Graphophonemic System – Phonics Symbol systems of oral and written language and the relationship between them System of written language – orthographic system – how print is organized Spelling system Letters Words Punctuation Marks Phrases Phonics – Relationship between phonological and orthographic systems. What readers learn to understand as the complex relationship between how we talk and how language is organized in written texts.

Semantic Meaning Heart of language Relationships between language and meaning What words and phrases mean and how that changes

Syntactic System – Grammar Relationship of words, sentences, paragraphs Word order Tense Number Gender Where parts of speech go in a sentence How we string words together to sound like English Structural rules of English

Pragmatic System – Language in Use Take into consideration the social, cultural, and historical context of language in use What we know about how and when to change language to particular social settings “Is your mother there?” (in a phone conversation) – implies “Is your mother at home? I’d like to speak to her.”