California Preschool Learning Foundations - ECEZero2Three ...

ecognize that print carries meaning—that
a meaning or message is
encoded (Purcell-Gates 1996). When
a child understands intentionality,
meaning and understanding become a
background for all subsequent learning.
Failure to develop this awareness
is one characteristic of delayed reading
development (Clay 1985; Purcell-Gates
and Dahl 1991). Children’s understanding
that print carries meaning
emerges between the second and fifth
year of life, depending on the extent to
which children interact with and are
exposed to print (Mason 1980). This
understanding becomes increasingly
sophisticated during the preschool
years (Justice and Ezell 2000). At this
time, children begin to use print to
communicate, to understand the way
print is organized in books and other
texts, to recite the alphabet, and to
recognize some letters and words in
print.
The first aspect of this substrand,
print conventions, describes children’s
growing knowledge of the ways in
which print is organized, including
directionality and, for English orthography,
the left-to-right and top-tobottom
organization of print in books
or other print media (Clay 2002). Print
conventions also refer to the way books
are organized (e.g., front and back) and
the way they should be handled (Clay
2002).
The second aspect of this substrand
focuses on children’s understanding
that print can be read and has specific
meaning. Children are beginning
to understand and operate within the
routines and contexts in which print
is a component, and they are learning
that reading and writing play a
key role in various social contexts. By
interacting with and observing adults
California Department of Education • Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1
79
using print, preschool children learn
the vocabulary of reading in instructional
contexts—such as read, write,
draw, page, and story (Morgan cited in
Weir 1989; van Kleeck 1990)—as well
as the routines that govern literacy use
in the classroom, home, or preschool
setting, for example, reading stories,
making lists, and writing letters (Elster
1988; Elster and Walker 1992).
Although natural exposure to print
has a positive influence on children’s
awareness of concepts about print,
researchers have found that adults
need to deliberately and actively
encourage children’s engagement with
print by explicitly drawing children’s
attention to print forms and functions
(Justice and others 2005). Strategies
teachers use to help young children
develop print awareness skills include
asking questions about print, commenting
about print, tracking print
when reading, and pointing to print
(Justice and Ezell 2000, 2002).
Phonological Awareness. “Phonological
awareness” is generally defined
as an individual’s sensitivity to the
sound (or phonological) structure of
spoken language independent of meaning.
Spoken language is made up of
different phonological units that differ
in their linguistic complexity. The phonological
units include words, syllables,
subsyllabic units (onsets, rimes),
and individual sounds (phonemes).
Phonological awareness (also called
“phonological sensitivity”) should be
differentiated from “phonemic awareness.”
Phonemic awareness is the most
advanced level of phonological awareness
that an individual can achieve.
It refers to one’s ability to recognize
and manipulate phonemes, which constitute
the smallest units of spoken
words. Phonological awareness (and
LANGUAGE AND LITERACY