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The Learning Ladder II

Home A reading and writing curriculum for Family Child Care Providers, Children and Families

Terms from the Field

Below are words and definitions that you may need when you work as . You will learn more about these words later in the module.

When you see the speaker speaker after each of the definitions you can hear the pronunciation of the term and what it means.


emergent literacy - Emergent literacy means the things children are able to do before they actually learn to read and write. An example of emergent literacy in children is learning how to hold a pen.

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language skills - Language skills are the abilities we use to communicate by writing, speaking, listening, and reading. An example is the ability to write a letter so that people will read and understand it.

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character - A character is a person who plays a part in a story. For example, the main character is the most important character in a story.

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print-rich environment - A print-rich environment is a place that is full of different kinds of writing. For example, it may have a lot of books, posters on the wall, and signs on objects.

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upper-case letters - Upper-case letters are capital letters. For example, CAT instead of cat.

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props - Props are objects that children can use to help them imagine a real-life situation. For example, children can use plastic plates and towels to pretend to wash dishes.

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writing tools - Writing tools can be anything people use to write with. Children sometimes use crayons for a writing tool instead of a pen or pencil.

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writing surfaces - Writing surfaces can be anything people use to write on. Examples of writing surfaces are paper, blackboards, or envelopes.

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If you find other words that you don't understand, you can do two things :

1. Learn how to identify a word without a dictionary.

Or

2. Use an online dictionary that will be at the bottom of each page. See below.

dictionary.reference.com
Type in the word (or cut and paste it) in the box below. Click the Get the Definition button. You will then go to the dictionary.reference.com web site. Note: To return to this page, use your browser's "back" button.


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