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Shows someone how to do something through physical modeling
Teaches someone how to do something with verbal directions
Tells others how to do things, gives instructions
Persists to create productions from clay, sand, paper, blocks, etc.
Uses words to try to solve conflicts with friends
Recognizes rules and complies most of the time
Recognizes that all feelings are acceptable, but not all behaviors are acceptable
Asks permission to use others’ possessions
Begins to hop on one foot and gallop, though may be awkward
Jumps forward numerous times without falling
Uses forward weight shift to throw ball further; throws with some directional accuracy
Plays tee-ball and basketball with a low hoop
Imitates simple gymnastic moves
Completes a version of a somersault
Skills combined into Reach/Grasp/Release
Begins to cut simple curves and angles
Proximity of features are closer to each other than should be (i.e. facial features)
Enclosures are used to encapsulate features (circle around pupils in eyes)
Parts are connected, such as body and arms, tree trunk and limbs
Separation of different parts of the picture that are not connected
Holds fork in fingers rather than fist
Distinguishes front and back, inside out
Sets table and clears own dishes
May have occasional night bed-wetting
Orients pants correctly and puts on
Independent with Velcro fastenings on shoes
Understands vocabulary related to own experiences and culture
Understands time concepts related to days, months, holidays, etc.
Understands basic number concepts
Raises hand to offer comment in a group
Directs conversation primarily to peers and responds to peers’ conversation directed toward him
Answers open ended questions, such as “What can you tell me about….?”
Asks questions about how another person feels
Emerging production of /r, l, s, ch, sh, z, j, v/
Describes how to do something in detail
Retells stories and events in sequence
Creates stories with drawings, constructions of sand, clay, blocks, etc.
Negotiates roles in dramatic play and may switch roles to play different parts
Spontaneously builds on another’s dialogue and actions
Produces the following morphemes: Contractible auxiliary verbs (“they’re coming”)
Uses comparative terms (e.g., longer, shorter)
Uses terms related to time (e.g., day/night, before/after, early/late, summer/winter, etc.)
Uses word “money” and may know a few coins
Knows days of the week, some names of months, and some holidays (though may be inaccurate)
Produces metalinguistic language (Anna begins with “A”)
Infers meaning from context of sentence
Talks about favorite books with peers
Asks questions and comments on a book indicating understanding and interest in a topic or event
Responds to a variety of questions about a story that was previously read
Mixes print-like letters, real letters, and drawings in “writings”
Asks about print conventions like spelling, spacing, and where to write
Notices words that have letters like those in own name and asks what the word “says”
Identifies simple, high-frequency words
Counts syllables in names and simple words
Identifies initial letters and sounds of familiar names and some words
Identifies parts of words that rhyme
Differentiates between letters and numbers
Draws a person with a head and at least 6 features
Draws simple pictures to tell a story
Attempts to write letter-like forms in a sequence to write a message
Writes letter-like forms along with scribbles to represent writing
Asks about spelling, spacing of words
Holds a crayon with an adult grasp
Tries to imitate the letters in own name and some family member’s names
Includes a combination of letters and letter-like symbols in writing
Writes in organized and segmented rows, though placement may not be in the correct order
Attends to more than one characteristic (shape and color, color and size, texture and color, etc.)
Determines what is missing from pictures, puzzles, and toys
Describes reasons for feelings and beliefs
Knows what to do to please others and takes steps to do so
Selects a variety of materials to create play scenarios
Examines different types of art and explains why she likes or dislikes it
Combines movements to create a novel dance
Creates representations with paper, clay, sand, small boxes, etc.
Makes art projects with a variety of tactile materials and fasteners
Draws squares and rectangular shapes
Monitors the emotional state of a group and children within the group
Maintains attention in group activities when interested
Responsible for chores within the home/school
Responds appropriately to instructions given in a small group
Knows the rules of the household and classroom
May participate in community structured group sports or activities
Tends to choose friends with like interests and personalities
Writes or draws to represent 1 through 10
Counts structured arrangement up to 9 and knows “how many”
Counts 1-30 with emphasis on the counting pattern (e.g., Twenty-one, with parallel to 1,2,3)
Recognizes the written numbers 1-9
Counts all in two number sets by adding on from the first set
Talks about past, present, future
Matches unrelated items and determines if they are the same amount
Size: Compares size (area) by placing one on another
Weight: Compares weight (light, heavy)
Time: Knows morning, afternoon
Recognizes a simple pattern (three different attributes)
Duplicates simple patterns seen at a distance
Creates original patterns in art work
Sorts a wide variety of shapes
May not differentiate sides and corners, for example in puzzles and shapes
Recognizes variations in triangles, but usually does not recognize diamonds
Constructs 2-D and 3-D constructions with symmetry
Builds, copies, and describes a shape
Breaks apart simple two-dimensional shapes that have obvious clues for breaking them apart
Uses positional words (behind, in front of, beside) to describe the location of an object
Demonstrates an understanding of the differences between living and nonliving things
Understands the differences between habitats for people and animals
 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015
©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.