Using Environmental Print to
Teach Health & Safety

What is environmental print? Environmental print is the print found in the natural environment such as billboards, advertisements, food labels, soft drink cans, road signs, and T-shirts. For many years, environmental print has been used to help young children learn to read and, while effective, it has not been without criticism. Some people say that environmental print focuses too much on commercialism and things like junk food. With this in mind, it is even more important to use it to teach children about health and safety as they learn to read.

Teaching about Health. Many of the logos children see at fast food franchises and grocery stores display unhealthy food choices. However, this same technique can be used as an opportunity to teach about healthy foods. One way to do this is to have children bring logos and food labels to school. First, children can individually or collectively make two posters using the logos. They can make posters labeled Foods We Like and Foods We Don't Like. A discussion of the food pyramid can then take place, comparing it with the two posters. Then children can make posters labeled Healthy Foods and Unhealthy Foods. This is an effective tool for learning about the food pyramid because young children may learn more when they have some ownership and participation in the curriculum.

Teaching about Safety. One way to teach about safety using environmental print is to make a lotto or matching card game where children match signs involving safety. Some examples of logos that might be used are two copies each of international signs that depict danger, keep out, stop, yield, other traffic signs, restroom signs for women and men, and poison. As children match one sign to another, they can describe what each means and why obeying the signs is important. Questions can be asked such as "What could happen if a car does not stop a stop sign?"

Children see environmental print everywhere--on T.V., at the store, at home, and throughout the neighborhood and school. Many positive lessons can be gained by using environmental print such as gaining health and media literacy, becoming a critical thinker, problem solver, and communicator, learning how to be a responsible and self-directed citizen. By bringing the print into the classroom and using it to teach about health and safety, positive health lessons can be learned.