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Common Core ELAKindergartenLanguage

L.K.1: Print Letters and Speak in Full Sentences

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1 · Cluster: Conventions of Standard English.

Make a Handwriting SheetAll 41 Kindergarten ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

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

What L.K.1 Means in Plain English

Kindergartners print many upper- and lowercase letters and, mostly out loud, build sentences from everyday nouns and verbs. They say dogs for two dogs and wishes for two wishes, use little words like in and on, ask with who and where, and make a sentence longer with a detail.

Most of this happens in shared talk, like the class describing a picture together, rather than on worksheets. In 1st grade (L.1.1) students print every letter and add pronouns, verbs for past and future, joining words like because, and more kinds of sentences.

L.K.1 I Can Statements

  • I can write lots of big and small letters.
  • I can say a whole sentence about a picture.
  • I can say dogs when there is more than one dog.

L.K.1 Worked Example

One picture, a first try and a better sentence, and the better one shows four of the standard’s six parts at once.

Prompt

Look at the picture of two dogs jumping in a puddle. Say a sentence about it, then make your sentence bigger.

Not Yet“Dog. Puddle. Jump.”Three good words, but no sentence holds them together, and dog is one dog when the picture shows two.
Meets the Standard“Two dogs are jumping in the puddle.” Then bigger: “Two dogs are jumping in the puddle by the swings.”A noun and a verb in a complete sentence (part b), dogs with an /s/ for two dogs (part c), in to say where (part e), and the sentence grows by one detail when asked (part f).
Moves to Use
A sentence tells who, and what they are doing.More than one? Add /s/ or /es/: dog to dogs, wish to wishes.Use a little word to tell where: in, on, out, by.Ask with a question word: who, what, where, when, why, how.Make it bigger: add where or when.

Common Mistakes with L.K.1

A list of words, not a sentence

“Dog. Puddle. Jump.”

Try this: Ask “Who?” and then “What are they doing?”, and have the child say both answers together as one sentence.

Plurals that don’t change

“I see two dog.” “She made three wish.”

Try this: Hold up one block, then two, and have students say block and blocks, then listen for the extra beat in wish and wishes.

Question words mixed up

Asked “Where is the cat?”, answers “Fluffy.”

Try this: Pair each question word with a picture card, a map pin for where and a face for who, and sort answers under them.

Where L.K.1 Fits

Comes BeforeRF.K.1Recognize and name every upper- and lowercase letter, which comes before printing them.
AlongsideL.K.2Capitalize the first word and the word I, name end marks and spell simple words by sound.SL.K.6Speak loudly and clearly enough for the group to hear the sentence.
Comes NextL.1.1Print all letters and use pronouns, past and future verbs, conjunctions and more sentence types.

Practice L.K.1

Handwriting Worksheet GeneratorFree ToolRows of upper- and lowercase letters to trace and copy for part a, or a short sentence the class built together.LettersTracing dotsShort sentence
Make a Worksheet
Sentence Scramble GeneratorFree ToolShort mixed-up sentences to put back in order and read aloud, so students hear what makes a complete sentence.KindergartenShort sentencesCut and glue
Make a Scramble

Quick Check

  1. What is the word for more than one bus?
  2. In “Two dogs are jumping in the puddle,” which word tells where the dogs are?
  3. Make this sentence bigger by telling where: “The cat is sleeping.”

L.K.1: Other Names

L.K.1CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1

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.