Colorado State Standards for Language Arts: Kindergarten

CO.1. Oral Expression and Listening

1.1. Oral communication skills are built within a language-rich environment. Students can:

1.1.a. Express words and word meanings as encountered in books and conversation

1.1.b. Identify and sort common words into conceptual categories (opposites, living things, etc.)

1.1.c. Use new vocabulary that is directly taught through reading, speaking, and listening

1.1.d. Relate new vocabulary to prior knowledge

1.2. Vocal sounds produce words and meaning to create early knowledge of phonemic awareness. Students can:

1.2.a. Identify and create rhyming words

1.2.b. Identify and create alliterations

1.2.c. Identify words orally according to shared beginning or ending sounds

1.2.d. Blend sounds orally to make one-syllable words

1.2.e. Segment one-syllable words into sounds

1.2.f. Segment spoken words into onset (initial consonant sounds) and rime (vowel to end of syllable)

1.2.g. Identify the initial, medial, and final phoneme (speech sound) of spoken words

1.3. Communication relies on effective verbal and nonverbal skills. Students can:

1.3.a. Participate courteously in conversation by taking turns, staying on topic, making eye contact, facing the speaker, and listening respectfully

1.3.b. Communicate effectively by asking clarifying questions, staying on topic, and listening with comprehension

1.3.c. Follow two-step directions

CO.2. Reading for All Purposes

2.1. A concept of print to read and a solid comprehension of literary informational text are the building blocks for reading. Students can:

2.1.a. Voice/print match letters, words, phrases, and punctuation

2.1.b. Handle a book, turn pages sequentially, demonstrate directionality (left to right, top to bottom), identify the cover, title page, author, and text of a book

2.1.c. Recognize that printed materials carry meaning and provide factual information or entertaining stories that connect to children's lives

2.1.d. Retell a literary passage read aloud arranging the events in the correct sequence using beginning, middle, and end

2.1.e. Identify main character(s), setting, and key events in a text

2.1.f. Retell an informational passage using the main idea and important details

2.1.g. Make predictions and inferences about the content of the text using prior knowledge, pictures or graphic features, and text

2.2. Decoding words in print requires alphabet recognition and knowledge of letter sounds. Students can:

2.2.a. Name upper- and lowercase letters rapidly and with ease, in sequence and in random order

2.2.b. Identify phonemes for letters

2.2.c. Decode simple words in isolation and in context (consonant, vowel consonant words)

2.2.d. Recognize common high-frequency words (such as the, I, a, my, you, is, are)

CO.3. Writing and Composition

3.1. Pictures, labels, and familiar words are used to communicate information and ideas. Students can:

3.1.a. Draw and label pictures that carry meaning

3.1.b. Sequence pictures and words to create simple narrative pieces

3.1.c. Logically arrange pictures and words to create simple informational pieces

3.2. Appropriate mechanics and conventions are used to create simple texts. Students can:

3.2.a. Identify and use appropriate end punctuation (period)

3.2.b. Use capital letters at the beginning of a sentence

3.2.c. Use proper spacing between words

3.2.d. Write left to right and top to bottom

3.2.e. Spell simple high-frequency words correctly

3.2.f. Use appropriate pencil grip

3.2.g. Use phonetically spelled words in writing

CO.4. Research and Reasoning

4.1. A variety of locations must be explored to find information that answers questions of interest. Students can:

4.1.a. Dictate questions that arise during instruction

4.1.b. Use a variety of resources (such as direct observation, trade books, texts read aloud or viewed) to answer questions of interest through guided inquiry

4.2. Identify purpose, information and question at issue. Students can:

4.2.a. Identify a clear purpose for research or inquiry (If the class is learning about trees, is my need to know more about pets related?)

4.2.b. Identify a significant question they are trying to answer, problem they are trying to solve, or issue they are trying to resolve

4.2.c. Gather relevant information and check various information sources for accuracy (In a class discussion focused on butterflies, students ask questions related to a butterfly and the life cycle.)

4.3. Quality of thinking depends on the quality of questions. Students can:

4.3.a. Ask primary questions of clarity, significance, relevance, and accuracy to improve quality of thinking

4.3.b. State, elaborate, and exemplify the concept of fair-mindedness

CO.5. Prepared Graduate Competencies in Reading, Writing, and Communicating: The preschool through twelfth-grade concepts and skills that all students who complete the Colorado education system must master to ensure their success in a postsecondary and workforce setting.

5.1. Collaborate effectively as group members or leaders who listen actively and respectfully pose thoughtful questions, acknowledge the ideas of others, and contribute ideas to further the group's attainment of an objective

5.2. Deliver organized and effective oral presentations for diverse audiences and varied purposes

5.3. Use language appropriate for purpose and audience

5.4. Demonstrate skill in inferential and evaluative listening

5.5. Interpret how the structure of written English contributes to the pronunciation and meaning of complex vocabulary

5.6. Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of informational, literary, and persuasive texts

5.7. Evaluate how an author uses words to create mental imagery, suggest mood, and set tone

5.8. Read a wide range of literature (American and world literature) to understand important universal themes and the human experience

5.9. Seek feedback, self-assess, and reflect on personal learning while engaging with increasingly more difficult texts

5.10. Engage in a wide range of nonfiction and real-life reading experiences to solve problems, judge the quality of ideas, or complete daily tasks

5.11. Write with a clear focus, coherent organization, sufficient elaboration, and detail

5.12. Effectively use content-specific language, style, tone, and text structure to compose or adapt writing for different audiences and purposes

5.13. Apply standard English conventions to effectively communicate with written language

5.14. Implement the writing process successfully to plan, revise, and edit written work

5.15. Master the techniques of effective informational, literary, and persuasive writing

5.16. Discriminate and justify a position using traditional lines of rhetorical argument and reasoning

5.17. Articulate the position of self and others using experiential and material logic

5.18. Gather information from a variety of sources; analyze and evaluate the quality and relevance of the source; and use it to answer complex questions

5.19. Use primary, secondary, and tertiary written sources to generate and answer research questions

5.20. Evaluate explicit and implicit viewpoints, values, attitudes, and assumptions concealed in speech, writing, and illustration

5.21. Demonstrate the use of a range of strategies, research techniques, and persistence when engaging with difficult texts or examining complex problems or issues

5.22. Exercise ethical conduct when writing, researching, and documenting sources