Effects of play interventions on young children's reading of environmental print

Abstract This study examined effects of exposure to print and interaction with a more knowledgeable other on 56 kindergarten children's environmental print knowledge. Three classes were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: exposure to print during play in print-enriched settings, exposure to print and functional experiences with a more knowledgeable other (an adult) during play in print-enriched settings, and play in nonenriched settings. Prior to and following three weeks of play in each of five settings (15 week intervention period), each child's ability to read the environmental print appropriate to each setting was assessed in two ways: in-context with the words embedded in their supporting context and out-of-context with the words written on a list. The results indicated that while exposure to print significantly influenced the children's ability to read environmental print when the print was embedded in its supporting context, exposure to the print and functional experiences with a more knowledgeable other around this print significantly influenced the children's ability to read environmental print on both reading tasks. These findings suggest that exposure and functional experiences with adults in print-enriched play settings may offer an important opportunity for young children to associate meaning with print.