Environmental Print ‘An effective teacher focuses on what his or her children already know and provides instruction so that her students can make connections between their schema and new information One effective strategy for teaching emergent readers to read is the use of ‘environmental print. Environmental print is the print children encounter in their ‘everyday lives, and because of this repetition, they are able to read it. Environmental print scaffolds the learning process because of the particular font, colors, and context of bits and language. Examples include: Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Exxon, Chevron, Toys R Us, Pizza Hut, Nike, Mead, Wal-Mart, Nabisco, Nestle, Kellogg's, etc. ‘To use environmental print in the classroom: 41. You can make big books or small books, 2. First, have the children bring environmental print from home, or let them cut it ‘out of magazines. 3. Next, sit down with the child and make sure he or she can read it. 4, Third, have the child cut the pictures out and glue them into a book. 5. Tf you want to integrate the Language Experience Approach, take dictation from the child, and have him or her use the words in sentences. 6. Have the child read his book through a variety of repeated readings.Word Sorts "Vocabulary strategies and activities should give students the experience of thinking about, thinking through, and. thinking with vocabulary. Through the aid of categorization and classification strategies, students recognize that they can ‘group words that label ideas, events, or objects, Such strategies involve the processes of joining, excluding, selecting, and implying" (Vacca, Vacca, & Gove, 2000, p. 295i, Word sorts ore one example of classification vocabulary activities. ‘To do word sorts with children: 1. Read the text, and identify vocabulary words you want your students to engage with 2. Write each word on a Post-it Note, index card, or small piece of paper. You can ‘make one set for the class to work with collaboratively, or you can make one set for each student. 3, The children then work individually or in small groups to sort the vocabulary ‘squares into logical categories. 4. After the words are sorted, have the students explain why they sorted categorized them os they did. Have them explain the relationships among the words. Ina closed sort, students are told upfront what the main categories are before ‘they begin te classify the words. In an open sort, children must employ inductive ‘thinking to create categories and sort them accordingly Example: Fraction Mesa ‘Adjective. | Decimal Plateau Noun | Percent ‘Mountain VerbResource: (Ogle DM. (1989) “TheKow, Want o Know, Lara Strategy” In K.D. Muth (Ed), Children's (Comprehension of Poor Reader (Tech Rep. No. 382). Urban: Univesity of iis, Cour forthe Stay oF Reading K-W-L Extension K-W-L is a strategy that involves students in activating their schemata, constructing questions about a topic, developing purposes for reading, and recording information they gleaned from the text that answers their questions about the topic. Developed by Donna Ogle (1986), this strategy models processes that proficient readers utilize when attempting to learn front text. Steps for implementing K-W-L with a class are: 1. Introduce the new topic by brainstorming what the students know about the subject. The teacher divides a chart or overhead into four categories: K—What We Know, W—What We Want to Know, L—What We Leamed, and Categories for Information. The teacher then writes the brainstormed information in the column labeled K ~ What I know- on the chart or overhead so that it can be referred to throughout the study. It is important that all brainstormed information be recorded; this is not the time to correct misconceptions. Rather, the purpose is for students to activate their schemata or knowledge base concerning the topic. Students may also be given a sheet with the K-W-L categories so that they can record their personal brainstorming. 2. Pose the questions, “What questions do you have about this topic?” As students generate questions, the teacher records them on the chart or overhead in the column labeled W- What We Want to Know. This questioning process models ‘what lifelong learners are consistently doing—developing questions and purposes for reading. If students have been given a personal K-W-L sheet, they should be encouraged to write questions they have about the topic. 3. Inorder to extend the students’ readiness to read the text, the teacher can ask students to look at their knowledge about the topic and the questions they have. ‘They then categorize their prior knowledge into categories, which the teacher writes on the overhead or chart and students may write on their own K-W-L sheets. Students should then be asked to predict iff and how the author might address these categories in the text. 4, ‘The students then read the text selection. As they read, they answer questions they have generated and make notes about new information or concerns in the L- What We Learned and Still Need to Learn column. In addition, we have found that if students encounter information in the text which confirms items that were brainstormed in the K- What We Know columa, itis important for the students to mark the items and note the page number ofthe text where the ‘confirming information was found. This activity aids students in realizing the importance of documenting the validity of items.