Literacy Standards (Ages 6-18 Months)

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Literacy Standards

The following indicators outline the developmental benchmarks and literacy behaviors that most children display at a particular age/grade. All are aligned with guidelines and standards established by the Arizona Department of Education. Seen together, they show the progression of development over time, but it is important to remember that all children develop at a different pace and follow varied patterns of development.

For very young children, key components of language and communication development include modeling conversations, book handling, and picture/story comprehension. For preschool and K-3 students, indicators of developing language and emergent literacy provide a clear overview of the learning goals to be achieved by the end of each year. Across the higher grades, indicators may have similar wording, but they are to be applied with increased focus to progressively more challenging texts and tasks.

Age / Grade Range

Listening and Understanding

Child shows interest in listening to sounds; may:
- Respond in a variety of ways to new or unusual sounds.
- Show interest and attempt to participate in rhymes, rhythms, and music.
- Quiet down or get excited when hearing familiar voices.
- Respond when hearing their own or familiar people’s name.
- Attend to others when they are speaking.

Child listens with interest to language of others; may:
- Respond when hearing familiar sounds such as familiar adults talking outside the door. (At this age infants are universal listeners who are capable of hearing and distinguishing the sounds of all human languages.)
- Learn and understand nouns and verbs.

Communication and Speaking

Child uses sounds, gestures, or actions to communicate for a variety of purposes; may:
- Begin to use one word phrases like “no,” “want,” and “more.”
- Produce conversational tones and behaviors such as turn-taking, eye contact, and recognizable gestures.
- Express and use the names of objects, shapes, and colors after only one exposure.
- Use a vocabulary of 10-to-20 words or signs consistently.

Child imitates sounds, signs, gestures, or words for a variety of purposes; may:
- Repeat word-like sounds such as babbling.
- Begin to imitate new words and two-word phrases used by caregivers.
- Use a few words to label familiar people or objects.
- Copy new signs from caregivers to express needs or wants.
- Begin to wave, clap, and point.

Child shows reciprocity in using language in simple conversations; may:
- Demonstrate back-and-forth conversation and behaviors, such as turn-taking, eye contact, and recognizable gestures.
- Respond with gestures or words when asked if wants to eat or play.
- Initiate conversation using one- or two-word phrases to express needs or wants.

Child follows some simple commands or instructions.
Child pretends to read books.

Emergent Literacy

Child shows interest in songs, rhymes, and stories; may:
- Make motions for familiar games such as pat-a-cake or other rhymes and fingerplays.
- Join in with caregivers on familiar songs.
- Pay attention to simple picture books with a caregiver.

Child shows interest in photos, pictures, and drawings; may:
- Point to or name objects, animals, or people in photos, pictures, and drawings.

Child develops interest in and involvement with books and other print materials; may:
- Turn pages of books, look at the pictures, and name or make the sounds associated with the picture (e.g., “choo choo” for train, “bow wow” for dog).
- Make marks on a paper with a large crayon or marker.
- Notice road or store signs in the environment.

Source: Arizona Department of Education, Arizona’s Infant and Toddler Developmental Guidelines

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