Language takes place all around us—in social interactions between teachers and children, in classroom management, in play between children, and in instructional activities. For example, when children learn mathematics and science, they learn them through language as well as through meaningful, multisensory experiences.
Figure 8.5: This hands on math activity includes a language-rich interaction.[2]
Language also enhances or limits children’s ability to choose playmates and join in games on the playground. The foundations for listening and speaking include:
Language use and conventions focuses on how children use their language for a number of purposes, including learning how to participate in short conversations.
1.0 Language Use and Conventions
At around 48 months of age
At around 60 months of age
1.1 Use language to communicate with others in familiar social situations for a variety of basic purposes, including describing, requesting, commenting, acknowledging, greeting, and rejecting.
1.1 Use language to communication with others in both familiar and unfamiliar social situations for a variety of basic and advanced purposes, including reasoning, predicting, problem solving, and seeking new information.
1.2 Speak clearly enough to be understood by familiar adults and children.
1.2 Speak clearly enough to be understood by both familiar and unfamiliar adults and children.
1.3 Use accepted language and style during communication with familiar adults and children.
1.3 Use accepted language and style during communication with both familiar and unfamiliar adults and children.
1.4 Use language to construct short narratives that are real or fictional.
1.4 Use language to construct extended narratives that are real or fictional.
Vocabulary learning is one of the most important accomplishments of early childhood and is related to later reading comprehension.
2.0 Vocabulary
At around 48 months of age
At around 60 months of age
2.1 Understand and use accepted words for objects, actions, and attributes encountered frequently in both real and symbolic contexts.
2.1 Understand and use an increasing variety and specificity of accepted words for objects, actions, and attributes encountered in both real and symbolic contexts.
2.2 Understand and use accepted words for categories of objects encountered and frequently used in everyday life.
2.2 Understand and use accepted words for categories of objects encountered in everyday life.
2.3 Understand and use simple words that describe the relations between objects.
2.3 Understand and use both simple and complex words that describe the relations between objects.
Grammar allows children to go beyond mere naming with their vocabularies to express their ideas in sentences. It’s understanding how words are put together in a sentence.
3.0 Grammar
At around 48 months of age
At around 60 months of age
3.1 Understand and use increasingly complex and longer sentences, including sentences that combine two phrases or two to three concepts to communicate ideas.
3.1 Understand and use increasingly complex and longer sentences, including sentences that combine two phrases or two to three concepts to communicate ideas.
3.2 Understand and typically use age-appropriate grammar, inducing accepted word forms, such as subject-verb agreement, progressive tense, regular past tense, regular plurals, pronouns, and possessives.
3.2 Understand and typically use age-appropriate grammar, inducing accepted word forms, such as subject-verb agreement, progressive tense, regular and irregular past tense, regular and irregular plurals, pronouns, and possessives.
Teachers can support children’s development of the listening and speaking foundations with the following:
Make sure that children have a chance to talk by setting aside time for them to discuss and to share their ideas.
Acknowledge their contributions by making eye contact, using their names, restating their talk, providing explanation when they ask a question, and building on what they say.
Engage in “getting to know you” conversations.
Model the use of language conventions and encourage children to do the same.
Build on preschool children’s own experiences by asking children to recount simple daily experiences.
Use dramatic play and co-construct stories.
Give story stems.
Notice where children look and then talk about the things that are the focus of attention and action, using interesting, rich vocabulary.
Narrate what you are doing.
Use new vocabulary in natural conversations.
Play language games.
Ask children to tell you about their artwork and other creations.
Talk one-on-one with children.
Know individual children and their families (especially important for children whose home language is not English)[3]
Vignettes
It is Lara’s turn to share a special story from home. Lara, who is beginning to use an assistive technology communication device, had some key words added to her device that enable her to share. As Mr. Tony holds up the pictures, she pushes the button that labels the picture. Mr. Tony expands the label by saying “Tango. This is your new dog, Tango.” Lara beams as the children get excited. “I got a dog like that!” Emilio says, “He is black too.” Mr. Tony holds up another picture and asks, “What is Tango doing in this picture, Lara?
