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Common Core ELAKindergartenReading: Informational

RI.K.10: Join In When the Class Reads Nonfiction

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.10 · Cluster: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity.

All 41 Kindergarten ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

Common Core State Standards, Kindergarten, Reading: Informational Text · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RI.K.10 Means in Plain English

Kindergartners take part when the class reads a nonfiction book together: they listen for the reason they are reading, chime in on lines that repeat and answer questions afterward. Before a squirrel book, the teacher asks how squirrels get ready for winter, and children listen for the answer.

The skill is joining in with a purpose, not reading alone yet. In 1st grade (RI.1.10) children begin reading nonfiction written for their grade, with prompting and support, and by the end of 2nd grade (RI.2.10) they read science and history texts with help only at the hardest level.

RI.K.10 I Can Statements

  • I can listen to find out what we are reading for.
  • I can read along with the class on the parts that repeat.
  • I can answer questions about what we read together.

RI.K.10 Worked Example

A big-book read-aloud about squirrels with a line the class reads together, the purpose question set before reading, and two answers to it afterward.

Read the Story
Fall is here, and the squirrels are busy.A squirrel finds an acorn. It digs a little hole, drops the acorn in and pats the dirt on top. Dig, drop, pat!It does this again and again, hundreds of times. Dig, drop, pat!When snow covers the ground, the squirrel sniffs out its acorns. Now it has food all winter.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: Before we read, we wanted to find out how squirrels get ready for winter. What did we find out?
Not Yet“I saw a squirrel at the park!”The child was listening and is excited, which counts for something, but the answer has drifted away from the reason we read. Nothing in it says how squirrels get ready.
Meets the Standard“They bury acorns, dig, drop, pat, lots of times. Then when it snows they sniff them out and have food.”The answer goes straight back to the purpose set before reading, uses the line the class chanted, and tells how the book ends too.
Question Stems to Use
What are we reading to find out?Read this part with me!Did we find out yet? Show me a thumb.What did we find out?What do you still wonder?

Common Mistakes with RI.K.10

Listening without a purpose

The child enjoys the book but cannot say what it was about afterward

Try this: Say one purpose question before the first page, write it on the board, and return to it at the last page.

Joining in only on the fun parts

Loud on “Dig, drop, pat!” and drifting for the rest

Try this: Stop right after the chant and ask one quick question about the sentence just before it, so the listening continues between refrains.

Answering with a personal story

“I saw a squirrel at the park!”

Try this: Give the story a moment, then repeat the purpose question and ask “What did our book say?”

Where RI.K.10 Fits

Comes BeforeSL.K.2Ask and answer questions about a text read aloud, the listening that group reading depends on.
AlongsideRL.K.10The same group reading with storybooks and poems.SL.K.1Follow the class rules for talking about a book, taking turns and listening.
Comes NextRI.1.10With prompting and support, read informational texts written for 1st grade.

Practice RI.K.10

Quick Check

  1. What does the squirrel bury in the fall?
  2. What three words does the class say together?
  3. How does the squirrel find its acorns when snow covers the ground?

RI.K.10: Other Names

RI.K.10CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.10

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.