hypothesis testing. Children test their hypotheses or sets of assumptions of how language is spoken, arliculnted, used, and manipulated.

Steven Pinker (1994) conlended that language is an instinct, not simply a cultural invention: "Language is a biological adaptation lo communicate information ... language is the product of a well-engineered biologi-cal instinct"

universal grammar, as "the system of principles, conditions, and rules that are elements or properties of all human languages"

nativist and the cognitive dovelopmentalisl perspectives emphasize the contributions of "nature," whereas tho behaviorist and interaclionist perspectives focus more on the contributions of "nurture."

nativisl, cognitive developmental, behaviorist, and interactionisl.

These perspectives have varied in the ways they believe nature and nurture influence language developmonl.

the nalivist perspective describes language development as an innate, instinctual process where children develop language by discovering the structure of their language

Piaget's definition of language is narrower than that of other psychologists or lin-guists. For "language" to exist, Piaget contended, the "capacity for mental represen· talion must be present" (Brainerd, 1978. p. '110). Thus, vocalizations nncl babbling that occur during infancy ore nol language, according lo Piaget. The development of symbolic representation changes 11 child's thinking because ii is now possible to "invoke objects which are not present perceptually ... reconstruct the past ... or moke plans for the future" (Piaget, 1961, in Paciorek & Munro, 1999, p. 7).

Pair strategy instruction with written prompts to guide students toward independence.

explicitly model how to evaluate each dimension and provide repeated opportunities for students to practice and apply these strategies to information they encounter during the research process.

Relevance: the information’s level of importance to a particular reading purpose or explicitly stated need for that information Accuracy: the extent to which information contains factual and updated details that can be verified by consulting alternative and/or primary sources Bias/Perspective: the position or slant toward which an author shapes information Reliability: the information’s level of trustworthiness based on information about the author and the publishing body

intervention during regular content area instruction.

ability to critically evaluate information.

it builds the learning within a relevant context from the very start, so students are naturally more engaged.

A teaclie?s awareness of levels of language knowledge is important in determin-ing the developmental appropriateness of lnnguago-relaled tasks in early childhood classrooms. Teachers of young children need to structure their learning activities to involve both linguistic and metalinguistic knowledge;

The inability to participate successfully inn conversation or the inability to clearly articulate the sounds in words may decrease the likelihood that other children will attempt to speak or play with them.

There is no one standard of communicative competency that teachers should encourage children to attain. Insload, it is important for teachers to recognize that children will need a wide range of communication competencies lo ensure their effectiveness in a varielfol settings throughoutfueirlivos.