In response to the construction outside their classroom, the room is filled with activity as children use their plastic hammers and wrenches, tool belts, and benches. The planned curriculum includes a Construction Unit. Outside the window, the children can see the cranes move and the workers in hard hats. They hear the sound of hammer against nail. This week the teacher reads to the class stories about construction equipment and information books about how tall buildings are made. The construction outside gives Ms. Vase an opportunity to expose children to the names of common and even not-so-common tools. Ms. Vase sent home a one-page newsletter in the languages of families represented in her classroom, telling parents about the Construction Unit and about vocabulary children are learning. She asked if any parents who are builders or carpenters would like to come to class to share their experiences.[4]
Pause to Reflect
How do you find yourself naturally engaging with others through conversation? What do you already do that will translate well into supporting children’s listening and speaking? What might you want to change or add to grow your skills in supporting their ability to speak and listen effectively?
Supporting Reading
Reading billboards effortlessly on a car ride or making a shopping list involves literacy skills. Literacy includes both reading and writing. Literacy is also involved when people understand language and know enough about the world to comprehend the books they read. Children hear many books read aloud before they can read for themselves, and they can use scribbles to represent the thoughts they compose before they will use conventional print. Literacy does not develop overnight; it comes from being talked to and read to and from being encouraged to look at books, to draw, and to write. Children start on their journey to literacy at birth through visual and auditory observation of their world and through interactions with people and materials, in a variety of daily experiences, both at home and at school.
Figure 8.6: This sign for the math center, includes print in the home languages of the children and images to help children interpret the print.[5]
Reading provides access to meaning represented by print. It requires the translation of print into speech and the interpretation of meaning. Reading depends heavily on oral vocabulary and grammar and also on specific literacy knowledge (e.g., names of alphabet letters) and skills (e.g., detecting sounds in spoken words). Preschool children engage in reading by listening to stories and by retelling familiar books. They also engage in reading when they interpret environmental print by using physical clues (e.g., the stop sign is the red one at the end of their street) or when they reenact through play the literacy-related social behavior of family members (e.g., making a shopping list or pretending to read the cooking directions on a food box).
The foundations for reading are organized into:
Concepts about print involves the understanding that print is meaningful and can be used for a variety of purposes.
1.0 Concepts about Print
At around 48 months of age
At around 60 months of age
1.1 Begin to display appropriate book-handling behaviors and begin to recognize print conventions.
1.1 Display appropriate book-handling behaviors and knowledge of print conventions.
1.2 Recognize print as something that can be read.
1.2 Understand that print is something that is read and has specific meaning.
Phonological awareness concerns learning to notice that spoken words have parts.
2.0 Phonological Awareness
Foundations
2.1 Orally blend and delete words and syllables without the support of pictures or objects.
2.2 Orally blend the onsets, rimes, and phonemes of words and orally delete the onsets of words, with the support of pictures or objects.
Alphabetics and word/print recognition includes identifying alphabet letters and linking letters in printed words to sounds in spoken words.
3.0 Alphabetics and Word/Print Recognition
At around 48 months of age
At around 60 months of age
3.1 Recognize the first letter of own name.
3.1 Recognize own name or other common words in prints.
3.2 Match some letter names to their printed form.
3.2 Match more than half of uppercase letter names and more than half of lowercase letter names to their printed form.
none
3.3 Begin to recognize that letters have sounds.
Comprehension and analysis of age-appropriate text involves thinking that leads to understanding stories and other kinds of books.
4.0 Comprehension and Analysis of Age-Appropriate Text
At around 48 months of age
At around 60 months of age
4.1 Demonstrate knowledge of main characters or events in a familiar story (e.g., who what, where) through answering questions (e.g., recall and simple inferencing), retelling, reenacting, or creating artwork.
