboard for conversation, reading, and writing.

26 Volume 38, Number 3 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Fall 2010

Offer Environmental
Print Learning
Materials

How do wise adults support
emerging writers? They encourage
young children to incorporate words
from their environment into their
writing, thus producing authentic and
readable text. Environmental print
can easily be incorporated into dis-
plays such as word walls and bulletin
boards, classroom libraries, and other
learning materials found in high-qual-
ity early childhood classrooms.

Displays Such as Word Walls
Engaging children in conversations

about print seen in everyday settings
increases their curiosity, expands their
general knowledge, and improves com-
munication skills while helping them
understand the alphabetic system.
Bulletin boards can show environ-
mental print samples that children
bring from home, such as sales fliers,
healthy-food wrappers, safe household
product containers, or art-supply car-
tons (see Photo 2). These colorful dis-
plays draw children’s attention to
familiar packaging and related print
while serving as a springboard for con-
versations, reading, and writing.

Many kindergarten and primary
classrooms feature word walls to ex-
hibit a variety of familiar words, such as
sight vocabulary or children’s names
(see Photo 3). Adding environmental
print to the word wall increases the
usefulness of this valuable resource for
emergent literacy learners as they en-
gage in writing activities.

Digital photographs of familiar
street signs, names of businesses, and
billboards found in the school com-
munity also stimulate children’s inter-
est in the print around them and
provide both inspiration for and mod-

els of writing. When possible, take
walking trips in the school neighbor-
hood to take photos of the print sam-
ples that children choose, and ask
families to engage in similar projects
at home.

Classroom Library
Every classroom library collect-

ion is enhanced when it features

children’s literature that includes en-
vironmental print (Table 1). Books
such as Tana Hoban’s I Read Symbols
and I Read Signs use colorful photo-
graphs to show recognizable print in
familiar contexts. Other books, such
as School Bus by Donald Crews and A
House Is a House for Me by Mary Ann
Hoberman, embed environmental
print into the illustrations.

Table 1. Environmental Print Books for Young Children

Ancona, G. (2003). Murals: Walls That Sing. Tarrytown, NY: Cavendish.
Canizares, S., & Chanko, P. (1998). Signs. New York: Scholastic.
Crews, D. (1993). School Bus. New York: Harper-Trophy.
Hill, M. (2003). Signs at the Airport. New York: Children’s Press.
Hill, M. (2003). Signs at the Park. New York: Children’s Press.
Hill, M. (2003). Signs at the Pool. New York: Children’s Press.
Hill, M. (2003). Signs on the Road. New York: Children’s Press.
Hill, M. (2003). Signs at the School. New York: Children’s Press.
Hill, M. (2003). Signs at the Store. New York: Children’s Press.
Hoban, T. (1987). I Read Signs. New York: Harper-Trophy.
Hoban, T. (1983). I Read Symbols. New York: Greenwillow.
Hoberman, M.A. (1982). A House Is a House for Me. New York: Picture Puffin.
Holub, J. (1998). Red, Yellow, Green: What Do Signs Mean? New York: Cartwheel.
Klove, L. (1996) I See a Sign. New York: Aladdin.
Milich, Z. City Signs. Buffalo, NY: Kids Can Press.

Photo 3: Environmental print enhances a traditional word wall. Digital photographs of
familiar street signs, names of businesses, and billboards found in the community can
also be displayed to stimulate children’s interest in the print around them and provide
both inspiration for and models of writing.

Fall 2010 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Volume 38, Number 3 27

Books on familiar science, social
studies, and math topics, such as but-
terflies, vehicles, families, and shapes
also include images and words from
children’s everyday worlds. Choose a
varied collection from which children
can build their vocabularies and
knowledge about how print is incor-
porated into their lives.

In addition to published books,
children can make their own books of
environmental print, both individu-
ally and as a class. These can be cre-
ated by stapling a cardstock cover to
blank pages of different shapes and
sizes, according to their purpose.

For example, a class book of
“Words We Can Read” might be
made when each child contributes en-
vironmental print cut from a food
container, shopping bag, or magazine.
Other class books may be made
around themes such as “What’s for
Breakfast?” The book might feature
environmental print from favorite
breakfast items, such as cereal, frozen
waffles, or bananas, that could be em-
bedded into predictable text, such as “
I like to eat _______________ for
breakfast.”

