RF.K.1: Print Concepts and Letter Names
Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1 · Cluster: Print Concepts.
The Official Wording
Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
Common Core State Standards, Kindergarten, Reading: Foundational Skills · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What RF.K.1 Means in Plain English
Kindergartners learn how print works: it runs left to right, top to bottom and page by page, a spoken word like hen is always the letters h-e-n in that order, spaces show where one word ends, and they name all 52 upper and lowercase letters.
Pointing under each word during shared reading is where most of it is learned, and the sweep back to the next line is often the last piece to click. In 1st grade the focus moves to the sentence: a capital to start and a mark to end (RF.1.1).
RF.K.1 I Can Statements
- I can point to words from left to right.
- I can count the words by looking at the spaces.
- I can name all the big and small letters.
RF.K.1 Worked Example
One sentence on a chart, read the way the standard describes, from where to start to the letters in one word.
On a chart, “I see a big red hen.” is written on two lines. Point to each word as you read it, count the words and name the letters in hen.
- Start on the top line, at the left. Read across, then sweep back to the left of the next line.I → see → a, then big → red → hen.
- Count the words. Every space means one word has ended and the next one starts.I · see · a · big · red · hen = 6 words
- Hen is a word we say out loud. Written down, it is always these three letters in this order.h-e-n
- Mix up the letters and it is not hen anymore.n-e-h, e-h-n: not hen
- Name each letter in hen, then its partner: the small letter and the big letter.h H, e E, n N
- In a book, when the words on a page run out, turn the page and start again at the top left.page 1, then page 2
Check it: Clap once per word while pointing. Six claps, and the finger lands on six words.
Common Mistakes with RF.K.1
Tapping beats instead of words
Taps yel and low on two different words, and the finger ends up past the last word
Try this: Slow down to one tap per word, and add a two-syllable word like yellow so a finger tapping each beat runs out of words.
Mixing up letters, words and sentences
Points to h and calls it a word
Try this: Frame one letter, then one word, then the whole sentence with two fingers or a word window, naming each as you go.
Knowing capitals but not lowercase
Names A, B, D and Q, then stalls on b, d and q
Try this: Practice letters as matched pairs, B with b, every day, and sort the look-alike lowercase letters b, d, p and q side by side.
Where RF.K.1 Fits
Practice RF.K.1
Quick Check
- How many words are in “We like the big dog.”?
- Where do you start reading on a page?
- Write the lowercase partners of B, D and G.