Written Language

Developmental Milestones of Written Language

• General Information

  • Using milestones identified by Snow, Scarborough, and Burns (1999) to determine at-risk children.

  • Milestones span from preschool to third grade.

Milestones by Age

• Three Years Old

  • Goal: Discover and appreciate functions and values of written language.

  • Reading: Interest in signs, labels; recognizing book covers; turning pages.

  • Writing: Understanding print as a means of communication.

• Four Years Old

  • Goal: Learn details about print and words (foundation for alphabetic principle).

  • Reading: Developing phonological awareness; segmenting and distinguishing letters.

  • Writing: Engaging in inventive spelling; practicing name spelling; vocabulary expansion.

• Five Years Old/Kindergarten

  • Goal: Figure out the alphabetic system.

  • Reading: Letter-sound correspondence; manipulating letters to create words; understanding simple narratives.

  • Writing: Indicating knowledge through writing narratives that include story grammar elements.

• First Grade

  • Goal: Remember and apply sound-letter correspondences.

  • Reading: Accurate and automatic reading; discussing texts and vocabulary comprehension.

  • Writing: Progressing in invented and correct spelling; writing for different reasons, adding story elements.

• Second Grade

  • Goal: Become fluent, automatic readers.

  • Reading: Developing comprehension and inference strategies.

  • Writing: Deepening understanding of literature through reports; more consistent spelling.

• Third Grade and Beyond

  • Goal: Silent, independent reading, improved comprehension.

  • Reading: Fine-tuning language skills; sophisticated syntax, morphology, and semantics.

  • Writing: Refining writing skills with sophisticated language use.