Usually, before kindergarten, most children can use words they've learned from conversations with others or by being read to. Throughout the academic year, your child's speech will become more structured and understandable, and reading and writing skills will emerge and advance. As the school year goes on, children should be able to understand basic sentence structure and punctuation. They will learn, for example, that the first word in a sentence is capitalized and that sentences end in periods, question marks, or exclamation points. Most kindergarteners learn to print letters in both lower- and uppercase. During kindergarten, children also learn to use question words, such as who, what, when, where, why and how, as well as how to make words plural by adding an 's' or "es". They also learn how to use common nouns and prepositions. By the end of kindergarten, most children can learn to read age-appropriate books by themselves, and your child might like to have you listen while he or she reads out loud at home.