Kindergarten ELA Connecticut Standards

Conduct research and evaluate and communicate findings to answer questions or solve problems.

Create clear and coherent grade-appropriate speech and text.

Analyze and critique the arguments of others orally and in writing.

Construct meaning from oral presentations and literary and informational text through grade-appropriate listening, reading, and viewing.

Determine the meaning of words and phrases in oral presentations and literary and informational text.

Participate in grade-appropriate oral and written exchanges of information, ideas, and analyses, responding to peer, audience, or reader comments and questions.

Adapt language choices to purpose, task, and audience when speaking and writing.

Speak and write about grade-appropriate complex literary and informational texts and topics.

Make accurate use of standard English to communicate in grade appropriate speech and writing.

Construct grade-appropriate oral and written claims and support them with reasoning and evidence.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Print many upper- and lowercase letters.

Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs.

Form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes).

Understand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how).

Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).

Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I.

Recognize and name end punctuation.

Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).

Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content.

Identify new meanings for familiar words and apply them accurately (e.g., knowing duck is a bird and learning the verb to duck).

Use the most frequently occurring inflections and affixes (e.g., -ed, -s, re-, un-, pre-, -ful, -less) as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word.

With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

Sort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.

Demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their opposites (antonyms).

Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., note places at school that are colorful).

Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs describing the same general action (e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) by acting out the meanings.

Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts.

Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.

Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.

Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.

Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

Recognize and produce rhyming words.

Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.

Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.

Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonent-vowel-consonent, or CVC) words. (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.)

Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.

Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or many of the most frequent sound for each consonant.

Associate the long and short sounds with common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.

Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).

Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.

Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.

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

Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.

With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.

With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.

Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book.

Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the ideas or information in a text.

With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).

With prompting and support, identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.

With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).

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

Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.

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

Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.

Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).

With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.

With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.

Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion).

Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.

Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.

Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.

Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is…).

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.

With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them).

With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Key Ideas and Details

(Begins in grade 4)

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Comprehension and Collaboration

Reading Standards for Literature

Phonological Awareness

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

(Not applicable to literature)

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Conventions of Standard English

Key Ideas and Details

Range of Writing

(Begins in grade 3)

Text Types and Purposes

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Knowledge of Language

(Begins in grade 2)

Key Ideas and Details

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language

Production and Distribution of Writing

Speaking and Listening Standards

Fluency

Conventions of Standard English

Phonics and Word Recognition

Comprehension and Collaboration

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Language Standards

Craft and Structure

(Begins in grade 3)

Writing Standards

Production and Distribution of Writing

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Craft and Structure

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening

Range of Writing

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Knowledge of Language

Craft and Structure

Reading Standards: Foundational Skills

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing

Text Types and Purposes

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading

Print Concepts

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

An EL can construct meaning from oral presentations and literary and informational text through grade-appropriate listening, reading, and viewing.

An EL can make accurate use of Standard English to communicate in gradeappropriate speech and writing.

An EL can participate in grade-appropriate oral and written exchanges of information, ideas, and analyses, responding to peer, audience, or reader comments and questions.

An EL can speak and write about grade-appropriate complex literary and informational texts and topics.

An EL can construct grade-appropriate oral and written claims and support them with reasoning and evidence.

An EL can conduct research and evaluate and communicate findings to answer questions or solve problems.

An EL can analyze and critique the arguments of others orally and in writing.

An EL can adapt language choices to purpose, task, and audience when speaking and writing.

An EL can determine the meaning of words and phrases in oral presentations and literary and informational text.

An EL can create clear and coherent grade-appropriate speech and text.

with prompting and supports, use a very limited set of strategies to: identify a few key words/attributes from read-alouds and oral presentations of information or stories

with prompting and supports, use an emerging set of strategies to: identify some key words, attributes, and phrases from read-alouds and oral presentations

with prompting and supports, use a developing set of strategies to: identify main topics and ask and answer questions about key details from read-alouds and oral presentations

with prompting and supports, use an increasing range of strategies to: identify main topics, answer questions about key details or parts of stories or events, and retell events from read-alouds, picture books, and oral presentations

with prompting and supports, use a wide range of strategies to: identify main topics, answer questions about key details, and retell stories and events from read-alouds, picture books, and oral presentations

with prompting and supports, recognize and use a small number of frequently occurring nouns and verbs and understand and respond to simple yes/no questions in familiar shared language activities

with prompting and supports, put events in order from an experience or familiar story and point to or match attributes of objects in the environment

relying on prompting, context, visual aids, and knowledge of morphology in the native language, recognize the meaning of a few frequently occurring words in simple oral presentations and read-alouds about familiar topics, experiences, or events

with prompting and supports, repeat and use frequently occurring words and phrases and recognize the meaning of high frequency words learned through conversations, reading, and being read to

with prompting and supports, orally or nonverbally identify the opinion or preference of others

with prompting and supports, participate in shared research projects to answer a question and recall information from experience or from a provided source

with prompting and supports, verbally or nonverbally express a feeling or opinion using a limited number of words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to about familiar topic or objects in the environment

with prompting and supports, communicate basic information or feelings nonverbally or using words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to about familiar texts, topics, experiences, events, or objects in the environment

