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Common Core ELAKindergartenSpeaking & Listening

SL.K.3: Ask Questions to Get Help and Information

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.3 · Cluster: Comprehension and Collaboration.

Spin for a QuestionerAll 41 Kindergarten ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.

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

What SL.K.3 Means in Plain English

Kindergartners ask questions for real reasons: to get unstuck, to find something out, or to fix a misunderstanding, and they answer when someone asks them. Stuck at the art table, a child says what they finished and asks which paper the circle goes on.

The hard part is turning “I can’t do it” or a story about an uncle’s truck into an actual question. In 1st grade (SL.1.3) the questions aim at what a speaker says, to gather more information or clear up something not understood.

SL.K.3 I Can Statements

  • I can ask a question when I need help.
  • I can ask a question to find something out.
  • I can answer when a friend asks me something.

SL.K.3 Worked Example

One stuck moment at the art table, two ways to ask for help, and only one the teacher can answer.

Prompt

At the art table you cut out your circle, but you do not know what to glue it on. Ask Ms. Lee for help.

Not Yet“I can’t do it.”It tells Ms. Lee something is wrong but not what, and it is not a question, so she has to stop and guess what the child needs.
Meets the Standard“Ms. Lee, I cut out my circle. Do I glue it on the blue paper or the white paper?”The child says who they are talking to and what is already done, then asks one question with a clear answer. Ms. Lee can say “blue” and the child is back to work.
Moves to Use
Say the name of the person you are asking.Tell what you already did.Ask one question: what, where, how or which.Listen to the answer, then say thank you.

Common Mistakes with SL.K.3

A complaint instead of a question

“I can’t do it,” or “Teacher, teacher!” and nothing after it

Try this: Answer with “What’s your question?” and wait, then praise the version that says exactly what the child needs.

A story when it’s time for questions

The visiting firefighter asks for questions and hands go up: “My uncle has a truck.”

Try this: Have each child plan one question that starts with who, what, where or why before the visitor arrives, and rehearse it with a partner.

Every question goes to the teacher

A line at your table while the child’s tablemate already knows the answer

Try this: Teach “ask three before me,” so children try classmates first, and praise the classmate who answers in a full sentence.

Where SL.K.3 Fits

Comes BeforeL.K.1Understand and use question words like who, what, where and why, the start of any good question.
AlongsideSL.K.2Ask and answer questions about a read-aloud, and ask when something is confusing.
Comes NextSL.1.3Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says, to learn more or clear up confusion.

Practice SL.K.3

Random Name PickerFree ToolAfter a child shares, spin for two classmates who each ask one question to find out more about it.After a shareTwo questionsWhole class
Spin a Name

Quick Check

  1. What does the child tell Ms. Lee before asking the question?
  2. Why is “I can’t do it” not a request for help?
  3. A firefighter visits and asks for questions. A child says, “My uncle has a truck.” Is that a question, and what could the child ask instead?

SL.K.3: Other Names

SL.K.3CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.3

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.