1. Chapter 8 Preschool Curriculum: Ages 3 to 5
Language and Cognitive Development
by Rina Lestari S

2. INTRODUCTION
In 1930s to the 1970s, educators believed that the learning process to read began in the first grade (at 6 years old) using Gesell’s maturational theory.
In 1950s and 1960s  children play an active role in oral language acquisition.
Piaget (1955): language development is similar to cognitive development.

3. INTRODUCTION
Bloom, Brown, Cazden, Chomsky: the child construct language as the child construct knowledge.
Dyson, Goodman, Snow & Tabors, Sulzby, Barnhart & Hieshima: understanding how young children learn to talk helps us to also understand how they learn to write and read.

4. CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
I. How young children develop language
Skinner: the behaviorist position is that language is learned through reinforcement.
Slobin, McNeil, Chomsky: human are biologically equipped for language acquisition  have an innate/natural capacity to learn language.

5. CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Jewell & Zintz, Spodek: the rules for the language are finite/limited, but children can generate an infinite number of sentences using the rules.
Piaget: language development parallel the child’s ability to use thought  they use their own style of thinking & language interaction to learn language.
Vygotsky: human consciousness is develop through words.
Genishi & Fassler: communicative competence includes the ability to speak appropriately in different social situations and to use knowledge of linguistic rules to communicate.

6. CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
II. Forms of Language
There are certain elements of language
that all children acquire:
Phonology: the sound system
Syntax: the grammar
Semantics: the meaning of the communication
Pragmatics: refers to what the speaker intends to communicate. It is related to effective communication. (the preschool child learns how to communicate politely & properly)

7. CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
III. Language differences in the Preschool Years
By 4 or 5 years, young children have acquired a
basic mastery of the language spoken at home.
According to Genishi & Fassler:
Language is an enormously complex system through
which people construct & convey meaning.
Imitation is not the key to acquiring language.
All normal children develop communicative competence within their own communities.

8. CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Important to remember:
Many children come from
different cultures and communities.
(Those could be problems to teachers to treat those children)

9. PLANNING FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
The first purpose is to extend the child’s
acquisition of oral language  the most
active period of development of
communicate through speech  3 through 5.
In planning for language program, teacher
 oral & written literacy.

10. PLANNING FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
I. The Role of Play in Language Development
Language  important in play, but play 
equally important role in the development of
language.
According to Frost cited Levy’s:
- Play stimulates innovation in language
- Play introduces & clarifies new words & concepts
- Play motivates language use and practice
- Play develops metalinguistic awareness
- Play encourages verbal thinking

11. PLANNING FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
II. The Role of the Teacher in Language Development and Literacy
For Language development: teacher  facilitator,
instructor, and model.
Facilitator: setting up the indoor & outdoor environment to support children’s play.
Instructor: teacher-direct activities and structured experiences (concept, vocabulary, development  written language)
Model: for language development through all verbal interaction with children.

12. PLANNING FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
III. The Role of Parents in Language Development
Parents  major role in their child’s development of
language.
Strategies to facilitate language development:
Get your children talk!
Help your children understand the story
Praise your children
Relate the book to your life
Ask your children good question during storybook reading.
Wait for answer
With your younger children, point to words when you read
With older children, point to words when you read
Choose books carefully
Have fun!

13. PLANNING FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
IV. The Role of the Environment in Language and Literacy
The preschool classroom  inviting environment for young
children.
The class has both social (includes teacher) & physical
(space & materials) aspects.
According to Ostrosky & Kaiser in arranging language environment:
Focus on making language a part of children’s routines.
Provide access to interesting materials & activities.
Provide adult & peer models who will encourage children to use language & respond.
Establish a contingent relationship between access to materials.

14. PLANNING FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Language environment  print-rich
Environment  everywhere in the form of
label, lists, signs, charts, and posters.
The teacher’s role:
Read to the children
Engage in conversation
Discuss and share books and stories
Use poetry and finger plays

15. PLANNING FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
The child’s role:
Write on a daily basis
Explore new books
Review familiar books
Listen to stories
Engage in drama/role play

16. DESIGNING CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Aware of activities that will facilitate the transition into
written language.
The curriculum for oral language development  to
promote the child’s expressive and receptive language.
(expressive  combination of the phonetic, syntactic, semantic,
pragmatic;
receptive  elements that the child has heard & understood, but
cannot yet use in the expressive language.)
Literacy is develop when the child is able to use written
language that includes writing and reading.

17. DESIGNING CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
I. Experiences That Promote Expressive Language
Expressive language development  oral
language.
Morrow has developed objectives for the
development of expressive language:
Give children opportunities to use their language freely.
Encourage children to pronounce words correctly.
Help children to increase their speaking vocabularies

18. DESIGNING CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
4. Encourage children to speak in complete sentences.
5. Give opportunities to expand their use of various syntactic structures.
6. Encourage children to communicate with others so that they can be understood.
7. Give children the opportunity to use language socially and psychology
8. Give children opportunities to develop language that involve mathematical and logical relations.
9. Give children the opportunity to talk in many different settings.

19. DESIGNING CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Classroom setting  centers for learning
and play.
Children use expressive language to
discuss activities with teachers and peers.
It occurs when children interact in the
manipulative or science-math centers,
asking for directions, giving suggestions,
and describing activities.

