English Language Development

Figure 3.16. California Preschool Learning Foundations Related to Reading

At around 60 months of age, children:

Concepts about Print

Foundation Examples

1.1 Display appropriate book-handling

behaviors and knowledge of print

conventions.

The child orients a book correctly for reading (i.e.,

right-side up with the front cover facing the child).

1.2 Understand that print is something

that is read and has specific meaning.

The child asks the teacher, “What does this say?”when

pointing to text in a book.

Phonological Awareness

Foundation Examples

2.1 Orally blend and delete words and

syllables without the support of pictures

or objects.

Blend words: The child plays the “What’s That Word?”

game while on a swing. With each push of the swing,

the teacher says one part of a compound word (e.g.,

sun, shine) and then asks the child, “What’s that

word?” The child responds, “Sunshine.”

Blend syllables: The child chants, “sister” after singing

along to, “What word do you get when you say ‘sis’ and

‘ter’ together?

Delete words: The child responds, “table” when asked,

“What word do you get when you say ‘tablecloth’

without ‘cloth’?”

Delete syllables: The child responds, “door” when

asked, “What word do you get when you say ‘doorknob’

without ‘knob’?”

2.2 Orally blend the onsets, rimes, and

phonemes of words and orally delete

the onsets of words, with the support of

pictures or objects.

Blend onsets and rimes: While engaged in a game, the

child selects the picture of a bed from among three

or four pictures (or says, “bed”) when asked to put

together the letter sounds b-ed.

Blend phonemes: While playing a “bingo game” during

small group time, the child chooses and marks pictures

corresponding to the words for which the teacher

sounds out the individual phonemes (e.g., h-a-t, m-o-p,

c-u-p).

Delete onsets: The child selects the picture of ants from

among three or four pictures (or says, “ants”) when

asked to say “pants” without the “p” letter sound.

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