Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
Kindergarten–Grade 5
Reading: Literature
Kindergarten
Key Ideas and Details
RL.K.1
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RL.K.2
With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
Craft and Structure
RL.K.4
Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
RL.K.5
Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).
RL.K.6
With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.K.7
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).
RL.K.9
With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
RL.K.10
Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Grade 1
Key Ideas and Details
RL.1.1
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
RL.1.3
Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
Craft and Structure
RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
RL.1.5
Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.
RL.1.6
Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
RL.1.9
Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
RL.1.10
With prompting and support, read prose and poetry of appropriate complexity for grade 1.
Grade 2
Key Ideas and Details
RL.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
RL.2.2
Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Craft and Structure
RL.2.4
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
RL.2.5
Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
RL.2.6
Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.2.7
Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
RL.2.9
Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
RL.2.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend
literature, including stories and poetry, in the
grades 2–3 text complexity band proficiently,
with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the
range.
Grade 3
Key Ideas and Details
RL.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
Craft and Structure
RL.3.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.
RL.3.5
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.
RL.3.6
Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a 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).
RL.3.9
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).
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
RL.3.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 2–3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Grade 4
Key Ideas and Details
RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
Craft and Structure
RL.4.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean).
RL.4.5
Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.
RL.4.6
Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.4.7
Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.
RL.4.9
Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
RL.4.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Speaking & Listening
Kindergarten
Comprehension and Collaboration
SL.K.1
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.
SL.K.2
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.
SL.K.3
Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.
Grade 1
Comprehension and Collaboration
SL.1.1
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about
grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
- 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.
SL.1.2
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
Grade 2
Comprehension and Collaboration
SL.2.1
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about
grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
- 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 discussion.
SL.2.2
Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
Grade 3
Comprehension and Collaboration
SL.3.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on
grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
- 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.
SL.3.2
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.
Grade 4
Comprehension and Collaboration
SL.4.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on
grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
- 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 and carry out assigned roles.
- Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others.
- Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.
SL.4.2
Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.