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.
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.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
SL.K.4
Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
SL.K.5
Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.
SL.K.6
Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
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.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
SL.1.4
Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
SL.1.5
Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
SL.1.6
Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 1 Language standards 1 and 3 on page 26 for specific expectations.)
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.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
SL.2.4
Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.
SL.2.6
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 on pages 26 and 27 for specific expectations.)