Big books made solely from the
print found on cereal boxes inspire
nutrition-related writing activities that
incorporate skills such as listing, de-
scribing, and sequencing (Kettenring
& Graybill, 1991). Children can use
words such as whole grain, fruit, and
milk in meaningful context.

Individual books are made as chil-
dren fill their blank pages with envi-
ronmental print they choose. They
might create books with titles such as
“My Favorite Places” or “Upper-Case
Letters I Found.” These readable
books will become instant favorites.
They contribute to children’s confi-
dence in their ability to read and write
as they are enjoyed again and again.
Repeated readings to various audi-
ences, friends and family alike, further
enhance children’s views of themselves
as authors and motivate children to
engage in future publishing.

Learning Materials
Teacher-made learning materials

can be easily constructed using famil-
iar logos cut from recycled product
packages, ads and sale fliers, maga-
zines, or printed from Web sites.

Laminated cards of environmen-
tal print word sets, including words
children chose, can be used in a vari-
ety of ways. Young children can sort
by beginning sounds, number of let-
ters or syllables, or categories. Older
children can practice putting words in
alphabetical order without the con-
stant erasing and rewriting that often
accompanies pencil-and-paper alpha-
betizing (Rule, 2001).

With two sets of word cards, chil-
dren can match logos, play games such
as concentration, or come up with
their own creative variations of favorite
games. Older children may enjoy the
challenge of matching logos to words
written separately on a sentence strip,
which encourages them to focus on the
unique features of the letters rather
than their color and design.

Teachers can make simple puzzles
by cutting apart fronts of clean pizza
boxes or other recycled cardboard
packaging that includes both print and
logos. As children put the pieces back
together, they focus on details in the
graphics and words. The same is true
when children are encouraged to col-
lect and match, sort, or reassemble puz-
zles made from product coupons or
magazine advertisements, for example.

All of these activities provide
repeated exposure to familiar print,
giving children opportunities to
incorporate words into their sight

Photo 4: Locations identified on a United States map puzzle became the impetus for
this kindergartener’s list of places he wanted to visit. The print and pictures displayed on
the completed puzzle became the inspiration for his writing as well as providing the as-
sistance needed to write a readable message he eagerly shared.

Children should collect
much of the

environmental print.

Stock play areas with
authentic environmental

print and writing supplies.

28 Volume 38, Number 3 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Fall 2010

vocabularies and, later, their written
vocabularies and journals. Each word
a child knows how to write holds the
potential for future use.

Environmental Print in
Daily Explorations

Early writing attempts can easily be
promoted by deliberately stocking
children’s play and learning areas with
a combination of authentic environ-
mental print and writing supplies
along with other props. For example,
a block center that contains street
signs, “under construction” labels, and
corporate logos such as those from
restaurants and manufacturers en-
courages the use of environmental
print when building. Coupling such
signs with blank index cards, sticky
notes, and markers promotes environ-
mental printing as children label or
write about their structures.

Placing cookbooks, large colorful
paper, and blank recipe cards in the
pretend play area may prompt chil-
dren to record the dishes being served.
They might design restaurant menus
or transfer information from a cook-
book to a personalized recipe box
using the original text as a model and
spelling reference. By adding labeled
measuring utensils in pretend and
water/sand play, children begin to see
the relationship between quantities,
numerals, and words.

Setting up a classroom movie rental
facility, pet rescue service, or grocery
store with children for their dramatic
play is another way to provide familiar
environmental print as a motivation
for writing. Telephone books, maga-
zines, travel brochures, play money,
and similar items all can expand chil-
dren’s early literacy resources.

A variety of creative manipulatives,
such as games, music, art materials, toy
vehicles, and puzzles include print. For

example, locations identified on a
United States map puzzle became the
impetus for one kindergartener’s list of
places he wanted to visit (see Photo 4).
The print and pictures displayed on
the completed puzzle became the in-
spiration for his writing as well as pro-
viding the assistance needed to write a
readable message he eagerly shared.