4.1 Demonstrate knowledge of details in a familiar story, including characters, events and ordering of events through answering questions (particularly summarizing, predicting, and inference), retelling, reenacting, or creating artwork.
4.2 Demonstrate knowledge from informational text through labeling, describing, playing, or creating artwork.
4.2 Use information from informational text in a variety of ways, including describing, relating, categorizing, or comparing and contrasting.
Literacy interest and response includes children’s engagement in and motivation for reading.
5.0 Literacy Interest and Response
At around 48 months of age
At around 60 months of age
2.1 Demonstrate enjoyment of literacy and literacy-related activities.
3.1 Demonstrate, with increasing independence, enjoyment of literacy and literacy-related activities.
2.2 Engage in routines associated with literacy activities.
3.2 Engage in more complex routines associated with literacy activities.
Teachers can support children’s development of the reading foundations with the following:
Provide print props to support dramatic play.
Provide print props in the block area.
Use literacy terminology, such as letter and word, naturally.
Use print, with supporting images, to support classroom routines and limits.
Take the time to read environmental print.
Model using print as a tool to get things done and to record information.
Use print to support teacher-guided activities.
Model basic print conventions, such as reading left to right.
Write down interesting words as they come up and encourage verbal explanations of word meaning.
Play games that focus on sounds.
Use silly songs and poems daily.
Play with sounds.
Discuss rhyming words and words that begin with the same sound.
Use children’s printed names as labels and to support routines, transitions, and free-play experiences
Provide access to alphabet letters in a variety of contexts.
Focus on first letters and sounds in alphabet books and posters.
Use everyday opportunities to model attending to print details in words.
Provide materials with environmental print in an interest area.
Provide predictable textbooks in library and listening areas.
Read stories daily.
Make stories come alive with your voice and expression.
Make story time just the right length (not too long, not too short).
Read stories several times over a few days.
Define new words in a story you are reading.
Discuss a story after reading it.
Read information (nonfiction) books.
Model using information gained from text (books and nonbook sources) and provide opportunities for children to do the same.
Provide the space and materials for children to retell stories independently.
Place books in all areas of the classroom.
Make reading and writing meaningful and useful.
Provide ample opportunities for children to cross their midline (moving the left hand or foot to the right side of the body, and the right hand or foot to the left side of the body which requires communication between your brain’s left and right hemispheres)[6]
Figure 8.7: This flannel set that corresponds with a book recently read in the classroom. He can use these pieces to retell the story.[7]
Vignettes
Pairs of children walk hand in hand to return to their classroom after playing outside. Sasha stops walking, points to a sign posted in the hallway, and says to Yasmin, her partner, “That sign says to be quiet because the babies are sleeping.” In a soft voice, the teacher says, “Yes, we are walking past the babies’ room. We’ve talked about how they might be sleeping. This sign says, “Remember to Walk.” Do you think we need to make another sign for the hallway, one to remind us to talk softly?” The children agree that the second sign is needed, and several offer to help.
After singing “Down by the Bay” at circle time, Mr. Zhang used an illustrated book to review the song and engage children in playing with some sounds in the words: “Here’s the funny bear, combing his hair. Bear, /b/-/ear/; hair, /h/-/air/. The last parts of those words [i.e., the rime portion] sound the same, don’t they? They rhyme.” Several children agreed enthusiastically. “And who’s on this page?” “The llama,” shout several children. “Eating his /p/ . . . (pause)” Mr. Zhang continued.
“Pajamas!” several children called out. As he turned the page, several children called out, “The fly with a tie.” “Yes, the fl-y wearing a t-ie. Before I turn the next page, I’ll give you a clue about what you’ll see next: A /wh/-ale . . .” “A whale!” the children called out. “With a polka-dot /t/-ail,”the teacher continued. “Tail,” several children called out.
