Florida Pre-Kindergarten ELA Standards in Vocabulary

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C Vocabulary

• 1 Shows an understanding of words and their meanings
  • a Child has age-appropriate vocabulary across many topic areas and demonstrates a wide variety of words and their meanings within each area (e.g., world knowledge: names of body parts, feelings, colors, shapes, jobs, tools, plants, animals and their habitats, and foods; words that describe: adjectives, verbs, and adverbs).
    • following directions that use descriptive words (e.g., run fast, draw a big circle, eat slowly)
    • uses appropriate labels to describe a classroom activity (e.g. cooking, art activity, pretending to be a veterinarian)
    • describing a feeling to a friend (e.g., “I was so angry that I felt like a volcano erupting!”).
    • Provide and read to children a variety of concept-related books (e.g., farm animals, vegetables, the body, fiction and nonfiction).
    • Add new words to children’s vocabulary by using a synonym for a commonly used word.
    • Describe children’s actions with varied descriptive words.
    • Use puppets and props to model expressions of emotions.
    • Provide daily experiences that introduce new vocabulary (e.g., demonstrate the concept of stability and use the word when discussing how to keep block structures from falling down).
    • Model a wide variety of rich vocabulary words, including varied nouns, adjectives, and verbs.
    • Define new words for children when reading aloud and encourage discussion of word meanings.
    • Create category lists of words (e.g., zoo animals we saw on the field trip, tools we use in the classroom).
  • b Child has mastery of functional and organizational language of the classroom (e.g., same and different, in front of and behind, next to, opposite, below).
    • following teacher’s directions when listening to music (e.g., “Put the scarf over your head, then move it behind you.”)
    • understanding directions given at center time to identify which items are the same and which are different
    • retelling what they heard or pointing to appropriate pictures
    • Provide directions to children using very specific language for locations, sizes, shapes, and relationships (e.g., “Look for the big red teddy bear inside the cabinet.”).
    • Play Simon Says and scavenger hunt games using specific location, action, and descriptor words (e.g., “Find two blocks that are the same and one that is different.”).
    • Include language about position and descriptive characteristics of things and actions when interacting with children or commenting on their play (e.g., “Look at the ladybug on top of the leaf.”).
    • Read both fiction and non-fiction books that contain functional and organizational language.
    • Play games indoors and outdoors using positional words. (e.g., “Hold the parachute over your head.” “Stand on top of the scarf.”).
  • c Child understands or knows the meaning of many thousands of words, including disciplinary words (e.g., science, social studies, math, and literacy), many more than he or she routinely uses (receptive language).
    • using a new word when describing a trip to the museum or from another experience
    • demonstrating understanding of new words and information by restating words in context or reproducing the appropriate actions
    • responding to a teacher’s request to “return to the table,” when “return” may not be a word the child has used before
    • responding correctly to a teacher’s directive.
    • Use and discuss new words daily when speaking with children.
    • Teach and discuss new word meanings before, during, and after book reading.
    • When creating a bulletin board or mural for a new theme, identify, label, and discuss the meaning and function of the pictures and objects.
    • During an interactive science activity model the use of relevant specific science terms (e.g., experiment rather than project, beaker rather than cup, hypothesis rather than guess).
    • Use words like, architect, engineer, columns and skyscraper to describe their roles, actions, and products while children are creating a structure in the block center.
• 2 Shows increased vocabulary to describe many objects, actions, and events
  • a Child uses a large speaking vocabulary, adding new words weekly.
    • using descriptive words (e.g., “My turtle crawls slowly.” “That’s a silly picture.”)
    • trying out new words when talking to their friends
    • during story time, asking questions to clarify concepts and build word knowledge
    • describing the process of how eggs and an incubator were used together to hatch baby chicks.
    • Provide numerous daily opportunities for children to talk with peers and adults in the classroom.
    • Encourage children’s verbal input during shared book reading (e.g., in response to questions or to relate the book to their own experiences)
    • Teach children to play Go Fish and other card games that require verbal labeling and request of picture card.
    • Develop child-friendly definitions of important words related to an upcoming lesson.
    • Build your own background knowledge and expanded vocabulary related to an upcoming thematic unit to share with the children.
    • Create a bulletin board or other spotlight area to highlight new words children discover during on-going classroom experiences.
    • Create and regularly add to a classroom dictionary that includes new words, child-friendly definitions, and illustrations or photographs.
  • b Child uses category labels (e.g., fruit, vegetable, animal, transportation, tool).
    • answering questions at large group time about forms of transportation
    • labeling and describing fruits and vegetables
    • identifying which objects are kitchen items and which are not
    • describing an apple as a fruit and a jacket as a piece of clothing.
    • Call attention to category labels that appear in story books and other written text.
    • Model use of and teach children category group labels (e.g., vehicles, clothing, and furniture).
    • Provide opportunities for children to make category collages of items and have children share their collages by orally labeling each item and naming the category.
  • c Child uses a variety of word meaning relationships (e.g., part-whole, object-function, object-location).
    • naming parts of a familiar object (e.g., naming parts of a car: hood, window, trunk)
    • answering questions about what a familiar object is used for (e.g., pencil is for writing, pot is for cooking)
    • sorting play animals according to typical habitat (e.g., jungle animals vs. farm animals vs. house animals).
    • Use real objects, manipulatives, or photographs to help children practice using the concepts of part-whole (e.g., identifying the tires, steering wheel, trunk of a vehicle).
    • Before taking a fieldtrip, hold a class discussion about what you might see and experience at the location (e.g., sheep, tractor, cows at a farm).
    • After taking the fieldtrip, hold a discussion about what the children saw at the location and compare with the earlier prediction.
    • Discuss the necessary tools and their functions when planning a cooking experience (e.g., spoon for stirring, whisk for whipping, and oven for baking).
    • Use props, manipulatives, charts, and photos to support children’s understanding of associations among word concepts (e.g., matching pictures of car parts to the picture of a car.).