with prompting and supports, listen with occasional participation in short conversations using a limited number of words and phrases acquired in conversations and being read to and respond verbally and nonverbally to simple yes/no and some whquestions about familiar topics

with prompting and supports, recognize and use frequently occurring nouns and verbs and respond to simple whquestions and produce a few simple sentences in familiar shared language activities

with prompting and supports, orally retell several events from an experience or a familiar story and describe objects in the environment using visual supports and use some frequently occurring linking words (e.g., and, so)

using prompting, context, visual aids, and knowledge of morphology in the native language, recognize the meaning of some frequently occurring words and phrases in simple oral presentations and read-alouds about familiar topics, experiences, or events

with prompting and supports, recognize and use some words learned through conversations, reading, and being read to and recognize the meaning of some words learned through conversations, reading, and being read to

with prompting and supports, orally identify the opinion or preference of others

with prompting and supports, participate in shared research projects to answer a question recall information from experience or use information from a provided source and label information

with prompting and supports, express an opinion or preference using words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to about a familiar topic or experience

with prompting and supports, communicate basic information or feelings using words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to about familiar topics, experiences, or events

with prompting and supports, participate in short conversations using words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to and respond to simple yes/no and wh- questions about familiar topics

with prompting and supports, recognize and use frequently occurring regular plural nouns, verbs, and prepositions and use and respond to question words and produce simple sentences in shared language activities

with prompting and supports, orally retell a simple sequence of events from an experience or a familiar story and describe objects in the environment and use frequently occurring linking words (e.g. and, so then)

using prompting, context, visual aids, reference materials, and a developing knowledge of English morphology, answer questions to help determine the meaning of some words and phrases in simple oral presentations and read-alouds about familiar topics, experiences, or events

with prompting and supports, use some words learned through conversations, reading, and being read to and recognize the meaning and the context of some words learned through conversations, reading, and being read to

with prompting and supports, identify the main point of an author or speaker

with prompting and supports, participate in shared research projects to answer a question and recall information from experience or use information from provided sources and label information and present findings to a peer or small group using drawings or illustrations, when useful

with prompting and supports, express an opinion or preference using words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to about a familiar topic, text, or experience

with prompting and supports, communicate information or feelings using words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to about familiar topics, experiences, or events

with prompting and supports, participate in short conversations using words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to and follow some rules for discussion and respond to yes/no and wh- questions and make comments of his or her own about familiar topics

with prompting and supports, recognize and use frequently occurring regular plural nouns, verbs, and prepositions and use and respond to question words and produce and expand simple sentences in shared language activities

with prompting and supports, orally retell a short sequence of events from experience or a familiar story, with a beginning, middle, and end and describe objects in the environment and use frequently occurring linking words (e.g. and, so, then)

using prompting, context, visual aids, and some knowledge of English morphology (e.g. frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms), answer and sometimes ask questions about the meaning of words and phrases in simple oral presentations and read-alouds about a variety of topics, experiences, or events

with prompting and supports, use words learned through conversations, reading, and being read to and demonstrate a developing awareness of the difference social language and language for the classroom

with prompting and supports, identify the main point of an author or speaker and identify a reason an author or speaker gives to support a point

with prompting and supports, participate in shared research projects to answer a question and recall information from experience or use information from provided sources and label and sort information into provided categories and present findings to a small or large group using drawings or illustrations, when useful

with prompting and supports, introduce the topic and express an opinion or preference using words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to about a variety of topics, texts, or experiences

with prompting and supports, tell or dictate messages and compose short written texts including drawings or illustrations and use words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to about a variety of topics, experiences, or events

with prompting and supports, participate in conversations and discussions using words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to and ask and answer simple questions and follow increasing number of rules for discussion and make comments of his or her own about a variety of topics

with prompting and supports, use frequently occurring regular plural nouns, verbs, prepositions, and question words and ask and answer questions and produce and expand simple sentences in shared language activities

with prompting and supports, retell a short sequence of events from an experience or a familiar story, including key details and describe the attributes and positions of objects in the environment and use frequently occurring linking words (e.g. and, so, then) and positional words (e.g., above, beside)

using prompting, context, some visual aids, and knowledge of morphology (e.g., simple inflectional endings such as -ed, -s, and some common prefixes and suffixes), answer and ask questions about the meaning of words and phrases in simple oral presentations and read-alouds about a variety of topics, experiences, or events

with prompting and supports, use words learned through conversations, reading, and being read to and demonstrate an awareness of differences between social language and language appropriate to the classroom

with prompting and supports, identify the main point of an author or speaker and identify the reasons an author or speaker gives to support main point

with prompting and supports, participate in shared research projects to answer a question and recall information from experience or use information from a variety of provided sources and label and sort information and present findings to a small or large group using drawings or illustrations, when useful

with prompting and supports, introduce the topic and express an opinion or preference using words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to about a variety of topics, texts, experiences, or events

with prompting and supports, make oral presentations and compose short written texts including drawings or illustrations and use words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to about a variety of topics, experiences, or events

with prompting and supports, participate in conversations and discussions using words and phrases acquired in conversations, reading, and being read to and ask and answer questions and follow rules for discussion and contribute his or her own relevant comments about a variety of topics