Print Rich Display or Walls Full of Print?

'Print rich' is a lovely phrase, but it is one that is easily mis-interpreted and can cause practitioners a great deal of angst not to mention headaches for children!

So, what is a print rich environment? Well, for me the most important word in the phrase is not 'print' it is 'rich'. If we think about the word rich in monetary terms, it just means that you have got a lot of it. But when it comes to learning through print, less is often more - at least to start with.

Image supplied by Google Images

This is a VERY busy wall. For me, amy one aspect of it is lost in the sheer explosion of text. Although there is a lot of information it would be very difficult for the emergent learner to unpick and apply.

Print in your environment is only 'rich' for children if they are interested in it and engage with it. If there is lots of it then it just becomes wallpaper.

At the early stages of development, when children are recognising different letter and number shapes, print doesn't only just need to be engaging, it needs to be clear. To an 'emerging eye' a,o,b,d,c,p,q,e,g can look vey similar so if they are displayed all in the same font and colour within a very busy background then chances are they won't be as engaging.

Moseley Nursery Class

If we use print in the environment to teach children that print carries meaning, then it makes sense for children to be involved in the creation of that print. This could be labels for the classroom or on a display.

Crofton Hammond Infant School

Recording in display what the children say about their work or what they think about what they have been doing along with their photograph can be a great way of getting them to engage with the print that is on the walls.

St Augustines RC Primary School

The Friars Primary School

Saint Andrew's Primary School

I would say that there also needs to be a variety of styles of print mixed in with adults and children's mark making and writing that has been done 'live' in the setting. 

The main body of print on your walls should be meaningful and relevant to the children and produced by an adult or child working in the space.  Then enhancements to your printed environment can be made using other examples and styles of print. But you should view this sort of print in the same way as you do an enhancement to any part of your provision as just that, an enhancement.

Edmondsley Primary School

If you were to hang an umbrella above your water tray with lots of laminated keywords on a raindrop, hanging from an invisible thread. It might make other adults go 'oooh'! But how many children will actually look at it? More importantly how many of them will understand what the words say and then independently refer to them in their learning. In my experience (and I have seen a lot of umbrellas in my time) none!

Speaking of water, what is the purpose of this display in your water area for non-reading early years children? Do we have it because it is a well known fact that children don't know how to play with water unless there are a few blue circles next to them with text they can't read in it? Even if you can read it - it is ever going to influence your play?

The 'have a go if you want to' area at Halton Lodge Primary

It can be a really good idea to have labels near to provision to help, support and focus children's learning, but only if they actually engage with the print. A good idea is to use the children themselves to make the labels. Then you can talk about ideas and expectations while you are making them and the children will have a memory prompt when they look at them.

Noah's Ark Pre School

If in doubt, do the squint test. Stand about 6 feet away from your board and squint at it. If the children's work the background, the boarder and the labeling all merge into one riot of colour and pattern then you have got it wrong. If the children's work 'pings' out at you (and them) then you have got it right. After all, what is display for? It is there to motivate children by raising their self esteem or to teach them something that they need to know. It is not about making wallpaper.

There will be lots and lots of other opportunities for you to introduce print into your environment through books, comics, letters etc. Just make sure your walls are print rich and not just full of print.

 Alistair

Comments

[Alison]

This is a real issue in schools. Print everywhere, it makes me feel dizzy and I know it makes children throughout school feel this way too. The other part of this is print that goes up when the children have gone home 'what is the point', children should see print going on display and know why it's there.
Love your blog and am hoping to make it to your Newcastle conference date. Would it be poss to email me with an approx cost so I budget?

[Brownsupertwins]

Great, great example of how to do print-rich environment in early childhood classrooms

[Gill Aspinall]

Like the 'talking postcard' idea! TTS?
We use lots of photos, great for engaging children and fab talking prompts.
I agree Alison, children should be involved in display, it's easy to involve those who love 'labelling' or post-it's, the challenge is to target those don't... Look forward to your next blog!

[Alison]

Some ideas I have tried with the children who don't engage are get them to help to type the text on the laptop and collect from the printer, sitting next to them whilst I write the text and asking them to draw a border round it or cut it to size to 'help me out' or target a specific group getting them to pull down an existing display- they love this - and being involved from the beginning taking new photos, deciding on captions etc. Even if they aren't mark making they are engaged and thinking of the purpose of text and the intended audience and this is a good first step. You are right though Gill these children are a challenge and often don't see text as their territory, something we need to plan for to help to overcome..

[Snoo]

The same is true for numeracy. I went to a lovely school this week but was a bit disturbed by the quantity of numbers and words stapled to EVERY surface you could pin them too!....i bet the children never use them....and some of them had been there for a long time!

[nats]

This post is so relevant for me at the moment. Our new head just does not understand the ethos for our Early years unit and constantly badgers me about a print rich environment and holds up classrooms with walls that give you a headache as good practice. So thank you for giving me some back up on a tricky subject!