Grades K-2

Phonemic Awareness

• Accurately segment sentences into individual words in spoken language, demonstrating an understanding of sentence structure.
• Correctly count and isolate the number of syllables in spoken words, showing phonological awareness.
• Identify, isolate, delete, and substitute individual sounds in spoken words and recognize rhyming patterns.

Onset-Rime

• Blend and separate the initial sound (onset) and the rest of the word (rime) in simple words.

Phonics/Decoding

• Accurately identify consonant letters and associate them with their corresponding sounds.
• Differentiate between long and short vowel sounds in spoken and written words.
• Read aloud using appropriate intonation and expression to convey meaning.

Fluency

• Group words into meaningful phrases while reading to improve fluency and comprehension.
• Read grade-level text with accuracy, automaticity, and appropriate speed.

Vocabulary Acquisition

• Incorporate grade-appropriate academic vocabulary in both oral and written expression.
• Categorize and group words based on shared meanings or characteristics.
• Identify and explain different meanings of familiar words.
• Distinguish subtle differences in meaning among related words.
• Identify and use words with similar and opposite meanings.
• Recognize and understand simple similes in context.
• Identify common prefixes and suffixes and explain how they change a word’s meaning.

Comprehension

• Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of details in a text.
• Make logical inferences about a text using background knowledge and textual clues.
• Interpret illustrations and visual elements to support text comprehension.
• Identify the main idea and provide key details that support it.
• Read and understand grade-level texts accurately while comprehending meaning.
• Identify and explain relationships between ideas or events in a text.
• Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story.
• Retell events in the order in which they occurred.
• Use words or phrases in the surrounding text to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
• Determine whether the author’s purpose is to inform, entertain, or persuade.
• Identify similarities and differences between characters, settings, or events.
• Predict what will happen next in a story and adjust predictions based on new information.
• Retell familiar stories with key events and details in logical sequence.

Concepts of Print & Text Features

• Recognize basic print concepts, such as reading from left to right, and identify simple text features.

Literature Genres

• Distinguish between fictional and informational texts based on their characteristics.
• Recognize and describe elements of fables, folktales, and myths.
• Identify stories that include elements of fantasy or make-believe.
• Recognize simple poems and describe their structure.
• Identify texts that provide factual information about a topic.
• Recognize biographies and explain they tell about a person’s life.

Ideas

• Identify a specific topic or idea and develop it by providing relevant facts, concrete details, or drawings.
• Recognize the main topic in a text or discussion and provide related details that support and elaborate on the topic.

Organization

• Organize ideas visually using graphic organizers such as webs to connect related information.
• Arrange story elements in sequence using story frames to ensure a logical flow from beginning to end.

Word Choice

• Incorporate grade-level academic vocabulary accurately and appropriately in spoken and written work.
• Choose descriptive words to convey emotions clearly in writing and speaking.
• Incorporate words that relate to family members and relationships in communication.
• Describe experiences and objects using words related to the five senses.
• Apply vocabulary that describes order, occupations, positions, and sounds to enhance clarity.
• Integrate words related to weather, inquiry, and compound structures in speech and writing.
• Name and describe animals, their parts, and their habitats with accurate vocabulary.
• Employ vocabulary related to transportation, sequence order, and antonyms.
• Identify and describe common household items, farm animals, and baby animals using precise words.

Voice

• Express personal style and tone in writing to match the audience and purpose.

Types of Writing

• Compose simple stories about personal experiences with clear sequence and details.
• State an opinion on a topic and provide at least one reason to support it.
• Create imaginative stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
• Design and write various short forms such as posters, poems, and weather updates.
• Formulate questions and write corresponding answers with clarity.
• Produce functional texts such as calendars, greeting cards, and books involving counting or sequencing.
• Compose simple dialogues and personal letters following correct format.

Vocabulary Categories

• Use academic vocabulary
• Use feeling words
• Use family words
• Use sensory words
• Use sequence, job, food, position words
• Use weather, question, compound words
• Use animal parts, pets, wild animals
• Use vehicles, ordinal numbers, opposites
• Use household furniture, farm animals, baby animals

Writing Skills

• Form letters accurately with proper size, shape, and spacing between words.
• Combine drawing, dictating, and writing to convey opinions, provide information, or narrate stories.

