Children are exposed to print through a variety of experiences. It is important to provide resources and materials that help students make connections between print and their real-life experiences. Children can easily recognize environmental print such as the Target bull’s-eye, the M for McDonald’s, Fruit Loops, and Pop Tarts.

Reading environmental print builds confidence within young children and helps them to make connections between print and meaning. This can be particularly effective if the resources and materials are categorized and classified around themes. Categorizing and classifying are critical cognitive skills required for reading. Classifying the environmental print helps readers think about print in new ways.

For this assignment, create an environmental print resource lesson around a theme that you could use to develop reading and writing skills in an early childhood special education setting.

Using the Arizona Early Learning Standards, or the early learning standards for your state, select a strand and concept that could align with environmental print and emergent literacy development. Your lesson should:

• Identify the literacy skills you would be trying to enhance, the ideal stage of development where this would be best utilized, and the early childhood special education setting in which this resource would be used.
• Identify a theme such as toys (i.e., Legos, Hot Wheels, Monster High dolls, Play-Doh), or favorite foods (i.e., Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Cheetos, Fruit Roll-ups). Include a rationale as to why this theme is relevant to young children.
• Provide five examples of the types of environmental print you could use and how those relate to the theme. You may use images from the Internet, but include citations and references for your images. Identify at least three different types of assistive technology and how they will support the reading and writing development in the early childhood education setting.

Support your lesson with 2-3 scholarly resources.

Environmental print resource and assistive technology explanation should be submitted as one deliverable.

While APA format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected. For all assignment delivery options, documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

Must put answer on lesson plan template attached