Kindergarten ELA (Iowa Core)

Reading: Literature (RL)

• RL.K.1 With support, ask and answer questions about the important details of a story.
• RL.K.2 With help, retell familiar stories with key details.
• RL.K.3 With help, identify the characters, setting and main events of a story.
• RL.K.4 Ask and answer questions about words in a text that are new.
• RL.K.5 Recognize common kinds of text such as storybooks and poems.
• RL.K.6 With help, name the author and illustrator and say what each does in telling the story.
• RL.K.7 With help, describe how pictures relate to the story, such as which moment a picture shows.
• RL.K.9 With support, compare what happens to characters in familiar stories and how they react.
• RL.K.10 Take part in shared reading with a clear purpose and real understanding.

Reading: Informational Text (RI)

• RI.K.1 With support, ask and answer questions about the important details of a text.
• RI.K.2 With support, name the main topic and retell important details.
• RI.K.3 With help, describe the link between two people, events, ideas or pieces of information.
• RI.K.4 With support, ask and answer questions about new words and phrases.
• RI.K.5 Identify a book's front cover, back cover and title page.
• RI.K.6 Name the author and illustrator and say what each does in presenting information.
• RI.K.7 With help, describe how pictures relate to the text.
• RI.K.8 With support, find the reasons an author offers for each point.
• RI.K.9 With support, spot basic likenesses and differences in two texts about one topic.
• RI.K.10 Take part in shared reading with a clear purpose and real understanding.

Reading: Foundational Skills (RF)

• RF.K.1a Track print left to right, top to bottom and one page after another.
• RF.K.1b Know that spoken words are written with particular sequences of letters.
• RF.K.1c Know that written words are separated by spaces.
• RF.K.1d Recognize and name all capital and lowercase letters.
• RF.K.2a Count, say, blend and segment syllables in spoken words.
• RF.K.2b Blend and segment onsets and rimes of one-syllable spoken words.
• RF.K.2c Isolate and say the first, middle vowel and last sounds in CVC words (not those ending in /l/, /r/ or /x/).
• RF.K.2d Add or swap single sounds to make new one-syllable words.
• RF.K.2e Recognize and produce rhyming words.
• RF.K.3a Give the main, most frequent sound for each consonant.
• RF.K.3b Link long and short sounds with the common spellings of the five main vowels.
• RF.K.3c Read common high-frequency words accurately and automatically.
• RF.K.3d Tell similarly spelled words apart by the sounds of the letters that differ.
• RF.K.4 Read grade-level text aloud with purpose and understanding.

Writing Foundations (WF)

• WF.K.1a Write many upper- and lowercase print letters and numerals correctly, with good size, line use and spacing.
• WF.K.1b Begin to produce manuscript (print) writing.

Writing (W)

• W.K.1 Use drawing, dictating and writing to name a topic or book and give an opinion or preference about it.
• W.K.2 Use drawing, dictating and writing for simple informative pieces that name a subject and tell something about it.
• W.K.3 Tell about one or a few linked events in order and react to what happened.
• W.K.5 With adult help, answer questions from peers and add details to improve writing.
• W.K.6 With adult help, try digital tools to produce and publish writing, alone or with peers.
• W.K.7 Join shared research and writing projects, e.g. exploring books by one author and giving opinions.
• W.K.8 With adult help, recall experiences or gather information from given sources to answer a question.

Speaking and Listening (SL)

• SL.K.1 Take part in group conversations with different partners about kindergarten topics.
  • a. Follow agreed rules for discussion, such as listening, staying on topic and taking turns.
  • b. Keep a conversation going through several exchanges.
• SL.K.2 Show understanding of a read-aloud or presentation by asking and answering questions and asking for clarification.
• SL.K.3 Ask and answer questions to get help, find information or clear up confusion.
• SL.K.4 Talk about familiar people, places, things and events and, when prompted, add details.
• SL.K.5 Add drawings or other visuals to descriptions.
• SL.K.6 Speak loudly and clearly enough when retelling stories or saying poems and rhymes.

Language (L)

• L.K.1 Show control of standard English grammar and usage in speech and writing.
  • a. Use common nouns and verbs.
  • b. Say regular plurals aloud by adding /s/ or /es/.
  • c. Understand and use question words such as who, what and why.
  • d. Use the most common prepositions.
  • e. Build and extend complete sentences in shared language activities.
• L.K.2 Show control of capital letters, punctuation and spelling in writing.
  • a. Capitalize the first word of a sentence and the word I.
  • b. Recognize and name end marks.
• L.K.4 Figure out new and multiple-meaning words met in kindergarten reading and content.
  • a. Learn new meanings for familiar words and use them correctly.
  • b. Use the most common endings and affixes as clues to an unknown word's meaning.
• L.K.5 With adult help, explore how words relate and how their meanings differ slightly.
  • a. Sort everyday objects into categories to build the idea behind each category.
  • b. Show understanding of common verbs and adjectives by pairing them with opposites.
  • c. Connect words to real life, e.g. finding colorful places at school.
  • d. Act out small differences in meaning between verbs for the same action.
• L.K.6 Use words and phrases picked up from talk, reading, being read to and responding to texts.