Phonics/Spelling

• Accurately identify and articulate consonant sounds in initial, medial, and final positions in spoken and written words.
• Distinguish between and produce long and short vowel sounds in initial, medial, and final positions in words.
• Identify and generate words that belong to the same phonetic word family to support decoding and spelling skills.
• Identify and read words containing final double consonants, applying knowledge to both reading and spelling.
• Recognize and apply common prefixes and suffixes to understand and create new words.
• Identify and use inflectional endings (-s, -ed, -ing) to change a word’s meaning or tense.
• Recognize and form compound words by combining two smaller words to create a new meaning.
• Identify and decode words containing common two-letter consonant blends.
• Identify and read common digraphs, applying them in decoding unfamiliar words.

Types of Sentences

• Recognize and construct declarative sentences that provide information or explanations.
• Identify and produce sentences that use descriptive language to give details about a noun or event.
• Recognize and create sentences that express strong feelings or excitement, using correct punctuation.

Grammar Skills

• Apply capitalization rules to the first word in a sentence, names, and the pronoun 'I'.
• Demonstrate correct spacing between words and sentences in written work.
• Apply correct ending punctuation marks (. ? !) to complete sentences appropriately.

Grammar Mechanics

• Compose complete sentences that include a subject and predicate.
• Differentiate between singular and plural nouns and use them accurately in sentences.
• Identify and correctly use common and proper nouns in spoken and written language.
• Identify and substitute pronouns for nouns in sentences to avoid repetition.
• Describe nouns by selecting and using adjectives that convey specific qualities.
• Select and use verbs to express actions or states of being in sentences.
• Identify and use simple prepositional phrases to add detail to sentences.

Handwriting

• Correctly form and write all uppercase letters with appropriate size and spacing.
• Correctly form and write all lowercase letters with appropriate size and spacing.
• Neatly and accurately form numbers 0 through 9.

Research

• Ask questions – Student will formulate and ask relevant questions to gather information and clarify understanding during shared research activities.
• Find information – Student will locate age-appropriate information from teacher-selected resources with guidance.
• Identify essential vs. nonessential information – Student will distinguish between key details and less important information when exploring a topic.

Summarizing

• Summarize information in words and phrases – Student will restate learned facts and ideas using simple words and short phrases that capture the main points.

Graphic Organizers

• Use webs to organize ideas – Student will sort related ideas into groups using teacher-provided webs or maps.
• Use lists for organization – Student will list ideas, objects, or events in a logical sequence with guidance.
• Use charts for information organization – Student will place information into simple teacher-provided charts to show relationships or categories.

Public Speaking

• Present information in various forms – Student will share information aloud through oral reports, drawings, or visual aids, speaking clearly and audibly.

Text Features

• Interpret illustrations – Student will explain what can be learned from pictures or diagrams related to a text.
• Use photographs – Student will use photographs in a text to gain additional meaning about the topic.
• Use labels – Student will identify and explain the purpose of labels in a text or diagram.
• Use captions – Student will read or listen to captions and explain how they add information to the main text.
• Use maps – Student will recognize and describe basic map features such as symbols and locations with guidance.
• Understand speech bubbles – Student will explain how speech bubbles in illustrations convey dialogue or thoughts.
• Follow directions – Student will follow two-step oral or visual directions to complete a task.

Technology

• Use digital tools and media to gather and present information – Student will use teacher-selected technology (e.g., tablet, computer) to find, create, or display information.

Counting and Cardinality

• Accurately count forward to 100 by ones and tens, demonstrating one-to-one correspondence and correct sequence.
• Orally count by fives to 100, recognizing and extending the skip-count pattern.
• Continue counting from a given number within 20, demonstrating understanding of addition as counting on.
• Compare two numbers (0–10) using terms greater than, less than, or equal to, and justify the comparison with objects or drawings.
• Correctly identify and write numerals from 0 to 20 without reversals.

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

• Represent addition and subtraction by joining and separating objects, drawings, and equations.
• Solve addition and subtraction word problems within 10 using manipulatives, drawings, and mental math strategies.
• Quickly and accurately solve addition and subtraction equations within 5 without manipulatives.

Numbers and Operations in Base Ten

• Demonstrate understanding that numbers 11–19 are composed of ten ones and additional ones using models and drawings.

Measurement and Data

• Identify days of the week, months of the year, and sequence events using a calendar.
• Identify pennies, nickels, and dimes, state their values, and match them to amounts using real or play coins.
• Collect, organize, and represent data with up to three categories using picture graphs and interpret the results.
• Identify, extend, and create repeating patterns using objects, colors, shapes, or numbers.
• Compare and order objects by length using direct comparison and appropriate vocabulary.
• Compare objects by height using direct comparison and appropriate vocabulary.
• Compare and order objects by weight using direct comparison and measurement vocabulary.

Geometry

• Identify, describe, and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes using their attributes.
• Combine simple shapes to form larger shapes and explain their compositions.