With a wide array of manipulatives
that spark the use of environmental
print, children will soon be able to
write words to their favorite songs,
learn color name words (in three lan-
guages) from crayons or markers, and
match the names and shapes of
seashells. Immersing children in a
learning setting intentionally filled
with environmental print to be used
as a writing resource increases their
ability and motivation to write.

* * *

Children who are surrounded by
print flourish in literacy development
and are often more successful in
school. As children observe, read, dis-
cuss, and copy the signs and symbols
in their world, they become aware
that literacy is part of everyone’s daily
activities. They come to realize that
reading and writing fulfill various pur-
poses and functions in their lives. En-
vironmental print

• provides models for children’s
writing,

• helps them internalize correct
spellings of commonly used
words, and

• inspires their own writing
through environmental printing.

With support and guidance,
young children eventually learn to

write conventionally, composing mes-
sages for a variety of purposes and au-
diences. Consciously capitalizing on
their familiarity with environmental
print as an aid for early writing is one
way to promote their progress on the
road to becoming independent au-
thors and readers.

References
Adams, M.J. (1990). Beginning to read:

Thinking about learning and print.
Cambridge, MA: NUT Press.

Aldridge, J.T., & Rust, D. (1987). A begin-
ning reading strategy. Academic Ther-
apy,22(3), 323–26.

Chall, J. (1996). Stages of reading develop-
ment (2d ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Har-
court Brace.

Clay, M. (1993). An observation survey of
early literacy achievement. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.

Cloer, T., Aldridge, J., & Dean, R.
(1981/1982). Examining different levels
of print awareness. Journal of Language
Experience, 4(1 &2), 25-33.

Cunningham, P. (1998). Want to teach
basic skills? Try brand-name phonics! In-
structor, 105 (5), 44-45.

Durkin, D. (1966). Children who read early.
New York: Teachers College Press.

Goodman, Y. (1986). Children coming to
know literacy. In W.H. Teale & E. Sulzby
(Eds.), Emergent literacy: Writing and read-
ing (p. 1-14). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Goodman, Y., & Altwerger, B. (1981). Print
awareness in preschool children: A study of
the development of literacy in preschool
children. Occasional paper number 4,
Program in language and literacy, Ari-
zona Center for Research and Develop-
ment, College of Education, University
of Arizona.

Harste, J., Burke, C., & Woodward, V.
(1982). Children’s language and world:
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Langer & M.T. Smith-Burke (Eds.),
Reader meets author/Bridging the gap: A
psycholinguistic perspective (pp. 105-131).
Newark, DE: International Reading As-
sociation.

Heath, S. (1983). Ways with words: Lan-
guage, life, and word in communities and
classrooms. New York: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press.

Children who are
surrounded by print flourish

in literacy development.

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Hiebert, E.H. (1978). Preschool children’s
understanding of written language.
Child Development, 49(4), 1231-1234.

Horner, S.L. (2005). Categories of environ-
mental print: All logos are not created
equal. Early Childhood Education Jour-
nal, 33(2), 113-119.

Kassow, D.Z. (2006). Environmental print
awareness in young children. Talaris
Research Institute, 1(3), 1-8.

Kettenring, L., & Graybill, N. (1991). Ce-
real boxes foster emergent literacy. The
Reading Teacher, 44(7) 522-523.

Kirkland, L., Aldridge, J., & Kuby, P.
(1991). Environmental print and the
kindergarten classroom. Reading Im-
provement, 28(4), 219-222.

Kuby, P., Aldridge, J., & Snyder, S. (1994).
Developmental progression of environ-
mental print recognition in kindergarten
classroom. Reading : An Inter-
national Quarterly, 15, 1-9.

Kuby, P., Kirkland, L., & Aldridge, J. (1996).
Learning about environmental print
through picture books. Early Childhood
Education Journal, 24(1), 33-36.

McGee, L.M., & Jones, C. (1990). Learning
to use print in the environment: A
collaboration. The Reading Teacher, 44,
170–172.

McGee, L.M., & Richgels, D.J. (2000). Lit-
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ers and writers (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn &
Bacon.

Purcell-Gates, V. (1996). Stories, coupons,
and the TV Guide: Relationship between
home literacy experiences and emergent
literacy knowledge. Reading Research
Quarterly, 31(4), 406-428.

