During the kindergarten-to-third-grade (K-3 years) stage of childhood, children develop a strong foundation for future learning. They learn the sounds of letters and develop a working knowledge of reading. This enables children to begin writing and communicating ideas.
Children develop a love of reading. Teachers encourage children to read and talk about books. They also teach them how to answer questions. They teach them to use different sources of information, such as books and diagrams. They also teach them to recognize different characters and settings in stories. They encourage children to create stories based on their own experiences.
Children begin to write messages to others, as well as to practice writing letters and sounds. They also begin to recognize and write the correct spellings of some words. They also begin to use formal language at school, although they use invented spellings for many words.
Teachers also teach children how to use vocabulary words correctly. They teach children about the letter-sound relationships of words, and they explain the meaning of new words over a period of time. They also emphasize words children will see often, such as words they already know.
Children also learn to retell stories. They do this by acting out important events in the story, using the words in the story, and answering questions. They also discuss books read to them. They ask questions about what they are reading, and they answer those questions using the new words they have learned.