Kindergarten ELA (Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks)

Reading: Literature (RL)

• RL.K.1 With help, ask and answer questions about important details in a text.
• RL.K.2 With help, retell familiar stories with key details.
• RL.K.3 With help, name 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 texts and what shapes them (story parts in books; rhyme, rhythm and repeated lines in poems).
• RL.K.6 With help, name the author and illustrator from the cover or title page and say what each does.
• RL.K.7 With help, describe how pictures relate to the story.
• RL.K.9 With help, compare what characters do and experience in familiar stories.
• RL.K.10 Take an active part in group reading of stories and poems with purpose and understanding.

Reading: Informational Text (RI)

• RI.K.1 With help, ask and answer questions about important details in an informational text.
• RI.K.2 With help, name the main topic and retell key details.
• RI.K.3 With help, describe how two people, events, ideas or facts in a text are linked.
• RI.K.4 Ask and answer questions about new words in an informational text.
• RI.K.5 Point out a book's front and back covers and its title page.
• RI.K.6 Name the author and illustrator and say what each one does.
• RI.K.7 With help, describe how pictures relate to the text.
• RI.K.8 With help, find the reasons an author gives for points in a text.
• RI.K.9 With help, find simple likenesses and differences between two texts on one topic.
• RI.K.10 Take an active part in group reading of informational texts with purpose and understanding.

Reading: Foundational Skills (RF)

• RF.K.1 Show understanding of how print is organized and its basic features.
  • a. Track print left to right, line by line from the top, then page after page.
  • b. Know spoken words are written with particular letter sequences.
  • c. Know words in print are separated by spaces.
  • d. Recognize and name all capital and lowercase letters.
• RF.K.2 Show you understand spoken words, syllables and single sounds.
  • a. Recognize and make rhymes.
  • b. Count, say, blend and split syllables in spoken words.
  • c. Blend and split onsets and rimes of one-syllable words.
  • d. Pick out and say the first, middle vowel and last sounds in CVC words (not CVCs ending in /l/, /r/ or /x/).
• RF.K.3 Know and use grade-level phonics and word analysis to read words.
  • a. Give the main sound for each consonant.
  • b. Link long and short sounds to the usual spellings of the five main vowels.
  • c. Read common high-frequency words on sight.
  • d. Tell similarly spelled words apart by the sounds of the letters that differ.
• RF.K.4 Read very early reader books with purpose and understanding.

Writing (W)

• W.K.1 Use drawing, dictating and writing to give an opinion about a topic or book.
• W.K.2 Use drawing, dictating and writing to name a topic and give some information about it.
• W.K.3 Use drawing, dictating and writing to tell about one or more events in order and give a reaction to them.
  • a. In poems, use rhyming words to give structure.
• W.K.5 With adult guidance, respond to classmates' questions and suggestions and add details.
  • b. Use words suited to kindergarten.
• W.K.6 With adult guidance, try out digital tools to produce and publish writing, with peers.
• W.K.7 Take part in shared research and writing projects.
• W.K.8 With adult guidance, recall experiences or gather information from given sources to answer a question.
• W.K.10 Write or dictate regularly for different tasks, purposes and readers.

Speaking and Listening (SL)

• SL.K.1 Join group conversations with different partners about kindergarten topics and texts.
  • a. Follow agreed rules such as listening and taking turns.
  • b. Keep a conversation going over several exchanges.
• SL.K.2 Show understanding of a read-aloud or other information by asking and answering questions and asking for help when unsure.
• SL.K.3 Ask and answer questions to get help, find out information or clear up confusion.
• SL.K.4 Describe familiar people, places, things and events, adding detail when prompted.
• SL.K.5 Add drawings or other visuals to descriptions for extra detail.
• SL.K.6 Speak loudly enough and share thoughts, feelings and ideas clearly.

Language (L)

• L.K.1 Use standard English grammar when speaking and writing.
  • a. Say and expand complete sentences with common nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, question words and prepositions; use numbers 0–100 in context.
  • b. Ask questions that seek more than a yes or no answer.
  • c. Say regular plurals by adding /s/ or /es/.
• L.K.2 Use standard English capitals, punctuation and spelling when writing.
  • a. Print capital and lowercase letters.
  • b. Capitalize the first word of a sentence and the pronoun I.
  • c. Recognize and name end punctuation.
  • d. Write the letter or letters that spell most short vowel and consonant sounds.
  • e. Spell simple words by their sounds.
  • f. Write the numbers 0–20.
• L.K.4 Figure out what unfamiliar words and words with several meanings mean.
  • a. Learn new meanings for familiar words and use them correctly.
• L.K.5 With adult guidance, explore how words relate and differ slightly in meaning.
  • a. Sort everyday objects into groups to understand the categories.
  • b. Pair common verbs and adjectives with their opposites.
  • c. Link words to their real-life use.
  • d. Act out small differences in meaning between similar verbs.
• L.K.6 Use words and phrases learned through talk, activities, reading and being read to.