The caregiver shares an alphabet book with a few children. “This is the page for the letter B. Here is the big B and here’s the little b.” She engaged the children to help identify the pictures on the B page: “Blueberries, broccoli, beets, bananas, beans.” Then she comments, “B is the first letter in each of these words. This word (pointing to the first letter in blueberry, printed above a picture of a box of blueberries) starts with the letter B. It says, Blueberry (underlines the rest of the word, as she reads it). Blueberry starts with the /b/ sound. What do you think this word says? (She points to the word above the picture of some bananas.) One child says, “banana;” another says, “platano.” The caregiver confirms that banana can be called by either name, one Spanish and the other English. “The words in this book are written in English—/b/ is for banana (points to banana). I think we could write some of these words in Spanish and paste them into the book. We could write brecol to put here with broccoli.” “When can we do that?” a child asks. “After rest time today, if you’d like. Miguel and Alexandria will still be sleeping. I can help you and Aaliyah spell Spanish words that will work in this alphabet book. We can type them on the computer and then print them out to paste in our book.”[8]
Pause to Reflect
What memories of reading and books do you have from your childhood? How do you feel about reading now? Is that how you want children to feel about reading? If so, how can you share that? If not, what might you do to ensure they have a different perspective about reading?
Supporting Writing
Developing as a writer depends on the writer’s understanding of how a particular written language looks and on the writer’s language and thinking skills. Conventional writing requires knowledge of alphabet letters and an understanding that letters stand for sounds in spoken or signed words. Deciding what to write requires oral or sign language, knowledge, and thinking. Preschool children engage in writing when they use scribble marks and proudly announce their meanings (e.g., “This says ____”). Preschool children frequently use drawing, rather than writing marks, to represent their thoughts, and they often combine scribble or other writing-like marks with their drawings to communicate. Preschool children are happy to serve as their own interpreters, telling people what their early writing and drawing is meant to say. Teachers are careful not to criticize children’s early scribble productions. To find out what a child’s writing means, teachers may ask a child: “Tell me about these wavy lines down here.”
Figure 8.8: Ask children about their writing to see what it represents.[9]
Writing focuses on understanding that print represents ideas and on learning to move from drawing and scribble writing to using letters and words. Much exploration with paper and writing tools occurs before children will try to write to convey specific meanings. When children write to convey meaning, they are using their language, their physical ability to hold a crayon or pencil, and the cognitive understanding that the marks they make on the page are symbols that represent a meaning that can be shared.
1.0 Writing Strategies
At around 48 months of age
At around 60 months of age
2.3 Experiment with grasp and body position using a variety of drawing and writing tools.
3.3 Adjust grasp and body position for increased control in drawing and writing.
2.4 Write using scribbles that are different from pictures.
3.4 Write letters or letter-like shapes to represent words or ideas.
2.5 Write marks to represent own name.
3.5 Write first name nearly correctly.
While direct writing instruction is not yet developmentally appropriate for preschool-aged children, who do not quite have the fine motor coordination needed to write legibly, they are developing important skills and knowledge that contribute to their ability to communicate in written form.
Table 8.1: Four Levels of Writing Development over the Preschool Years
Level
Description
Exploring
The child explores with marking tools on a variety of writing surfaces, creating scribble marks. The child sometimes focuses on making marks without any intention of using these to stand for writing. Sometimes the marks prompt the child to think of something from the child’s world that is familiar, and the child attributes meaning to scribbles
Developing
As the child continues to explore with mark making, the child organizes scribble marks into lines when “writing,” which indicates the child’s observation that marks for writing and marks for pictures are organized differently. Often, the child will point to scribble marks that are lined up and say, “This says . . .” In other words, children begin to attribute meaning to their scribble writing.
Building
Children’s skill in using marks to create both pictures and writing increases to the point where others can recognize a child’s intentions. Although the marks are still not always well formed, adults have a good idea what the child intended to portray and the letters a child intended to write. Children sometimes make up new designs that look remarkably like actual letters. They do not yet know that there are just 26!
