Research Paper on:
Environmental Print Scavenger Hunts

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Children view environmental print every day, on everything from their cereal boxes to advertisements. The presence of these symbols, signs, numbers and colors provides visual representations of information  that help children form early reading foundations. "They offer excellent entry points for young children to begin to learn to read, write and do math" (SharonMacdonald.com, 2010).  Slide: Visual Icons Speaker Notes: Almost every child in the nation recognizes the Golden Arches. Though they may not associate the icon with the letter "M", they  do associate the visual image with the concept of McDonalds and the connection between an icon and a meaning is a central part of early reading associations. Slide:  Colors Speaker Notes: Whether a child recognizes the form of the American flag or simply recognizes the connection between the colors blue, red and white as a representation  of patriotism, the symbolic nature of these colors is an early connection to the idea that colors, forms or words can represent actual ideas. Slide: Print Speaker  Notes: Advertisements and signs in the daily environment of a child are rich with words that can be identified, collected and remembered. Early learners often recognize words  and can repeat them long before they understand that they are printed words. For example, a child may see the package of a Chunky bar, be able to select  it from the shelf, and call it by its name, but may not be able to read the word chunky if used in a sentence. Making the connection between  these environmental words and actual print words is an important part of literacy learning. Slide: Vocabulary Vocabulary is key to literacy; Children learn in a variety of