Individual Development and Cultural Identity

• Understand self and family
• Understand family structure
• Understand citizenship and shared culture

Civic Ideals and Practices

• Understand school and classroom community
• Understand rights and responsibilities
• Understand rules and laws

Geography, Humans and Environment

• Understand geography and community features
• Describe people and neighborhoods

Time, Continuity and Change

• Understand family history

Economic Systems

• Understand family economic needs and wants
• Recognize community helpers and their roles

Life Science

• Describe needs of plants and animals through observation and discussion of how they grow, survive, and interact with their environment.
• Identify patterns and similarities/differences among plants and animals by comparing observable traits and behaviors.

Earth & Human Activity

• Explain relationships between organisms and their habitats by describing how living things depend on their environment for survival.

Physical Science

• Describe the effect of sunlight on Earth's surface by observing changes in temperature, light, and shadows.
• Identify ways to reduce the warming effect of sunlight by suggesting and testing solutions for shade or cooling.
• Explain the purpose of weather forecasting by discussing how predictions help people prepare for daily activities and safety.
• Describe human impacts on the environment and suggest ways to reduce negative effects through conservation and responsible actions.

Motion & Stability/Forces & Interactions

• Demonstrate understanding of pushes and pulls by showing how objects move in different ways when force is applied.

Earth/Space Science

• Describe weather patterns by observing and recording daily weather changes over time.
• Identify changes in the environment by comparing conditions over time and explaining possible causes.

Engineering Design

• Ask questions and make observations about problems to gather information needed for solutions.
• Design and compare solutions to problems by brainstorming ideas and testing their effectiveness.
• Create sketches, drawings, or models to represent solutions to a problem.
• Collect and analyze data to evaluate how well a solution works and suggest improvements.

Phonemic Awareness

• Demonstrate the ability to isolate, identify, and blend phonemes in spoken words to build strong decoding skills.
• Segment and manipulate sounds in words, create rhymes, and recognize alliteration to enhance phonological awareness.

Phonics/Decoding

• Identify and name all consonants and produce their corresponding sounds accurately.
• Distinguish between long and short vowel sounds in spoken and written words.
• Recognize and classify different syllable types to support decoding unfamiliar words.
• Apply phonics rules and recognize common exceptions when reading and spelling.

Fluency

• Read grade-level texts accurately and automatically to support comprehension.
• Group words into meaningful phrases while reading aloud to enhance fluency.
• Read aloud using appropriate intonation and expression to reflect meaning.

Vocabulary Acquisition

• Sort and classify words into categories to deepen understanding of relationships among words.
• Use surrounding text or context to help clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words.
• Recognize and interpret words with multiple meanings based on context.
• Identify and use common prefixes, roots, and suffixes to determine word meanings.
• Differentiate between words with similar meanings but varying intensity.
• Identify and apply synonyms and antonyms to expand vocabulary.

Comprehension

• Use illustrations and visual details to support comprehension of text.
• Draw on prior experiences and textual clues to make logical inferences.
• Predict events or outcomes in a text based on evidence and reasoning.
• Identify the correct order of events in a story or informational text.
• Reread sections of text to ensure understanding and correct errors.
• Identify the central topic and key details in a text.
• Recognize the main problem in a text and how it is solved.
• Describe how events or actions cause specific outcomes.
• Identify key story elements such as characters, setting, and plot.
• Determine whether the author's purpose is to inform, entertain, or persuade.
• Ask and respond to questions about a text to show understanding.
• Determine the main theme or central message of a story.
• Recognize the key idea in the story and from what happened.
• Retell stories including key events and details in order.
• Identify similarities and differences between two texts on the same subject.

Literature Genres

• Distinguish between fiction and realistic fiction by identifying elements of each.
• Recognize characteristics of fantasy and fables in stories.
• Identify key traits of folktales, tall tales, and myths.
• Recognize characteristics of poetry, including rhyme and repetition.
• Identify elements of drama such as dialogue and stage directions.
• Recognize features of informational and nonfiction texts.
• Identify a biography and its purpose of telling a real person’s life story.

Ideas

• Identify main idea with clarity and detail in a written piece.
• Include supporting details that enhance the main idea.
• Provide clear and logical reasons to support an opinion.

Organization

• Introduce the topic effectively to engage the reader.
• Write strong concluding sentences that summarize ideas.
• Compare and contrast pieces that highlight similarities and differences.
• Organize writing with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
• Explain cause and effect relationships in writing.

