Language & Literacy Development (LLD)
The Language and Literacy Development (LLD) domain assesses the progress of all children in developing foundational language and literacy skills. These skills can be demonstrated in any language and in any mode of communication.
Meet Santiago Flores,
Ambassador for Language and Literacy Development!
Santiago Flores walked up to the podium and flashed his signature smile for the audience. He looked down to see that his father and all his friends from Bestie Book Club were sitting in the front row!
“Hello, I am Santiago Flores, Ambassador for Language and Literacy Development, or LLD! Friends and family, I have a question for you: Who wants to hear a really good story?”
The children cheered, applauded, and whistled and one of his fellow ambassadors yelled from backstage, “Yay! Santiago the Storyteller! Tell us a story!” Then his own father stood up and threw his arms up in the air, exclaiming, “My son, the Storyteller!”
That made Santiago giggle. “Papa, please!” His father gave him a sheepish grin and took his seat. He couldn’t help it – he was so proud! Then the lights dimmed, the crowd settled, and Santiago opened his notebook and began to read and tell his story.
“This story is called ‘Books and More Books.’ Once upon a time, there was a little boy from Palo Alto, who couldn’t read or write or say his name. He was sad because his big brother knew how to do all those things and he was always reading and writing and learning bigger and better words like ‘humongous,’ which is just another word for really big, so what was the big deal, anyway?”
The children laughed, the teachers chuckled, and someone blurted, “humongous!” and everyone laughed again.
“The little boy was surrounded by books. There were books on the bookshelf and books on the bed, books on the floor, and books on his head! Books about bugs, books about bikes, books about trees and books about how to say please…in several languages. So many books!
“But no matter how many books there were, all he could do was hold them, chew on them, and look at their pictures until one day…” Santiago looked up at the audience to make sure they were listening and taking it all in. He dropped his voice to a whisper and continued. “Until one day, the little boy got a tiny bit older and bigger. Not humongous, but bigger, and he went to school, just like his brother! And guess what happened next?”
The children squealed in delight. “What? What happened?”
“Not long after he started school at PACCC, he picked up a book, opened it up, pointed to the picture and read his first word, ‘Papa.’”
At that moment, Santiago’s father was so excited, he jumped out of his chair, and declared, “It’s true! It’s a true story!”
“And soon the little boy learned to write the word, ‘P-a-p-a.’ Then he couldn’t stop reading, spelling, writing, and talking about what he was reading, spelling and writing! He started spelling words all over the house, on paper, in his notebook, on his arm, but never on the walls! Never on the walls!”
The kids laughed and repeated, “Never on the walls!”
“As the little boy grew up, he read so many books! He read books in his bed, and books in the park, books at the pool, and books in school.
“And the little boy was called Santiago, or Santi, as he’s known at Bestie Book Club! The end!”
The crowd stood and cheered. The Ambassadors joined Santi at the podium. His father did a happy dance and all the teachers looked on with pride.
As Santi and his fellow ambassadors posed for a photo, he leaned into the microphone and said with a silly grin, “The only time I don’t read is during…”
Emery laughed and yelled, “RECESS!”
The End.
(You know this is not really the end, right? We have A LOT of stories!)
Language & Literacy Development Progression
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Infant-Toddler |
Preschool |
School-Age |
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Understanding & Using Language |
Santiago says, “Mama” when his mom arrives to pick him up from school. |
During circle time the teacher asks her students to share what they did over the weekend. Santiago shares that he went to the park with his dad. |
Santiago works collaboratively with a small group to complete a presentation about a chapter book they read in class. |
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Foundational Literacy & Writing Skills |
Santiago scribbles on a piece of paper with chunky crayons. |
Santiago writes his name “Santi” on a drawing he is working on during group time. |
Santiago writes a short paragraph in response to a writing prompt asking, “Describe a time you solved a problem. What happened? How did you fix it?” |
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Comprehension & Self-Expression |
A teacher is reading the story "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and Santiago says, ”Uh oh!” when the spider gets washed away. |
While reading The Three Bears during story time, Santiago helps to tell the story with the felt board and pieces. |
Santiago raises his hand to ask clarifying questions about a book they are reading together as a class. |
