Alaska K–6 english language arts standards

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.

Capitalize the first word in a sentence, the first letter of the student's name, 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.

Knowledge of Language (Begins in grade 2)

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.

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.

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.

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 (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.

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

Associate the long and short sounds with the 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, elicit background/prior knowledge and experience in order to ask and answer questions about an informational text using key details from the text.

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 describe 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 opinions an author states in a text.

With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between information presented in two texts on the same topic (e.g., compare two photos or diagrams, compare two animal babies).

Actively engage in shared reading activities using a range of topics and texts with purpose and understanding, with scaffolding as needed.

With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about a literary text using key details from the text.

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

With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, major events, and problem-solution in a story, song, or poem.

Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.

Identify common types of texts (e.g., picture books, stories, poems, songs).

With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and describe 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) or use illustrations to tell or retell a story.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (Not applicable to literature)

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

Actively engage in shared reading activities using literature from a variety of cultures with purpose and understanding, and scaffolding as needed.

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 related details.

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

Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to state an opinion or a preference about a topic or part of a book (e.g., I like dogs better than cats because…; My favorite part of the story is when…; I think it was funny when…).

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 real or imagined event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide an ending (how the problem was solved) or a reaction (e.g., a feeling) to what happened.

Production and Distribution of Writing (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 combine or summarize information/facts learned or 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 (Begins in grade 4)

Range of Writing (Begins in grade 3)

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.

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.

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.

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.

Read and comprehend a range of complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

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

Use narrative writing 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.

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

Print all upper- and lowercase letters.

Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.

Use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences (e.g., He hops; We hop).

Use personal, possessive, and indefinite pronouns (e.g., I me, my; they, them, their, anyone, everything).

Use verbs to convey a sense of past, present, and future (e.g., Yesterday I walked home; Today I walk home; Tomorrow I will walk home).

Use frequently occurring adjectives.

Use frequently occurring conjunctions (e.g., and, but, or, so, because).

Use determiners (e.g., articles, demonstratives).

Use frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., during, beyond, toward).

Produce and expand complete simple and compound declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences in response to prompts.

Capitalize dates and names of people.

Use end punctuation for sentences.

Use commas in dates and to separate single words in a series.

Use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and for frequently occurring irregular words.

Spell untaught words phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness and spelling conventions.

Knowledge of Language (Begins in grade 2)

Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Use frequently occurring affixes as a clue to the meaning of a word.

Identify frequently occurring root words (e.g., look) and their inflectional forms (e.g., looks, looked, looking).

Sort words into categories (e.g., colors, clothing) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.

Define words by category and by one or more key attributes (e.g., a duck is a bird that swims; a tiger is a large cat with stripes).

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

Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs differing in manner (e.g., look, peek, glance, stare, glare, scowl) and adjectives differing in intensity (e.g., large, gigantic) by defining or choosing them or by acting out the meanings.

Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g., because).

Recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence (e.g., first word, capitalization, ending punctuation).

Distinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words.

Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.

Isolate and pronounce initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in spoken single-syllable words.

Segment spoken single-syllable words into their complete sequence of individual sounds (phonemes).

Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.

Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.

Know final -e and common vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds.

Use knowledge that every syllable must have a vowel sound to determine the number of syllables in a printed word.

Decode two-syllable words following basic patterns by breaking the words into syllables.

Read words with inflectional endings.

Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

Read on-level text with purpose and understanding.

Read on-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

With prompting and support, elicit background/prior knowledge and experience in order to ask and answer questions about an informational text using key details from the text.

Identify the main topic or author's purpose (e.g., to teach or tell us about …) and retell key details of a text.

Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.

Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.

Know and use various text features (e.g., title, labels with graphics, bold print, visual cues such as arrows, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text.

Distinguish between information provided by photos or other graphics and information provided by the words in a text.

Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.

Identify the opinions an author states to support points in a text.

Identify basic similarities in and differences between information presented in two texts on the same topic (e.g., compare two graphics, descriptions, or steps in a process to make something).