Reutzel, D.R., Fawson, P.C., Young, J.R.,
Morrison, T.G., & Wilcox, B. (2003).
Reading environmental print: What is
the role of concepts about print in dis-
criminating young readers’ responses?
Reading , 24(2), 123-162.

Rule, A.C. (2001). Alphabetizing with envi-
ronmental print. The Reading Teacher,
54(6), 558-562.

Shaffer, G., & McNinch, G. (1995). Parents’
perceptions of young children’s awareness
of environmental print. In W. Linek & E.
Sturtevant (Eds.), Generations of literacy:
The seventeenth yearbook of the college read-
ing association (pp. 278-286). Washing-
ton, DC: National Academy Press.

Snow, C.M., Burns, M., & Griffin, P.
(1998). (Eds.). Preventing reading diffi-
culties in young children. Washington,
DC: National Academy Press.

Teale, W. (1986). Home background and
young children’s literacy development. In
W.H. Teale & E. Sulzby (Eds.), Emergent
literacy: Writing and reading. Norwood,
NJ: Ablex.

Tunks, K.W., & Giles, R.M. (2007). Write
Now! Publishing With Young Authors:
PreK-grade 2. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.

Vukelich, C. (1994). Effects of play inter-
ventions on young children’s reading of
environmental print. Early Childhood Re-
search Quarterly, 9, 153-170.

Wepner, S. (1985). Linking logos with print
for beginning reading success. Reading
Teacher, 38(7), 633-639.

Xu, H. (1999). Re-examining continuities
and discontinuities: Language minority
children’s home and school literacy expe-
riences. In T. Shanahan & F.V. Ro-
driquez-Brown (Eds.), Forty-eighth
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(pp. 224-237). Chicago: National Read-
ing Conference.

Ylisto, I. (1967). An empirical investigation
of early reading responses of young chil-
dren. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

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Note: Dimensions of Early Childhood readers are encouraged to copy this material for early childhood students as well as teachers of young children as a professional development tool.

Put These Ideas Into Practice!
Children Write Their World:

Environmental Print as a Teaching Tool
Rebecca McMahon Giles and Karyn Wellhousen Tunks

Schickedanz, J.A., & Cabergue, R.M. (2004). Writing in Preschool:
Learning to Orchestrate Meaning and Marks. Newark, DE:
International Reading Association.

Tunks, K.W., & Giles, R.M. (2007). Write Now! Publishing With
Young Authors, Pre-K Through Grade 2. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.

For further reading

Points to Keep in Mind

Enrichment Experiences

Early encounters with environmental print, words, and other graphic symbols found in children’s
surroundings are among their first exposure to written language. These experiences

• provide an introduction to making meaning of abstract symbols,
• offer children their first opportunity to make sense of the world through print, and
• enable children to take ownership, such as cutting out a recognizable name or label

from a container or magazine found at home.
As a result, children typically read print from their environment before reading print in books.

• Child writing occurs in various non-sequential forms. It is different from adult writing.
• The use of environmental print enables emerging writers to convey understandable messages to others.
• Teachers can positively impact emergent writers’ writing development by increasing the amount and type of classroom print.
• Daily journal writing enables emergent writers to experiment with print as a way to communicate.

• Take an outdoor word walk. Children write words they find on
a notepad or clipboard.

• Store environmental print in individual, re-sealable clear plastic
bags. Use it for story starters and art inspiration.

• Have a “T-Shirt Day.” Each child wears a T-shirt with a logo or
slogan. Write a class story about the experience.

• Create an environmental print alphabet display or book.
• Discuss word configuration as a reading/spelling strategy.

Make word frames to fit environmental print.
• Make logo books—such as Eat the Alphabet (foods),

Vacation Dreams (places to visit), or Keeping Clean (soaps,
shampoos, and toothpastes)—for the classroom library.

• Build environmental print word families of words with the
same beginning sounds, plurals, or words ending with -ing.

• Use rhyming words in environmental print to write poems.
• Find non-standard (made-up) words created for a product or

company, such as Lexus® or Exxon®. Use them in stories.
• Find the same logos and product names in different

languages. Challenge children to incorporate these words into
their writing.

…