Common Core Is Language-Rich

What Happens in Classrooms Today?

Although most early childhood literacy teachers understand the value of creating a print-rich classroom, many overlook the equally important value of creating a language-rich classroom.

While frequent, early exposure to print has substantial value, it overlooks the fact that oral language development precedes written language development. Children listen and speak long before they learn to read and write.  

What Will Happen under the CCSS?

The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy explicitly address language, speaking, and listening, in addition to standards for reading and writing. 

If literacy levels are to improve, the aims of the English language arts classroom, especially in the earliest grades, must include oral language in a purposeful, systematic way, in part because it helps students master the printed word. Besides having intrinsic value as modes of communication, listening and speaking are necessary prerequisites of reading and writing.

—CCSS, p. 26

Why Is This Change Important?

Oral language precedes written language; we learn to speak and listen long before we can read and write. 

When teachers read aloud, children focus on listening and speaking, and are freed from the cognitive work of decoding. This means that they are far better able to understand a complex story with rich language and vocabulary read out loud than if they attempted to read it on their own.  This “oral language advantage” persists for years: a child’s ability to take in information through reading typically doesn’t catch up to his or her ability to do so by listening until the 8th grade. Content-rich, nonfiction read-alouds, often in narrative form, are a powerful way to build a child’s store of language, vocabulary, and knowledge—critical components of mature reading comprehension.

What Can This Look Like in My Classroom?

Throughout the year and across the grades, read-alouds will intentionally increase language complexity.

With Core Knowledge:

1. Instruction is built by domains of knowledge that constantly and consistently expose children to a wide variety of language and vocabulary.
2. Read-alouds are leveraged as a vehicle for listening and exposure to increasingly complex language.
3. Content and read-aloud discussions provide opportunities for students to develop language and vocabulary.