With prompting and support, read informational texts on a range of topics appropriately complex for grade 1, with scaffolding as needed.

Ask and answer questions about a literary text using key details from the text.

Retell stories, using key details, and demonstrate understanding their message (e.g., teach a lesson, make you laugh, tell a scary story, tell about an event) or lesson.

Describe characters, settings, major events, and problem-solution in a story, play, or poem, using key details.

Identify words and phrases in stories, plays, or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information (fiction, non-fiction, and poetry), drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.

Identify who is telling the story at various points in the text (e.g., a character in the text or a narrator/story teller).

Use illustrations and details in a story read or read aloud to describe its characters, events, setting, or problem-solution.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (Not applicable to literature)

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

With prompting and support, read prose and poetry from a variety of cultures of appropriate complexity for grade 1.

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

Build on others' talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges.

Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion.

Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.

Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 1 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion or preference, supply a fact (e.g., because race cars go faster than…) or reason for the opinion, and end with a sentence that restates their opinion related to a feeling or emotion (e.g., it makes me laugh; that was the scariest part).

Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure (e.g., restate at the end the most interesting fact or the most important idea shared).

Use narrative writing to recount two or more real or imagined sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, who was there, use linking words to signal event order (e.g., first, next, then), and provide an ending (e.g., how the problem was solved; how someone felt at the end).

Production and Distribution of Writing (Begins in grade 3)

With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add concrete and sensory details to strengthen writing as needed.

With guidance and support from adults, use 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 "how-to" books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions or combine or summarize information/facts learned).

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 (Begins in grade 4)

Range of Writing (Begins in grade 3)

Use collective nouns (e.g., group).

Form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns (e.g., feet, children, teeth, mice, fish).

Use reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).

Form and use the past tense of frequently occurring irregular verbs (e.g., sat, hid, told).

Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified.

Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound sentences (e.g., The boy watched the movie; The little boy watched the movie; The action movie was watched by the little boy).

Capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names.

Use commas in greetings and closing of letters.

Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.

Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage → badge; boy → boil).

Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings.

Compare formal and informal uses of English.

Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell).

Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional).

Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark).

Use glossaries and beginning picture dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases.

Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe foods that are spicy or juicy).

Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny).

Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).

Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.

Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.

Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.

Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.

Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.

Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

Read on-level text with purpose and understanding.

Read on-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of informational texts using key details from the text.

Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.

Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.

Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.

Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, headings, charts, bulleted or numbered lists, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.

Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.

Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.

Describe how reasons given support specific opinions the author states in a text.

Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts or related topics (e.g., a book about polar bears and a book about black bears).

By the end of the year, read and comprehend a range of informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts within a complexity band appropriate to grade 2 (from upper grade 1 to grade 3), with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of a literary text using key details from the text.

Retell stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine the author's purpose (e.g., teach a lesson, make you laugh, tell a scary story, describe an imaginary place), lesson or moral.

Describe how characters in a story, play or poem respond to major events, problems, and challenges.

Identify words and phrases that supply rhythm or sensory images and meaning in a story, poem, or song (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) and describe how they make a reader feel or what a reader might see in his or her mind.

Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story (who, what, why, where), the middle describes the problem (how characters react or feel and what they do), and the ending concludes the action or tells how the problem was solved.

Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.

Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot (e.g., problem-solution; chronology).

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (Not applicable to literature)

Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story/text (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

By the end of the year, read and comprehend a range of literature from a variety of cultures, within a complexity band appropriate to grade 2 (from upper grade 1 to grade 3), with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.

Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussions.

Retell or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.

Tell a story or retell an experience with relevant facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.

Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See grade 2 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide one or more concluding sentences that restate or paraphrase their opinion.

Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or one or more concluding sentences that emphasize their most important point or focus.

Use narrative writing to retell a well-elaborated event or short sequence of real or imagined events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use linking words to signal event order, and provide one or more concluding sentences that restate or emphasize a feeling or lesson learned.

