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Language Milestones – Normal Language Development

(Multiple errors across language domains or in single areas indicate child may need language assessment.)

Mark + or - By Age 5
and any comments
Syntax (Sentence Structure) Suggestions for Eliciting Targets
sentences in conversation should average 4.5-7 words Ask about favorite movies, friends,
______________simple sentences are complete siblings, pets, how to make a peanut butter
uses and understands some complex sentences sandwich, favorite games, etc.
Semantics (Word Knowledge)
knows time concepts (early, tomorrow, etc.) “What day is tomorrow? What did you do yesterday?”
labels common objects by use and function “What tells time? What keeps food cold?”
Morphology (Word Structure)
knows comparatives (e.g. bigger, nicer, taller) “Is a car heavier than a bicycle?”
knows third person singular present tense “What does a bird do with its wings?” or
(e.g. “he runs.”) “Use the word “walks” in a sentence.”
knows regular past tense After dropping pencil, ask “What did I do?”
knows regular plurals Hold up fingers and ask, “What are these?”
uses basic helping verbs in sentences “Use the word ‘are’ in a sentence.”
(e.g. is, are, am)
uses contractions (e.g. can’t, won’t, he’s) “Do cows fly? Tell me that in a sentence.”
Pragmatics (Social Language)
can judge grammatical correctness of “Is it correct to say, ‘He drawing picture?’”
basic sentences
maintains topic Elicit spontaneous speech.
Ages 5-6
Syntax (Sentence Structure)
sentences averages 6.0-8.0 words Elicit spontaneous speech. Ask about
uses and understands past and future tense consistently what the student will do after school,
______________with usually complete and some complex sentences what happened yesterday after school, etc.
Semantics (Word Knowledge)
uses and understands many location Place pencil in different areas (e.g. below
prepositions (e.g. on top, above, between, near) table), and ask, “Where is my pencil?”
knows address “What town/state/country do you live in?”
knows some common opposites (e.g. hard-soft) “What is the opposite of stop?”
tells stories about past events “What did you do (yesterday, last weekend, etc.)?”
defines basic words using use and composition “What is glue?”(Includes use and composition.)
can name position (e.g. first, second, third) “What is the third day of the week? What is
the last letter in the alphabet?”
knows indefinite pronouns (e.g. every, any, both, few) “Use the word ‘many’ in a sentence.”
Morphology (Word Structure)
uses irregular plurals (e.g. mice, teeth) Point to teeth or feet and ask “What are these?”
uses possessive nouns (e.g. the dog’s tail) Point to picture of person, animal, etc. and ask,
“Whose ears, etc. are those?”
uses basic conjunctions (e.g. and, if, because) “Use the word ‘or’ in a sentence.”
Pragmatics (Social Language)
uses basic requests (wh and yes-no questions) “What could you ask if you lost your coat?”
understands some indirect requests “I would like you to stand.”
self monitors speech, sometimes self correcting errors Elicit spontaneous speech.
Language Milestones – Normal Language Development

Mark + or - Ages 7,8, and 9

and any
comments Syntax Suggestions for Eliciting Targets
______________sentences in conversation should average 7.0-9.0 words Ask about favorite movies, friends,
______________uses complete sentences siblings, how to do a book report,
uses primarily complex sentences with conjunctions, hobbies, etc.
______________ clauses, and/or embedding “Use the word ‘unless’ in a sentence.”
______________uses correct word order (particularly in questions)
knows seasons, and categories such as holidays, liquids, “Name the seasons.”“What are China,
______________ punctuation, planets, directions, states, etc. Canada, and The United States of America?”
______________labels curriculum objects, and labels functions “Name something that measures.” “What does a
title do?”
______________knows curriculum opposites and synonyms “What is the opposite of lower case?” “What is a
word that means the same as author?”
______________uses more complex location prepositions (eg. through) “Use the word ‘across’ in a sentence.”
______________knows basic idioms “What does it mean to ‘catch up,’ ‘figure out,’,”
call it a day,’”etc.
______________knows basic metaphors “Finish this sentence. That old dog was as slow
as a _________.”
______________knows superlatives, e.g. biggest, best, tallest “Tell me the slowest animal that you can think of.”
______________uses infinitive verbs “Use the phrase “to walk” in a sentence.”
______________knows irregular past tense “Use the word ‘hold’ in a sentence starting
with the word ‘yesterday’.”(hear, bring, etc.)
______________knows derivational morphemes “If a reader is somebody who reads, what do you
call somebody who listens?”
______________understands complex negation “Tell me something that doesn’t live in the ocean.”
____________varies intonation, gestures and other nonverbal behavior Elicit spontaneous speech
Ages 10 and up
minimal errors in word order; adult sentence length; Use phrases in sentences, such as “may be
includes variety of tense and clauses, including able to, would have, will be, could have,” etc.
______________knows similarities and differences of curriculum objects “How are a microscope and a telescope alike,
and how are they different?”
can define multiple curriculum words using at least 2 of “What is punctuation? What is an
______________the following: categories, examples, attributes, functions ocean? What is a government?”, etc.
______________differentiates similar words “Is it worse to be furious or upset?” “Is it better
to be happy or ecstatic?
______________consistently uses precise terms monitor conversation sample for excessive
use of demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these and
those) and words like “thing” and “stuff”
______________consistently answers mixed “wh” questions “Where/When/Why do you eat lunch? Who/What
is the President?”
______________understands and explains idioms “What really happens when a person turns the clock
back?… if something appears out of thin air?”, etc.
______________any morphologic error refer to suggestions for ages 7,8, and 9
______________can distinguish facts and opinions “I like pizza. Is that a fact or an opinion?
______________requests clarifications Say something very quietly.