Developmental Language and Literacy Milestones

Three and Four Year Olds

• Knows that alphabet letters are individual graphics which can be named
• Recognizes familiar environmental print
• Knows that print has a message
• Knows that there are different purposes for print
• Notices separable and repeating sounds in language
• Rapidly increasing vocabulary
• Uses grammatical construction in own speech
• Understands and follows oral directions
• Begins to sequence events in stories
• Is interested in books and reading
• Is able to make connections between story and own life experiences
• Questions and comments on story’s literal meaning
• Attempts reading and writing
• Can identify 10 alphabet letters, especially those from own name
• “Writes” for purpose and meaning as part of playful activity
• Begins to notice beginning or rhyming sounds in words

Kindergarten (Five and six year olds)

• Knows the parts of a book and their functions
• Begins to track print when listening to a familiar text or rereading own writing
• “Reads” familiar text in own words
• Recognizes and names all upper and lower case letters
• Understands that the sequence of letters in a word represent the sequence of sounds
• Learns most letter sounds
• Recognizes some sight words
• Uses new vocabulary and grammatical construction in own speech
• Notices when simple sentences do not make sense
• Makes connections between text and own life experiences
• Retells, reenacts or dramatizes stories or parts of stories
• Listens attentively to books
• Can name some book titles and authors
• Has familiarity with a number of types of genres
• Correctly answers questions about stories read aloud
• Makes predictions based on illustrations or portions of story
• Identifies words that begin the same and those that are different
• Identifies words that rhyme
• Given a spoken word, can produce another word that rhymes with it
• Independently writes many upper and lower case letters
• Uses phonemic awareness and letter knowledge to spell independently (Invented or phonetic spelling)
• Writes unconventionally to express own meaning
• Builds a repertoire of some conventionally spelled words
• Writes own name (first and last) and the first names of family and friends
• Can write most letters and some words when they are dictated.