California Preschool Learning Foundations - ECEZero2Three ...

are most likely to be demonstrated in
the context of such teacher support,
i.e., when the teacher uses pictures,
props, objects, and so forth in activities
intended to support phonological
awareness.
Alphabetics and Word/Print
Recognition. Knowing the letters of
the alphabet at preschool age is related
to both short- and long-term reading
proficiency. Knowledge of letter
names facilitates children’s ability to
decode text and to apply the alphabetic
principle to word recognition.
For most children letter names help
them connect the sounds in words
and letters in print. Preschool children
tend to learn first the letters that are
most familiar to them, such as the letters
in their own names and the letters
that occur earlier in the alphabet
string. As children become aware of
letter names, they also start to identify
printed words. Word recognition at the
preschool age is mainly prealphabetic
(i.e., the recognition of words by sight
and by reliance on familiar cues). Children
can recognize some words, but
rarely can they examine the alphabetic
or phonetic structures of the word to
arrive at its meaning. Preschool children
are able to recognize some words
in the environment (e.g., Stop, Exit,
and some brand names) but usually
only in a familiar context. Typically,
four-year-olds develop their knowledge
of the alphabet and letter-sound
correspondences. Coupled with their
improving phonological awareness,
those children may read at partial
alphabetic levels during the preschool
years. They may be able to look at
some unknown words and use letters
and their corresponding sounds to
decode the printed word. For instance,
seeing the word Thomas in a book, the
California Department of Education • Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1
53
child may use some alphabetic information
(e.g., the first letter T and its
corresponding letter sound) to make a
good guess at what it says.
Comprehension and Analysis
of Age-Appropriate Text. Preschoolers’
development of narrative thinking
goes through a series of stages
that ultimately lead to their making
sense of stories and the world around
them. At the earliest stage, preschoolers
construct narrative scripts, or
primitive accounts of story plots that
focus on familiar events and routine
activities. In the next stage, children
construct narrative schemas, which
include knowledge about the main elements
of stories (such as characters
and settings) and about the sequence
of events (such as time, order, and
causal progression). Then preschoolers
come to understand and relate to
characters’ internal responses, such
as their mental processes and experiences.
Ultimately, children recognize
both the external and internal
features of narrative. Preschoolers’
competence with narratives can be
greatly expanded through instructional
activities guided by teachers.
Exposure to wordless picture books
provides instructional opportunities for
children and, for teachers, a window
into children’s learning processes. The
efforts of children to make sense of the
pictures when they are reading wordless
picture books form the foundation
for reading comprehension and making
meaning. Storybook reading, both
of wordless picture books and regular
books, when combined with interactive
language activities, such as active
discussion of stories, before, during,
and after reading, enhances children’s
understanding and recall of stories.
Shared reading activities allow teach-
LANGUAGE AND LITERACY