English Language Development

Alphabetics and Word/Print Recognition

Foundation Examples

3.1 Recognize own name or other

common words in print.

The child recognizes his or her name on a sign-in

sheet, helper chart, artwork, or name tag (e.g., name

tag, label for the cubby, or place at the table).

3.2 Match more than half of uppercase

letter names and more than half of

lowercase letter names to their printed

form.

When shown an upper- or lowercase letter, the child

can say its name.

3.3 Begin to recognize that letters have

sounds.

The child says the correct letter sound while pointing to

the letter in a book.

Source

California Department of Education. 2008. California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1. Sacramento: California

Department of Education.

Print Concepts

As noted in the overview of the span of this chapter, children learn print concepts through teacher
modeling of book handling and ample exposure to and engagement with a variety of print materials,
particularly through shared reading and writing. They make progress in learning upper- and lowercase
letters through explicit instruction that is applied to rich and relevant contexts. Teachers model daily
how print works, and children interact meaningfully and purposefully with print in a range of contexts.
(Note: Alphabet knowledge is identified as a “Print Concept” in the reading foundational skills of the
CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy, but it is not listed in the “Concepts about Print” substrand of the California
Preschool Learning Foundations. Rather, in the latter it is listed in the “Alphabetics and Word/Print
Recognition” substrand.)

Phonological Awareness

Transitional kindergarteners build phonological awareness
through both direct instruction and frequent play with the
sounds of language. Children learn that spoken words consist of
smaller units (syllables, onsets and rimes, and phonemes), and
they manipulate and reflect on those units as they sing, recite
poems, engage with books, and play language games. Examples
include the following (Yopp, H.K. and Yopp 2009):

• Children sing “Old MacDonald” and, with teacher
  prompting, add a phoneme to the initial position of E-I-E-
  I-O, singing BE-BI-BE-BI-BO or HE-HI-HE-HI-HO.


• Children learn and recite Hickory Dickory Dock. The
  teacher later changes “Dock” to “Dare” and the children
  contribute a corresponding rhyme, chanting “Hickory
  Dickory Dare/The mouse ran up the... stair!” or “bear!”

Children learn that spoken

words consist of smaller

units (syllables, onsets and

rimes, and phonemes), and

they manipulate and reflect

on those units as they sing,

recite poems, engage with

books, and play language

games.

182 | Chapter 3 Transitional Kindergarten