Word Choice

• Connect ideas using transition words and phrases.
• Sequence events logically to tell a story.
• Use vivid sensory details to create mental images.
• Select strong action words to enhance writing.
• Incorporate figurative language to add depth to writing.
• Use transition words to guide the reader through the text.
• Include similes for creative comparisons.
• Apply synonyms to vary word choice and avoid repetition.

Sentence Fluency

• Apply synonyms to vary word choice and avoid repetition.

Voice

• Write using a distinct and appropriate personal voice

Types of Writing

• Write personal narratives with sequence and detail.
• Write storytelling pieces with a clear plot.
• Write opinion pieces supported by reasons.
• Write explanatory how-to texts with sequential steps.
• Write informational texts that present facts clearly.
• Write letters with correct format and purposes.
• Write journals to record thoughts and experiences.
• Write poetry using descriptive and figurative language.
• Write research reports with facts from multiple sources.
• Write persuasive pieces to convince the reader.

Writing about Reading

• Analyze key details from a text to inform writing.
• Identify main topic and details in reading to support writing.
• Analyze story elements and apply them in writing.
• Analyze plot structure and use it to organize writing.
• Explain cause and effect from reading in writing.
• Use generalizations from a text to summarize.
• Analyze point of view in reading and reflect it in writing.
• Identify problem and solution in reading and apply in writing.
• Plan, revise, and edit writing for clarity, organization, and style.

Phonics/Spelling

• Recognize consonants – Demonstrate the ability to recognize consonants in combination with letters and their corresponding sounds.
• Identify long and short vowels – Distinguish between long and short vowel sounds and patterns.
• Use word families – Apply knowledge of phonograms to read and write words with shared spelling patterns.
• Identify blends – Blend two consonant sounds together within words accurately.
• Use syllable rules – Decode multisyllabic words using syllable division rules.
• Apply spelling patterns – Accurately read and write words following predictable spelling patterns.
• Use spelling rules – Apply knowledge of spelling rules to correctly form words, including exceptions.
• Recognize compound words – Combine two or more words to form compound words.
• Identify contractions – Recognize and apply standard forms of contractions in reading and writing.
• Use prefixes – Identify words with prefixes and determine how the prefix changes the meaning.
• Use suffixes – Apply understanding of common suffixes to determine word meaning and suffix function.

Types of Sentences

• Identify declarative (telling) sentences – Recognize and write sentences that state facts or opinions.
• Identify interrogative sentences – Recognize and write sentences that ask questions.
• Identify exclamatory sentences – Recognize and write sentences that express strong feelings.
• Identify imperative sentences – Recognize and write sentences that give commands or requests.

Grammar Skills

• Apply capitalization – Apply capitalization rules correctly at the beginning of sentences, proper nouns, and titles.
• Use punctuation – Correctly place a period at the end of declarative and imperative sentences.
• Use question marks – Correctly place a question mark at the end of interrogative sentences.
• Use exclamation points – Correctly place an exclamation point at the end of exclamatory sentences.
• Use commas in a series – Apply commas to separate items in a list.
• Use commas in dates – Apply commas correctly in writing dates.
• Use commas in places – Apply commas correctly in city/state combinations.
• Use apostrophes in possessives – Indicate possession in nouns using apostrophes.
• Use apostrophes in contractions – Form contractions correctly using apostrophes.

Grammar Mechanics

• Identify subjects – Identify the subject in simple and complete sentences.
• Identify predicates – Identify the predicate in simple and complete sentences.
• Identify pronouns – Correctly replace nouns with pronouns in sentences.
• Use verbs – Use action verbs to describe actions in sentences.
• Use adverbs – Use adverbs to describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
• Use adjectives – Use adjectives to describe nouns or pronouns.
• Use prepositions – Correctly use prepositions to show relationships between words.
• Use prepositional phrases – Incorporate prepositional phrases into sentences appropriately.
• Identify singular/plural nouns – Distinguish between singular and plural nouns.
• Apply subject-verb agreement – Ensure the verb matches the subject in number.

Alphabetical Order

• Arrange words in correct alphabetical order by first letter, then second and third letters if needed.

Handwriting

• Legibly form and space letters in print – Maintain consistency in size, spacing, and correct spelling.

Research

• Ask relevant questions to explore a topic and gather information from different sources.
• Obtain accurate information from books, media, and other resources to answer questions or complete tasks.
• Identify essential vs. nonessential information to determine what is important for the research topic.
• Differentiate between primary and secondary sources and use them appropriately in projects.

Summarizing

• Summarize information clearly by restating key ideas in one’s own words and condensing details into brief statements.

Graphic Organizers

• Use graphic organizers to arrange ideas and details logically.
• List facts in a structured format to organize thinking for reports or presentations.
• Create charts for information organization to make data easier to read and understand.

