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Common Core ELAKindergartenWriting

W.K.5: Add Details After a Partner’s Question

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.5 · Cluster: Production and Distribution of Writing.

Get a Journal PromptAll 41 Kindergarten ELA Standards

The Official Wording

With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

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

What W.K.5 Means in Plain English

Kindergartners share a page with a classmate, listen to a question or idea about it, and add something that makes it better, with an adult guiding the talk. “This is my dog” becomes “This is my dog Biscuit. He likes to dig.”

The detail can be a new sentence or more in the drawing, and at this age both strengthen the piece. In 1st grade (W.1.5) children also learn to keep the piece focused on one topic while they respond and add.

W.K.5 I Can Statements

  • I can listen to my friend’s question about my writing.
  • I can add more words to answer the question.
  • I can add details to my picture too.

W.K.5 Worked Example

One first page, one partner question, and two ways the writer could respond.

Prompt

Your page says “This is my dog.” Your partner asked, “What does your dog like to do?” Add to your page so it answers the question.

Not YetThis is my dog. I have a red bike.Something was added, but not an answer to the partner’s question. The page is longer, not stronger, and the reader still knows nothing about the dog.
Meets the StandardThis is my dog Biscuit. He likes to dig in the yard. He gets dirt on his nose. (Added to the drawing: a hole in the grass and brown dirt on Biscuit’s nose.)The new sentences answer the partner’s question, the dirty nose is a detail a reader can picture, and the drawing gained the same detail.
Moves to Use
Read your page to your partner.Listen for one question.Answer it out loud first.Add the answer as a new sentence or in the picture.

Common Mistakes with W.K.5

Starting over instead of adding

The child erases the whole page, or asks for a new sheet, after the partner’s question

Try this: Hand out a sticky note or a paper strip for the new sentence, so adding never means losing the first one.

Feedback that is only praise

“I like it. It’s good.” and the partner turn is over

Try this: Teach one question for partners to ask, like “What does it do?”, and practice it on your own page first.

The adult does the revising

The teacher writes a sentence the child never said: “Biscuit is a playful golden retriever.”

Try this: Have the child say the new sentence aloud first, then scribe exactly those words, even when they are shorter than yours.

Where W.K.5 Fits

Comes BeforeSL.K.1Take part in conversations with classmates, listening to others and taking turns to speak.
AlongsideSL.K.3Ask and answer questions to get information or clear up something not understood, which is the partner’s job here.SL.K.4Describe familiar people, places and things and, with prompting, add more detail.
Comes NextW.1.5Focus on a topic, respond to peers’ questions and suggestions, and add details, still with adult help.

Practice W.K.5

Writing Prompt GeneratorFree ToolA journal prompt printed with a picture box and lines. The first draft fills the top lines, and the empty ones below are where the partner’s detail goes.JournalGrades K to 2Guided lines
Make a Prompt

Quick Check

  1. What question did the partner ask?
  2. Which new sentence in the strong response answers the question?
  3. Why doesn’t “I have a red bike” make the page stronger?

W.K.5: Other Names

W.K.5CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.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.