1. Preface Cheryl Fountain The Florida Institute of Education
at the University
of North Florida

2. Introduction
We know reading involves both decoding words and comprehending what is being read.
Reading comprehension is likely to be enhanced if children bring a large vocabulary and wide array of background knowledge, coupled with specific thinking skills such as questioning, classifying, predicting, and summarizing, to the reading task.

3. Introduction
However, limited attention has been given to developing instructional strategies to support young children’s development of precursors to reading comprehension.
Preschool teachers working with children from low-income families need both access to new instructional strategies and curricula that focus on these important precursor reading comprehension skills, and ongoing support as they learn to use them with their children.

4. Introduction
This set of papers describes how concept mapping was used (a) to enhance preschool teachers’ professional learning, (b) as a curricular and instructional tool to improve preschool children’s conceptual and vocabulary development, and (c) to assess the complexity of preschool children’s developing knowledge structures.
However, limited attention has been given to developing instructional strategies to support young children’s development of precursors to reading comprehension.

5. Context
Development and implementation took place in an urban early care and learning center, located in one the poorest neighborhoods in a large metropolitan city in a large southern state.
A three-pronged mission guides the work of this early care and learning center:
To provide high-quality early care for children from low-income families;
To develop and field test promising strategies designed to improve young children’s readiness for formal schooling; and
To serve as a focal point for the dissemination of research- and evidence-based tools and strategies designed to improve children’s readiness, especially for children living in high-needs neighborhoods.

6. Context
A three-pronged mission guides the work of this early care and learning center:
To provide high-quality early care for children from low-income families;
To develop and field test promising strategies designed to improve young children’s readiness for formal schooling; and
To serve as a focal point for the dissemination of research- and evidence-based tools and strategies designed to improve children’s readiness, especially for children living in high-needs neighborhoods.

7. Context This early care and learning center
Serves approximately 100 children ages six-weeks to age five,
Has a special emphasis on children’s early literacy development, and
Works collaboratively with a university research center focused on improving the educational outcomes of at-risk children. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Vivamus et magna. Fusce sed sem sed magna suscipit egestas.