Spelling is one of the language conventions in which children make great strides during the
transitional kindergarten through grade one span. The language standards related to spelling are
closely tied to the foundational skills discussed in a forthcoming section of this chapter. During the
span, children:- Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes). (L.K.2c)
- Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships. (L.K.2d)
- Use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and for frequently occurring
irregular words. (L.1.2d) - Spell untaught words phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness and spelling conventions.
(L.1.2e)
See the grade-level sections for more information. See also chapter 4 in this ELA/ELD Framework for a
discussion of spelling development.
Content Knowledge
Content knowledge other than ELA, is largely the purview
of other frameworks and model curricula published by the
California Department of Education (http://www.cde.ca.gov/).
A few examples include frameworks on history–social science,
health, visual and performing arts, and the Education and the
Environment Initiative Curriculum (http://www.californiaeei.org/
Curriculum/). However, given the reciprocal relationship between
content knowledge and literacy and language development and
the call for integration of the curricula, discussions of content
knowledge are included throughout this ELA/ELD Framework.
Decades of research indicate that knowledge contributes to
reading and writing achievement. The more an individual knows
about a topic, the more success he or she likely has engaging
meaningfully with text and others about the topic. Furthermore, knowledge of subject matter is
accompanied by, and indeed cannot be separated from, language development. Words, sentence
structures, and discourse structures differ across subject matter (Shanahan and Shanahan 2012), and
so content learning contributes to the development of language, especially academic language. In
short, content knowledge facilitates literacy and language development.
The reciprocal is true as well. Not only does content
knowledge impact literacy and language development, but
literacy and language development provide students with the
tools to independently access, acquire, and construct domain
and general world knowledge. The more skilled children are
in the language arts (that is, reading, writing, speaking, and
listening), the more they can learn about the world.
Two points about content area instruction are crucial. First,
content area instruction should be given adequate time in the
school day, including during the earliest years of schooling.
Second, content area instruction should include attention to
literacy and language development in the subject matter along
with subject-matter appropriate pedagogy (e.g., meaningful hands-on investigations, explorations,
projects, demonstrations, and discussions).
Three aspects of the ELA/literacy instruction that support content learning are discussed here.
These include wide reading, engaging with informational texts, and engaging in research.Words, sentence structures,
and discourse structures
differ across subject
matter, and so content
learning contributes to the
development of language,
especially academic
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