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Common Core ELA1st GradeLanguage

L.1.5: Sort, Define and Compare Words

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.5 · Cluster: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use.

All 41 1st Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

With guidance and support from adults, demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 1, Language · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What L.1.5 Means in Plain English

With an adult guiding, first graders sort words into groups, define a word by its group and what makes it special, connect words to real life, like cozy places at home, and pick among close words like peek, glance and glare or large and gigantic.

Part b is the big step from kindergarten (L.K.5), which sorted objects and acted out ways to walk: now a child says what group a word belongs to and what sets it apart. In 2nd grade (L.2.5) adults step back, and children compare words like thin and scrawny.

L.1.5 I Can Statements

  • I can sort words into groups like colors and clothes.
  • I can tell what group a word is in and what makes it special.
  • I can show the difference between peek and stare.

L.1.5 Worked Example

One animal, defined twice, and only one of the definitions could not just as well describe a rainbow.

Prompt

Finish the sentence to tell what a peacock is: “A peacock is a ___ that ___.”

Not Yet“A peacock is really colorful.”True, and a rainbow, a box of markers and a parrot are colorful too. One feature with no group does not pin the word down.
Meets the Standard“A peacock is a bird that has a giant tail that opens up like a fan.”The group, bird, rules out everything that is not a bird, and the key feature, a tail that opens like a fan, sets the peacock apart from other birds. That is part b, the same shape as the standard’s a duck is a bird that swims.
Moves to Use
Sort first: what group does it go in?Say the group, then what makes it special: a peacock is a bird that…Find the word in real life: where at home is cozy?Pick the right size word: big, large or gigantic.Act out close words: peek, glance, stare, glare.

Common Mistakes with L.1.5

A feature with no group

“A tiger has stripes.” “A peacock is colorful.”

Try this: Give the frame “A ___ is a ___ that ___” and have the child fill the group slot before any feature.

A group too big to help

“A peacock is an animal.”

Try this: Ask “Which kind of animal?” until the group is the smallest one the child knows, like bird instead of animal.

Close words used as twins

“I glared at my birthday cake because I loved it.”

Try this: Act out peek, stare and glare at the same object, then ask which face you made and when people make it.

Where L.1.5 Fits

Comes BeforeL.K.5Sort objects, pair opposites and act out verbs like march and tiptoe, with adult help.
AlongsideL.1.4Use clues in the sentence and inside the word to work out a new meaning.L.1.6Use new words from talk and books, the words these definitions are built for.
Comes NextL.2.5Connect words to real-life use and tell apart close verbs and adjectives like toss, throw and hurl.

Practice L.1.5

Quick Check

  1. Sort these words into two groups: red, sock, blue, hat, green, mitten.
  2. Finish the definition with a group and a feature: “A goldfish is…”
  3. Which word means bigger, large or gigantic?

L.1.5: Other Names

L.1.5CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.5

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.