Public Speaking

• Present information clearly using complete sentences, correct volume, and relevant details.
• Practice public speaking by rehearsing and delivering short presentations confidently.

Text Features

• Interpret illustrations to gain meaning from visual information.
• Use photographs to add understanding to written text.
• Recognize and read bold print to locate important words or phrases.
• Use labels to identify parts or features in informational text.
• Read diagrams to understand how parts work together.
• Use captions to explain or add details to pictures.
• Read maps to identify locations and features.
• Understand punctuation within sentences to improve reading fluency.
• Use charts to compare, organize, and present information.
• Read and understand headings to predict and locate information in text.
• Follow multi-step directions to complete academic tasks.

Utilizing Resources

• Use a dictionary to find word meanings, spellings, and pronunciations.
• Use a thesaurus to find synonyms and expand vocabulary.
• Use digital tools to locate and present information effectively.

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

• Accurately add numbers within 100 using strategies such as counting on, making ten, and place value reasoning.
• Accurately subtract numbers within 100 by applying strategies like counting back, using fact families, and place value.
• Demonstrate understanding of the commutative and associative properties of addition to solve problems efficiently.
• Apply repeated addition or subtraction to represent and solve equal group problems.
• Count fluently forward and backward by 2s, 5s, and 10s starting at any number up to 120.

Numbers and Operations in Base Ten

• Correctly identify and use ordinal numbers to describe positions in ordered sets.
• Demonstrate understanding of place value for tens and ones to represent, compare, and order numbers.
• Accurately count, read, and write whole numbers to 120 starting at any number less than 120.
• Compare two two-digit numbers using symbols <, >, and =, based on place value understanding.
• Mentally find 10 more or 10 less than a given two-digit number without counting.
• Solve real-world problems requiring one or two steps using addition and subtraction within 100.
• Apply knowledge of place value to add and subtract within 100 without regrouping.

Measurement and Data

• Order three objects by length and compare the lengths indirectly using a third object.
• Read and write time to the hour and half-hour using analog and digital clocks.
• Collect, organize, and interpret data with up to three categories using charts, tables, and graphs.
• Identify coins and bills, know their values, and use them to count collections of money.

Geometry

• Describe and classify two- and three-dimensional shapes by defining attributes such as sides, vertices, and faces.
• Build and draw two-dimensional shapes by combining smaller shapes.
• Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares and describe the shares using halves, fourths, and quarters.
• Sort shapes into categories based on defining attributes like number of sides or angles.

Individual Development and Cultural Identity

• Recognize similarities and differences in families by identifying traditions, customs, and shared experiences.
• Describe family traditions by explaining cultural practices, foods, and celebrations unique to each family.
• Understand history and American culture by recounting significant symbols, events, and holidays.

Civic Ideals and Practices

• Understand local and global communities by comparing how individuals live, work, and interact in different regions.
• Identify local, state, and national rules, laws, and governments by explaining their purposes and importance.

Geography, Humans and Environment

• Use maps and map skills by locating places and interpreting basic map symbols.
• Understand how communities meet needs by identifying the resources and services they provide.

Time, Continuity and Change

• Compare families then and now by discussing changes in lifestyle, technology, and traditions.
• Understand family history by recounting stories and events from past generations.
• Use historical sources to learn about the past by examining photos, artifacts, and documents.

Economic Systems

• Understand community economics by explaining basic concepts of needs, wants, and trade.
• Identify goods and services that provide for needs and wants by categorizing examples from the community.
• Recognize community workers by describing their roles and importance.

Life Science

• Accurately describe the structures and functions of basic parts of plants and animals using appropriate scientific vocabulary.
• Identify and compare observable patterns in the behavior of animals and plants, explaining how these behaviors help them meet basic needs.
• Explain how offspring resemble their parents by identifying inherited traits in plants and animals.

Physical Science

• Demonstrate how sound is produced by vibrations through hands-on experiments and observations.
• Describe sources of light and demonstrate how light travels and interacts with objects to produce shadows or reflections.
• Explain how sounds and light signals are used to communicate, providing real-world examples.
• Identify natural sources of light and discuss how they affect daily life and the environment.

Earth/Space Science

• Observe and describe changes in the sky, including patterns of the sun, moon, and stars over time.

Engineering Design

• Formulate questions about observed phenomena and record detailed observations using words and pictures.
• Create a simple plan or model that addresses a specific problem, explaining the reasoning behind the design.
• Produce clear and labeled sketches, drawings, or models to illustrate a concept or solution.
• Gather information from observations or tests, organize the data, and explain whether the results support the proposed solution.