Chapter 8 Language Development in Kindergartners
Chapter Overview
This chapter focuses on kindergartners' language development in each of the five aspects of language knowledge: phonological, semantic, syntactic, morphemic and pragmatic. In each of these areas, research-based concepts and examples of children's oral and written language are included to describe language development.
The importance of assessing kindergartners' language knowledge is also emphasized. Examples of several class checklists are included which focus on documenting kindergartners' developing language knowledge.
Learning Outcomes
After reading this chapter, students should be able to
· Describe the types of invented spelling that kindergartners use in their emergent writing
· Explain how kindergartners’ use of figurative language and humor is related to semantic development
· Provide an example of kindergartners’ increasing syntactic knowledge
· Explain how kindergartners’ use of verb tense, possessives, and comparatives is related to development of morphemic knowledge
· Provide an example of kindergartners’ increasing pragmatic knowledge of written language
Chapter Review
1. Why are digraphs a spelling challenge to young writers?
2. Give several examples of ways in which children’s morphemic knowledge may increase during the kindergarten year.
3. Describe how children’s interactions provide evidence of their pragmatic knowledge when they are retelling or re-creating familiar stories.
4. What is the expressive vocabulary volume of kindergartners? Is this larger or smaller than their receptive vocabulary?
5. How is the kindergarten language environment different from a preschool language environment?
6. How does a child's sense of humor indicate developing semantic knowledge?
7. How does a child's awareness of genre in their original stories indicate pragmatic knowledge?
Chapter Activity
1. Review the Developmental Stages of Writing.
2. Review the following writing sample by a kindergarten student.
3. Identify and justify the stage of writing of the sample below.