Production and Distribution of Writing (Begins in grade 3)

With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed (e.g., adding concrete and sensory details; elaborating on how the details chosen support the focus) by revising and editing.

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

Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report or visual or oral presentation; record data from science observations).

Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Research to Build and Present Knowledge (Begins in grade 4)

Range of Writing (Begins in grade 3)

Use nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs appropriate to function and purpose in order to apply the conventions of English.

Form and use regular and irregular plural nouns.

Use abstract nouns (e.g., childhood).

Form and use regular and irregular verbs.

Form and use the simple (e.g., I walked; I walk; I will walk) verb tenses.

Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement

Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified.

Use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.

Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences.

Capitalize appropriate words in titles.

Use commas in addresses.

Use commas and quotation marks in dialogue.

Form and use possessives.

Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words and for adding suffixes to base words (e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness)

Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, position-based spellings, syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts) in writing words.

Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spelling.

Choose words and phrases for effect.

Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written standard English.

Use a sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Determine the meaning of a new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word (e.g., agreeable/disagreeable, comfortable/uncomfortable, care/careless, heat/preheat).

Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., company, companion).

Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.

Distinguish the literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases in context (e.g., take steps).

Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe people who are friendly or helpful).

Distinguish shades of meaning among related words (e.g., words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty, such as knew, believed ).

Acquire and accurately use grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).

Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes.

Decode words with common Latin suffixes.

Decode multisyllable words.

Read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

Read on-level text with purpose and understanding.

Read on-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, (e.g., explaining what the texts says explicitly, making basic inferences and predictions), referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Determine the main idea of a text and locate details that support the main idea; paraphrase or summarize main ideas or events in a multi-paragraph text, including correct sequence and details that support the main idea.

Describe the relationship or connection among a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.

Use text features and search tools (e.g., table of contents, index, key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.

Determine author's purpose; distinguish own point of view from that of the author of a text.

Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs), and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).

Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic or related topics.

By the end of the year, read and comprehend a range of informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts within a complexity band appropriate to grade 3 (from upper grade 2 to grade 4), with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text (e.g., making basic inferences and predictions), referring explicitly to details from the text as the basis for the answers.

Determine the author's purpose, message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text; summarize stories in correct sequence, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures.

Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events (e.g., creating or solving a problem).

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal meanings from use of figurative language (e.g., exaggeration in tall tales).

Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.

Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.

Explain how specific aspects of text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (Not applicable to literature)

Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series).

By the end of the year, read and comprehend a range of literature from a variety of cultures, within a complexity band appropriate to grade 3 (from upper grade 2 to grade 4), with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

After learning a protocol (e.g., Socratic method), come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic, and link their comments to the remarks of others.

Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration or explanations and detail.

Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.

Create audio recordings of stories or poems that demonstrate fluid reading at an understandable pace; use techniques that engage the listener (e.g., inflection, different voices); and add visual displays when appropriate to emphasize or enhance certain facts or details.

Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See grade 3 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists fact- or text-based reasons.

Provide reasons that support the opinion.

Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example).

Provide a concluding statement or section that reinforces or restates the opinion.

Introduce a topic and group related information together; include labeled or captioned visuals when useful to aiding comprehension.

Develop the topic with facts, definitions, details, and explanations that support the focus.

Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information.

Provide a concluding statement or section that paraphrases the focus of the text.

Establish a context or situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.

Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description and elaboration, and concrete and sensory details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings and to develop experiences and events showing the response of characters to situations or problems.

Use transitional words and phrases to signal event sequences (e.g., later, soon after).

Provide a sense of closure (e.g., how a problem was solved or how the event ended).

With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 3.)

With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others and to locate information about topics.

Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.

Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

Research to Build and Present Knowledge (Begins in grade 4)

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 discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Use nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, that), and relative adverbs (where, when, why) appropriate to function and purpose in order to apply the conventions of English.

Form and use the progressive (e.g., I was walking; I am walking; I will be walking) verb tenses.

Use modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, may, must) to convey various conditions.

Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather than a red small bag).