California Preschool Learning Foundations - ECEZero2Three ...

ing phrases and clauses to make language
into more complex sentences,
joining adjectives to nouns, and using
verb tenses, adverbs, and other parts
of speech. At around 48 months of age,
children tend to convey their thoughts
by using simple, short phrases that
communicate only one main idea
(e.g., “I’m hungry!” or “Almost bedtime!”)
Over time, preschool children
begin producing increasingly longer
compound sentences (e.g., “It’s almost
bedtime and I am still hungry!”) by
connecting clauses (using words such
as and and but). They also begin to
generate more complex sentences
(e.g., “Because I haven’t eaten yet, I am
still hungry”) that combine multiple
phrases or concepts to communicate
more sophisticated and interrelated
ideas (using words such as if and
because). As children develop their
comprehension and use of verb markers,
such as -ed, they tend to make
errors (e.g., “I wented,” “He hitted”).
Errors among preschoolers in the use
of pronouns are very common (e.g.,
“Her did it,” “It’s hims”). Children’s use
of basic negative sentences between
two and three years of age (e.g., “no
go,” “no want”) becomes increasingly
precise during the preschool years
(e.g., “I don’t want any” or “You are not
going”). Some errors in negation will be
observed during the preschool years
(e.g., “I not want to do that!”), but
these errors occur less frequently as
children near 60 months of age.
As with the development of children’s
vocabulary and basic language
concepts, children’s ability to use
increasingly sophisticated language
structures allows them to make greater
use of “decontextualized language”—
language that requires little reliance
on the immediate context for it to be
California Department of Education • Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1
understood. Children’s development of
grammatical sophistication is greatly
enhanced by the teacher’s modeling of
correct forms and providing support
in play and through teacher-guided
instructional activities.
Reading—Concepts About
Print, Phonological Awareness,
Alphabetics and Word/Print
Recognition, Comprehension
and Analysis of Age-Appropriate
Text, Literacy Interest
and Response
Concepts About Print. Children
develop concepts about print through
seeing print in the environment and
observing people using print for various
purposes. Central to an understanding
of the nature and role of
reading and writing is a child’s understanding
of “intentionality,” i.e., that
intentional meaning is encoded in
print and print conveys a message.
Children’s understanding that print
carries meaning often begins earlier
than at preschool age, but the concept
becomes increasingly sophisticated
during the preschool years, and it
depends largely on exposure to print
and interaction with it in preschool.
Preschoolers begin to use print to
communicate, to understand the way
print is organized in text and in books,
to recite the alphabet, and to recognize
some letters and words in print.
They develop sophisticated knowledge
about print conventions—how print is
organized and how this organization
changes to fit various purposes and
genres. Preschool children’s understanding
of print conventions supports
their knowledge of the alphabet
and letter recognition. The print
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LANGUAGE AND LITERACY