Kindergarten ELA Iowa standards Standards

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Knowledge of Language

Conventions of Standard English

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.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Craft and Structure

Key Ideas and Details

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.

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Comprehension and Collaboration

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.

Range of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Production and Distribution of Writing

Text Types and Purposes*

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.

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Knowledge of Language

Conventions of Standard English

Language

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Comprehension and Collaboration

Speaking and Listening Standards

Range of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Production and Distribution of Writing

Text Types and Purposes

Writing Standards

Writing Foundations

Fluency

Phonics and Word Recognition

Phonological Awareness and Phonemic Awareness

Print Concepts

Reading and Writing Standards: Foundational Skills

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Craft and Structure

Key Ideas and Details

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Craft and Structure

Key Ideas and Details

Reading Standards for Literature

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

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.

(Begins in grade 2)

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 phonemes (sounds).

Count, produce, 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 phonemes (sounds) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, 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.

Recognize and produce rhyming words.

Know and apply grade-level phonics, which includes word analysis skills to support decoding and encoding words.

Demonstrate basic knowledge of phoneme-grapheme (one-to-one, letter-sound) correspondences by producing the primary and most frequent sounds for each consonant.

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

Read common high-frequency words with accuracy and automaticity (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.

Orally read grade-appropriate text 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 and phrases 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).

(Not applicable to literature)

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 both small and larger groups.

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others, staying on topic, and taking turns speaking).

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 when retelling familiar stories or reciting poems, nursery rhymes or lines of a play.

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...).

(Begins in grade 3)

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.

(Begins in grade 3)

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.

(Begins in grade 4)

Print with scaffolding and support for a variety of tasks and purposes.

Form many upper and lowercase manuscript letters and numerals correctly with proportion, line awareness, and spacing (between words and letters).

Begin to produce manuscript writing.

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Knowledge of Language

Conventions of Standard English

Language

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Comprehension and Collaboration

Speaking and Listening

Range of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Production and Distribution of Writing

Text Types and Purposes

Writing

Fluency

Phonics and Word Recognition

Phonological Awareness and Phonemic Awareness

Print Concepts

Reading and Writing Standards: Foundational Skills

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Craft and Structure

Key Ideas and Details

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Craft and Structure

Key Ideas and Details

Reading Standards for Literature

Demonstrate emerging understanding of letter and word use.

With guidance and support, use frequently occurring nouns in communication.

With guidance and support, distinguish between letters and other symbols or shapes.

With guidance and support, use frequently occurring plural nouns.

With guidance and support, identify answers to simple questions (e.g., who, what) from an array of choices.

With guidance and support, demonstrate understanding of common prepositions: on, off, in, out.

With guidance and support, link two or more words together in communication.

(Begins in grade 2)

Demonstrate emerging knowledge of word meanings.

With guidance and support, demonstrate understanding of words used in every day routines.

Demonstrate emerging understanding of word relationships.

With guidance and support, sort common objects into familiar categories.

With guidance and support, demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring opposites.

With guidance and support, use words to communicate in real-life situations.

With guidance and support, demonstrate an understanding of common verbs.

With guidance and support, use words acquired through conversations, being read to, and during shared reading activities.

Demonstrate emerging understanding of the organization of print.

With guidance and support during shared reading, demonstrate understanding that books are read one page at a time from beginning to end.

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

With guidance and support, recognize the number of words in a spoken message.

With guidance and support, identify single-syllable spoken words with the same onset (beginning sound) as a familiar word.

With guidance and support, recognize rhyming words.

Demonstrate emerging awareness of print.

With guidance and support, recognize first letter of own name in print.

With guidance and support, recognize environmental print.

Engage in purposeful shared reading of familiar text.

With guidance and support, identify a detail in a familiar text.

With guidance and support, actively engage in shared reading of informational text.

With guidance and support, identify the topic of a familiar text.

With guidance and support, identify individuals, events, or details in a familiar informational text.

With guidance and support, indicate when an unknown word is used in a text.

With guidance and support, identify the front cover of a book.

With guidance and support, distinguish between words and illustrations in an informational text.

With guidance and support, identify illustrations or objects/tactual information that go with a familiar text.

With guidance and support, identify points the author makes in an informational text.

With guidance and support, match similar parts of two familiar texts on the same topic.

With guidance and support, identify details in familiar stories.

With guidance and support, actively engage in shared reading.

With guidance and support, identify major events in familiar stories.

With guidance and support, identify characters and settings in a familiar story.

With guidance and support, indicate when an unknown word is used in a text.

With guidance and support, recognize familiar texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).

With guidance and support, distinguish between words and illustrations in a story.

With guidance and support, identify illustrations or objects/tactual information that go with a familiar story.

(Not applicable to literature)

With guidance and support, identify the adventures or experiences of a character in a familiar story.

Participate in conversations with others.

Communicate directly with supportive adults or peers.

Participate in multiple-turn communication exchanges with support from adults.

Demonstrate an emerging understanding of a familiar text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by answering questions.

Ask for help when needed.

With guidance and support, identify familiar people, places, things, and events.

With guidance and support, add or select drawings or other visual or tactual displays that relate to familiar people, places, things, and events.

With guidance and support, communicate thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

With guidance and support, select a familiar book and use drawing, dictating, or writing to state an opinion about it.

(Begins in grade 3)

With guidance and support, select a familiar topic and use drawing, dictating, or writing to share information about the topic.

With guidance and support, select an event and use drawing, dictating, or writing and share information about it.

(Begins in grade 3)

(Begins in grade 1)

With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce individual or group writing.

With guidance and support, participate in shared research and writing objects.

With guidance and support from adults, identify information, objects, or events that relate to personal experiences.

(Begins in grade 4)