All Preschool Standards Without Indicators

Other New Jersey Preschool Teaching & Learning sets

• Approaches to Learning
• English Language Arts
• Health, Safety, and Physical Education
• Mathematics
• Science
• Social Studies, Family, and Life Skills
• Social/Emotional Development
• Technology
• Visual & Performing Arts
• World Languages

Children demonstrate self-direction.

Children identify and express feelings.

Children exhibit positive interactions with other children and adults. 

Children exhibit pro-social behaviors.

Children express themselves through and develop an appreciation of creative movement and dance.

Children express themselves through and develop an appreciation of music.

Children express themselves through and develop an appreciation of dramatic play and storytelling.

Children express themselves through and develop an appreciation of the visual arts (e.g., painting, sculpting, and drawing).

Children develop self-help and personal hygiene skills.

Children begin to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to make nutritious food choices. 

Children begin to develop an awareness of potential hazards in their environment.

Children develop competence and confidence in activities that require gross- and fine-motor skills..1

With prompting and support, ask and answer key elements in a familiar story or poem.

With prompting and support, retell familiar stories or poems. 

With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a familiar story.

With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words in a story or poem read aloud.

Recognize common types of literature (storybooks and poetry books).

With prompting and support, identify the role of author and illustrator in telling the story.

With prompting and support, using a familiar storybook, tell how the illustrations support the story.

With prompting and support using a familiar storybook, tell how adventures and experiences of characters are alike and how they are different. 

Actively participate in read aloud experiences using age appropriate literature in individual, small and large groups.

With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key elements in a familiar text. 

With prompting and support, recall important facts from a familiar text.

With prompting and support, make a connection between pieces of essential information in a familiar text.

With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words in informational text.

Identify the front and back cover of a book.

With prompting and support, identify the role of author and illustrator in presenting ideas in informational text.

With prompting and support, tell how the illustrations support the text (information or topic) in informational text.

Actively participate in read aloud experiences using age appropriate information books individually and in small and large groups.

Begin to demonstrate understanding of basic features of print. a) Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, page by page. b) Recognize that spoken words can be written and read. c) Recognize that words are separated by spaces. d) Recognize and name many upper and lower case letters of the alphabet.

Demonstrate understanding of spoken words and begin to understand syllables and sounds (phonemes). a) Recognize and produce simple rhyming words. b) Segment syllables in spoken words by clapping out the number of syllables. c) Identify many initial sounds of familiar words.

Demonstrate an understanding of beginning phonics and word skills. a) Associates many letters (consonants and vowels as ready) with their names and their most frequent sounds. b) (Begins in kindergarten) c) Recognize their name in print as well as other familiar print in the environment.

Begin to engage in a variety of texts with purpose and understanding.

Use a combination of drawings, dictation, scribble writing, letter-strings, or invented spelling to share a preference or opinion during play or other activities.

Use a combination of drawings, dictation, scribble writing, letter-strings, or invented spelling to share information during play or other activities.

With guidance and support, share a drawing with dictation, scribble-writing, letter-strings, or invented spelling to describe an event real or imagined. 

With guidance and support, use digital tools to express ideas (e.g., taking a picture of a block structure to document or express ideas, etc.).

With guidance and support, participate in shared research and shared writing projects.

With guidance and support, recall information from experience or familiar topic to answer a question.

Participate in conversations and interactions with peers and adults individually and in small and large groups. a) Follow-agreed upon rules for discussions during group interactions. b) Continue a conversation through several back and forth exchanges.

Ask and answer questions about a text or other information read aloud or presented orally.

Ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or follow directions. 

Begin to describe familiar people, places, things, and events and sometimes with detail.

Use drawings or visual displays to add to descriptions to provide additional detail.

With guidance and support, speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

Begin to understand the conventions of standard English grammar when speaking during interactions and activities. a) Print many alphabet letters. b) Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs. c) Form regular plural nouns. d) Understand and use question words (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how). e) Use frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, by, with). f) Begin to speak in complete sentences. g) Understands and can follow simple multi-step directions.

Begin to understand the simple conventions of standard English grammar during reading and writing experiences throughout the day. a) (Begins in kindergarten) b) (Begins in kindergarten) c) Attempt to write a letter or letters by using scribble-writing, letter-like forms, letter-strings, and invented spelling during writing activities throughout the day. 

Begin to determine the meaning of new words and phrases introduced through preschool reading and content. a) With guidance and support, generate words that are similar in meaning (e.g., rock/stone) 

With guidance and support, explore word relationships. a) Begin to sort familiar objects (e.g., sort a collection of plastic animals into groups: dogs, tigers, and bears). b) Begin to understand opposites of simple and familiar words. c) Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., “Tell me the name of a place in the classroom that is noisy or quiet.”). 

Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, activities and read alouds.

Children demonstrate initiative, engagement, and persistence.

Children show creativity and imagination.

Children identify and solve problems.

Children apply what they have learned to new situations.

Children begin to demonstrate an understanding of number and counting.

Children demonstrate an initial understanding of numerical operations.

Children begin to conceptualize measurable attributes of objects and how to measure them.

Children develop spatial and geometric sense.

Children develop inquiry skills. 

Children observe and investigate matter and energy.

Children observe and investigate living things.

Children observe and investigate the Earth. 

Children gain experience in using technology.

Children identify unique characteristics of themselves, their families, and others

Children become contributing members of the classroom community.

 Children demonstrate knowledge of neighborhood and community.

Children demonstrate awareness of the cultures within their classroom and community.

Children know that people use different languages (including sign language) to communicate, and will express simple greetings, words, and phrases in a language other than their own

Navigate simple on screen menus.

Use electronic devices independently.

Begin to use electronic devices to communicate.

Use common technology vocabulary.

Begin to use electronic devices to gain information.