Language, Literacy, and Communication
Foundations
Language develops through receptive (understanding) before expressive (producing) skills. Know the components: phonology (sounds), morphology (word parts), syntax (grammar), semantics (meaning), and pragmatics (social use). Early literacy rests on oral language, phonological awareness, print awareness, alphabet knowledge, and vocabulary. Distinguish phonological awareness (broad awareness of sounds-rhyming, syllables, onset-rime) from phonemic awareness (individual phonemes)-a frequent trap.
Emergent literacy practices
Rich talk, shared reading, songs, rhymes, and repeated interactive read-alouds build vocabulary and comprehension. Dialogic reading (prompting, evaluating, expanding, repeating) is a key technique. Writing develops from scribbles to letter-like forms to invented spelling; invented spelling is a normal developmental stage, not an error to penalize. Print concepts (front/back, left-to-right, words vs. pictures) are taught through shared reading.
Dual language learners
Support home language while building English; use visuals, gestures, repetition, and predictable routines. Bilingualism is an asset.
Traps to watch
Questions may label phonemic awareness as the whole of phonological awareness, or treat invented spelling as a problem. Another trap: assuming a quiet child has a language delay-consider temperament, culture, and opportunities to speak.
Rule of thumb
Phonological awareness is the umbrella; phonemic awareness is one panel of that umbrella (individual sounds).
Worked example
A child writes "I LV MOM." Rather than correcting spelling, the teacher celebrates the message, notes the sound-letter connections, and later scaffolds the missing vowel-recognizing invented spelling as a stage.