Early Language and Literacy

Other Maine Preschool Early Learning and Development Standards sets

• Approaches to Learning and Play
• Cognitive Development: Mathematical Practices and Reasoning
• Cognitive Development: Scientific Reasoning
• Cognitive Development: Social Sciences
• Physical Development and Health
• Social Emotional Development

Begins to demonstrate understanding of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when speaking. 7.a.1.1

Begins to use frequently occurring nouns and verbs. 7.a.1.2

Begins to form some regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es? (e.g. dog, dogs; wish, wishes). 7.a.1.3

Begins to understand and use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g. to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).  7.a.1.4

Begins to understand question words (e.g. who, what, where, when, why, how). 7.a.1.5

Begins to speak in complete sentences. 7.a.1.6

Demonstrates the ability to communicate using spoken language, sign, or other augmentative or alternative communication in complete sentences.7.a.2.1

Uses frequently occurring nouns and verbs.  7.a.2.2

Forms some regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es? (e.g. dog, dogs; wish, wishes).7.a.2.3

Understands the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g. to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).7.a.2.4

Responds to and use more question words/ interrogatives (e.g. who, what, where, when, why, how). 7.a.2.5

Begins to use knowledge of language and its conventions when relaying messages or listening for comprehension.  7.a.2.6

Begins to ask and answer questions about the meanings of new words and phrases introduced through books, activities, and play.  7.b.1.1

With guidance and support from adults, begins to explore word relationships and meanings.7.b.1.2

With guidance and support from adults, begins to apply words learned in classroom activities to real-life examples (e.g., names the places in school that are fun, quiet, or noisy).7.b.1.3

With guidance and support from adults, begins to sort common objects into categories (e.g., big/small, living/nonliving).7.b.1.4

Asks and answers questions about the meaning of unknown words and phrases introduced through books and play.7.b.2.1

With guidance, prompting and support, begins to generate words that are similar in meaning (e.g., happy/glad, angry/mad).7.b.2.2

With guidance and support from adults, begins to demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their opposites.  7.b.2.3

With guidance and support from adults, uses words and phrases acquired through conversations, listening to books read aloud, activities, and play. 7.b.2.4

Sorts common objects into categories (e.g., big/small, living/nonliving).7.b.2.5

Begins to display appropriate book-handling behaviors. 8.a.1.1

Begins to hold a book correctly, turn pages in a single direction, and follow a story from left to right. 8.a.1.2

Distinguishes between print and pictures. 8.a.1.3

Recognizes that print represents spoken words and carries meaning (e.g., asks an adult “What does this say?”). 8.a.1.4

Begins to show awareness of alphabet letters. 8.a.1.5

Begins to recognize and name letters in their own name. 8.a.1.6

Demonstrates understanding of the organization and basic features of print.8.a.2.1

Identifies parts of a book including, front cover, back cover, and title. 8.a.2.2

Holds the book correctly for reading and turn one page at a time. 8.a.2.3

Follows words from left to right and top to bottom. 8.a.2.4

Understands that words are separated by spaces in print. 8.a.2.5

Recognizes that printed words represent spoken language and carry meaning. 8.a.2.6

Recognizes and names at least 15 upper case and 15 lower case letters, including the letters in their own name.  8.a.2.6

Demonstrates an understanding of spoken words and syllables.8.b.1.1

Demonstrates enjoyment of rhyme and alliteration in nursery rhymes and simple stories. 8.b.1.2

With support, begins to recognize when two words rhyme. 8.b.1.3

With support, begins to recognize when two words start with the same sound. 8.b.1.4

Begins to count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in their own names. 8.b.1.5

Demonstrates understanding of words, syllables, and sounds (i.e. phonemes). 8.b.2.1

With prompting and support:8.b.2.2

Begins to add or substitute initial sounds (i.e. phonemes) in single-syllable CVC words to make new words (e.g., cat, hat, sat; pig, wig, big). 8.b.2.3

With prompting and support:8.c.1.1

Begins to recognize their own name and the names of other children in the classroom. 8.c.1.2

Begins to recognize common print around the classroom. 8.c.1.3

Produces the sounds associated with several recognized letters. 8.c.2.1

Begins to link a sound to a picture of an object that begins with that sound. 8.c.2.2

Recognizes names of other children in the classroom and common print around the classroom. 8.c.2.3

With prompting and support applies beginning phonics and word analysis skills. 8.c.2.4

With prompting and support:8.d.1.1

Retells information about a character or an event in a simple story that is read aloud. 8.d.1.2

Recalls important facts from an informational text read aloud. 8.d.1.3

Identifies the topic of an informational text read aloud.8.d.1.4

With prompting and support:8.d.2.1

Recalls important facts from an informational text that is read aloud or by studying particular pages/visuals of the text.8.d.2.2

Begins to notice connections between characters and events in a story. 8.d.2.3

Makes predictions about what events might happen next. 8.d.2.4

Make observations about words and pictures in books. 8.e.1.1

Begin to understand that a book has a title, author and illustrator. 8.e.1.2

Asks questions about unknown words and phrases in stories and informational texts read aloud or shared visually. 8.e.2.1

Begins to recognize that there are different text structures, such as stories, poems, and songs. 8.e.2.2

Begins to demonstrate an understanding of the difference between fiction and nonfiction. 8.e.2.3

With prompting and support, identifies texts that tell stories. 8.e.2.4

With prompting and support, identifies texts that provide information. 8.e.2.5

Begins to describe the roles of authors and illustrators. 8.e.2.6

Seeks out experiences (individually and in groups) with pictures, books, and other print materials (e.g., asks for a favorite story to be read again). 8.f.1.1

Begins to make connections between a story or poem and one’s own experiences (e.g., acts out a familiar story during dramatic play with props).  8.f.1.2

Retells familiar stories or make up personal stories with words approximating storybook language.  8.f.1.3

Actively engages with texts read aloud for understanding and enjoyment. 8.f.2.1

Retells familiar stories using both storybook language and pictures. 8.f.2.2

Begins to make connections between characters and events in familiar stories. 8.f.2.3

Recognizes that information on a topic can be found in more than one text. 8.f.2.4

With prompting and support, describes important information from text and pictures/photos/graphics, and begin to compare similarities and differences between two texts on the same topic.  8.f.2.5

Represents or acts out concepts learned from hearing a text read aloud (e.g., makes a skyscraper out of blocks, pretends to be a character in a story). 8.f.2.6

Attends to fluent models of reading. 8.g.1.1

Begins to imitate fluent models of reading (e.g., initiates “reading” a book after hearing it read out loud).8.g.1.2

Attends to fluent models of reading. 8.g.2.1

Imitates fluent models of reading using phrasing, intonation and expression during shared and choral reading of familiar books, poems, or nursery rhymes.8.g.2.2

With prompting and support, uses a combination of drawing, dictating and emergent writing to communicate ideas. 9.a.1.1

With prompting and support, uses a combination of drawing, dictating and writing to:9.a.2.1

Prints some upper and lowercase letters. 9.a.2.2

Begins to demonstrate the use of standardized English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing: 9.a.2.3

Begins to spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships. 9.a.2.4

With prompting and support:9.b.1.1

With prompting and support:9.b.2.1

Begins to participate in shared research and writing projects modeled by adults (e.g., community helpers).  9.c.1.1

With guidance and support from adults, begins to recall some information from experiences or gather information from resources.9.c.1.2

With prompting and support:9.c.2.1