20. DESIGNING CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
II. Experiences That Promote Receptive Language
The child’s receptive language will reflect the
nature of the adult language that is heard.
Objectives for receptive language (by Morrow):
Provide children with an atmosphere which they will hear the language frequently.
Children  associate what they hear with pleasure and enjoyment.

21. DESIGNING CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
3. Children  discriminate and classify sounds they hear.
4. Children  hear a rich source of new words
on a regular basis.
5. Children  listen to others & demonstrate that they understand what it said.
6. Provide children with opportunities for following directions.

22. DESIGNING CURRICULUM FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Telling and reading stories are major activities used with young children to help them develop listening skills and receptive vocabulary. Not only are the children being exposed to new words, but they are also acquiring new information (Genishi & Fassler, 1999)

23. DEVELOPING FOUNDATIONS FOR LITERACY
Literacy is a continuous process that
begins at birth and develops as children
strive to understand and use oral and
written language.
Interest in books and stories and using
Conversations to communicate  process.
Adult  facilitators for oral & written
literacy for children.

24. DEVELOPING FOUNDATIONS FOR LITERACY
I. Resolving the Issues in Beginning Literacy
Instruction
Emergent literacy: children begin the process
becoming literate very early in life.
The role of the teacher: to guide, to instruct, and
Scaffold.
The role of the children: to encounter,
experience, represent accomplishment in
beginning literacy.

25. GOALS FOR LITERACY Rich teacher talk Storybook reading
Phonological awareness activities
Alphabet activities
Support for emergent reading
Support for emergent writing
Shared book experiences
Integrated, content-focused activities

26. Emergent literacy is a process of literacy
DESIGNING LANGUAGE CURRICULUM FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES AND LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES
Emergent literacy is a process of literacy
acquisition that is flexible and adaptable to
various levels of development. Its flexible
nature is applicable to children who have
special needs for learning in the preschool
years. Little modification is needed in
many classroom experiences because no
set level of participation is required.

27. CURRICULUM FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Young children are developing their
cognitive capacities in problem solving,
reasoning, and abstract concept
formation during the years from
age 3 to 5
(Bredekamp & Copple, 1997).

28. CURRICULUM FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
I. How Young children Develop Concepts
Between ages 3 to 5  children develop
their schema  concepts  repeated
experiences with variety materials 
explore.
Piaget  disequilibrium/cognitive conflict:
will challenge the child’s understanding.

29. CURRICULUM FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
II. Planning for Cognitive Development
Information  sequence of concepts 
through manipulation, observation, &
discovery.
In setting curriculum  educators 
familiar with nature of progress  to
organize instruction, goals, & objectives for
preschool children.

30. CURRICULUM FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
The child’s ability to understand
mathematics & science  preoperational
period  discrimination, classification and
one-to-one correspondence.
Math for preschool children should see:
Child’s cognitive limitation
Minimum of perceptual difficulties.
According to Dutton and Dutton  concrete
materials must be available to manipulate, act on,
arrange, and classify.

31. CURRICULUM FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Concepts of learning science:
understanding the relationship between
objects, events, or situations (environment)
 generalization.
3 process of forming concepts:
Differentiating
Grouping
Labeling

32. CURRICULUM FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
III. Goals for Cognitive Development Mathematics and Science
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(2000) has develop standard for prekindergarten
through 2nd grade:
Numbers and operation
Patterns, functions, and algebra
Geometry and spatial sense
Measurement
Data analysis and probability

33. CURRICULUM FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Cognitive development in science 
slightly different process:
Observing
Thinking
Reflecting

34. CURRICULUM FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
On experiences they have engage in with
phenomena in the environment:
Hypotheses
Collect data
Make decisions about the hypotheses
Make generalization

35. CURRICULUM FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
IV. The Role of the Teacher in Cognitive Development
The adult’s role  making plans for teacher
directed and child-directed activities &
experiences.
The teacher’s role  supporting/scaffolding 
see children’s ZPD.
The ZPD: independent & needs assistance.

36. CURRICULUM FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Support  setting up the environment 
can assist the child.
In working with concepts in science 
teacher will include many opportunities for
children  sequence of experiencing &
representing  firstly, directly experience
the concept.
Teacher  consider how best to organize
learning experiences.

37. CURRICULUM FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
V. The Role of the Environment and Play in Cognitive Development
Classroom  centers of math and science materials.
Math centers  object for working with numbers.
Science centers  insect cages, small animals cages,
magnifiers, etc.
Children need to explore physical properties 
explorations of water, sand, things that roll, and blocks
(Sprung, 1996).

38. THE INTEGRATED CURRICULUM
The curriculum  exemplify the content of
language and cognitive development for
preoperational children.
The activities require active interaction on
the part of the child 
manipulative/experiences  meaningful
context.

39. DESIGNING COGNITIVE CURRICULUM FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
The nature of cognitive development for
preschool children: adaptable to a range of
development levels.
Children who are developmentally delayed
interactions  opportunities to use their
senses & cognitive abilities to learn.
The teacher should be sensitive  adaptations
necessary for children who have special
needs.

40. Thank You for listening
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