Standard 2: NAEYC Accreditation Criteria for Curriculum

The following chart presents the accreditation criteria for this topic area. Each criterion provides specific details to guide program plans, policies and practices. The criteria are numbered (01, 02, 03, etc.) within their topic area. Each criterion within each program standard is identified by its relevant age group (or groups). Many criteria are identified as "universal" (U), meaning that all classrooms and programs pursuing NAEYC Accreditation must address these criteria. These aspects of quality should be seen in any programs or classrooms serving birth through kindergarten, though they may look somewhat different in practice depending on the children's age.

Age Groups:
U = universal
I = infant
T = toddlers/twos
P = preschool
K = kindergarten

2.E.
Curriculum Content Area for Cognitive Development: Early Literacy

2.E.01
I
Infants have varied opportunities to experience songs, rhymes, routine games and books through

• individualized play that includes simple rhymes, songs, and interactive games (e.g., peek-a-boo).
• daily opportunities for each child to hear and respond to various types of books including picture books, wordless books, and books with rhymes.
• access to durable books that enable children's independent exploration.

2.E.02
T
Toddlers/twos have varied opportunities to experience books, songs, rhymes, and routine games through

• individualized play that includes simple rhymes, songs, and sequences of gestures (e.g., finger plays, peek-a-boo, patty-cake, This Little Piggy).
• daily opportunities to hear and respond to various types of books including picture books, wordless books, and books with rhymes.
• access to durable books that enable independent exploration.
• experiences that help them understand that pictures represent real things in their environment.

2.E.03
T   P   K
Children have opportunities to become familiar with print. They are actively involved in making sense of print, and they have opportunities to become familiar with, recognize, and use print that is accessible throughout the classroom:

• Items belonging to a child are labeled with his or her name.
• Materials are labeled.
• Print is used to describe some rules and routines.
• Teaching staff help children recognize print and connect it to spoken words.

2.E.04
P   K
Children have varied opportunities to

• be read books in an engaging manner in group or individualized settings at least twice a day in full-day programs and at least once daily in half-day programs.
• be read to regularly in individualized ways including one-to-one or in small groups of two to six children.
• explore books on their own and have places that are conducive to the quiet enjoyment of books.
• have access to various types of books, including storybooks, factual books, books with rhymes, alphabet books, and wordless books.
• be read the same book on repeated occasions.
• retell and reenact events in storybooks.
• engage in conversations that help them understand the content of the book.
• be assisted in linking books to other aspects of the curriculum.
• identify the parts of books and differentiate print from pictures.

2.E.05
P   K
Children have multiple and varied opportunities to write:

• Writing materials and activities are readily available in art, dramatic play, and other learning centers.
• Various types of writing are supported including scribbling, letter-like marks, and developmental spelling.
• Children have daily opportunities to write or dictate their ideas.
• Children are provided needed assistance in writing the words and messages they are trying to communicate.
• Children are given the support they need to write on their own, including access to the alphabet and to printed words about topics of current interest, both of which are made available at eye level or on laminated cards.
• Children see teaching staff model functional use of writing and are helped to discuss the many ways writing is used in daily life.

2.E.06
P    K
Children are regularly provided multiple and varied opportunities to develop phonological awareness:

• Children are encouraged to play with the sounds of language, including syllables, word families, and phonemes, using rhymes, poems, songs, and finger plays.
• Children are helped to identify letters and the sounds they represent.
• Children are helped to recognize and produce words that have the same beginning or ending sounds.
• Children's self-initiated efforts to write letters that represent the sounds of words are supported.

2.E.07
P   K
Children are given opportunities to recognize and write letters.

2.E.08
P   K
Children have access to books and writing materials throughout the classroom.

2.E.09
K
Kindergartners have varied opportunities to learn to read familiar words, sentences, and simple books.

2.E.10
K
Kindergartners are encouraged to identify phonemes in words through varied activities, including writing and games.

2.E.11
K
Each kindergartner is encouraged to write independently each day.