Integrating
At this phase, children know most, if not all, of the uppercase alphabet letters, and they combine these to make words. Some of the words are ones they see frequently, such as their names. Most are quite legible, although not perfectly formed, of course, and a letter might be written with its orientation reversed. In addition to their names, children sometimes write a few simple words, such as love or yes and no. They also might string letters together in sets that look like words and ask adults, “What word is this?” A few older preschoolers might have figured out that letters selected to make words relate to the sounds in the spoken words, and invent spellings, such as KK for cake or CD for candy
Figure 8.9: Often the first word that children write is their own name.[10]
Teachers can support children’s development of the writing foundations with the following:
Setting up a well-stocked writing area
Frequently adding new materials to the writing area
Providing writing materials in other interest areas and outdoors
Embed writing in everyday transitions and routines
Encourage children to write in the art interest area
Respond sensitively to children’s emergent writing; focus on the meaning that children are trying to convey rather than on the form of their writing
Respond to children’s questions and requests for help with writing; describe and model how to write the letter on a separate piece of paper
Model writing
Display children’s writing
Provide ample opportunities for children to cross their midline
Provide experiences in which children strengthen fine motor muscles (fingers, hand, wrist, forearm), and develop dexterity, such as working with clay, cutting with scissors, and working with tools[11]
Crossing the Midline
“The body’s mid-line is an imaginary line down the cent[er] of the body that divides the body into left and right. Crossing the body’s mid-line is the ability to reach across the middle of the body with the arms and legs. This allows children to cross over their body to perform a task on the opposite side of their body (e.g. being able to draw a horizontal line across a page without having to switch hands in the middle…”
“Crossing the body’s mid-line is an important developmental skill needed for many everyday tasks such as writing... When a child spontaneously crosses the mid-line with the dominant hand, then the dominant hand gets the practice needed to develop good fine motor skills by repeated consistent hand dominance. If a child avoids crossing the mid-line, then both hands tend to get equal practice at developing skills and the child’s true handedness may be delayed. This means that once a child starts school, learning to write is much more difficult when they have two less skilled hands rather than one stronger, more skilled (dominant) hand. Difficulty crossing the mid-line also makes it difficult to visually track a moving object from one side to the other or track from left to right when reading, meaning reading can also be delayed.”[12]
Vignettes
Jessalyn is delighted with the birthday card picture from a peer and wants to write a thank-you note. She draws a picture and then tells the teacher, “I want real words, too, but I can’t make them.”
“What would you like the words to say?” the teacher asks. Jessalyn dictates: “I liked the pretty picture of me. It was a pretty birthday card.” “Do you want me to write that down or help you?”
“I can do letters,” Jessalyn explains, “but I can’t make words. Well, just love.” The teacher helps Jessalyn spell the word pretty by segmenting some of its sounds and naming the letters needed to write the sounds. After the teacher names the last letter in pretty, Jessalyn remarks, “y? Why not e?” The teacher explains that e is used to write this sound in many words, but, in others, y is used.
Then the teacher asks, “What letter is at the end of your friend Jeremy’s name?” “Oh, y!” Jessalyn realizes. “Do we have anybody with e?” she asks. “Not this year. But last year, there was a girl named Kaylee, and she used e to write the /e/ sound.”[13]
Engaging Families
Teachers can use the following strategies to help families to develop their children’s language and literacy.
Send families home with things to look for on the weekend, topics to talk about, or stories to tell together (written in their home language).
Suggest ways that parents can send a response back to the classroom.
Send books, other reading materials, and writing materials home with children.
Provide a lending library in the home languages of the children and encourage parents to read to their children in their home language.
Share ideas with parents about questions they might ask about books, and provide these in the home language.
Introduce parents to community resources to get books for home
Encourage family members to share their writing with children.
Share children’s triumphs and experiences and people they really enjoy with families.
Use displays to help family members understand the developmental nature of writing.
Invite families to share their stories with you.
Think about projects to do in class in which children can bring materials from home.[14]
Figure 8.10: It looks like a father, a younger sister, and an older sister have all joined this girl in a favorite classroom activity. Family involvement is a great way to validate children’s interests and efforts. (And it can spark great conversation later!)[15]
