Literacy+Rich+Environment

=**The Purpose of Literacy Rich Environments**= From the atmosphere and décor of the room to interactions with peers and teachers, every element of the classroom is designed to allow students with disabilities explore the elements of literacy. The literacy rich environment emphasizes the importance of speaking, reading, and writing in the learning of all students. This involves the selection of materials that will facilitate language and literacy opportunities; reflection and thought regarding classroom design; and intentional instruction and facilitation by teachers and staff (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1999). Because literacy rich environments can be individualized to meet student’s needs, teachers are able to create both independent and directed activities to enhance understanding of concept of print and word, linguistic and phonemic awareness, and vocabulary development. All of this occurs in a concrete setting giving students with disabilities multiple opportunities to gain the skills necessary to participate in the general education curriculum.

**Literacy Rich Environments with a Theme** Ms. Fassler’s second grade class is studying weather. In her literacy rich classroom you can find students:
 * Reading books on weather
 * Exploring labels around the classroom identifying weather vocabulary
 * Learning content on raindrops and clouds
 * Drawing pictures of the different types of clouds
 * Singing songs about the weather
 * Writing in their weather journals about the conditions each day
 * Graphing the daily temperature

=**Classroom Design for Literacy Rich Environments**=

The room arrangement should encourage repeated opportunities to interact with literacy materials and activities to practice skills that students are learning (Gunn, Simmons, & Kameenui, 1995). Through repeated practice with materials and activities, skills become more automatic and students with disabilities are given ample opportunities to integrate new and old information. Combining opportunities for independent exploration and peer interaction with teacher instruction enhances and builds upon skills. "Their everyday, playful experiences by themselves do not make most children readers. Rather they expose children to a variety of print experiences and the processes of reading for real purposes" (IRA & NAEYC, 1998, 4).

Student Activity Examples
 * Word / letter games like Pictionary, Scrabble, BINGO, and Boggle
 * Play with alphabet letter cookie cutters or stamps
 * Discuss the daily schedule
 * Interact with magnetic letters
 * Label photos of students, teachers, important school staff and class activities
 * Explore a variety of books, magazines, books on tape, books on computer
 * Complete daily communication notebooks