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Georgia Standards

Georgia Kindergarten ELA Standards

All 142 Georgia English language arts standards for kindergarten, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Georgia Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.

142 standards

Phonological Awareness

17 standards
Rhyme
K.F.PA.1.a
Listen to spoken words, match the pairs that rhyme, like cat and hat, and tell when two words do not rhyme, like cat and dog.
K.F.PA.1.b
Come up with rhyming words out loud, like saying fun and run to rhyme with sun.
Words & Sentences
K.F.PA.2.a
Understand that words join together to build sentences and that each sentence tells one whole idea, like my dog can run.
K.F.PA.2.b
Break a spoken phrase or sentence into its separate words, like clapping once for each word in I like cake.
K.F.PA.2.c
Understand that words are built from sounds strung together and that each word carries its own meaning.
Compound Words
K.F.PA.3.a
Put two spoken words together into a compound word and pull it back apart, like sun plus flower making sunflower.
K.F.PA.3.b
Change spoken compound words by adding, removing or swapping one of the words, like rainbow without rain leaving bow, or cupcake becoming pancake.
Syllables
K.F.PA.4.a
Understand that a syllable is a chunk of a word built around a single vowel sound, like the two beats in tiger.
K.F.PA.4.b
Say spoken words beat by beat and count their syllables, from one-beat words like dog to longer words like butterfly.
K.F.PA.4.c
Join spoken syllables into a word and break a word into its syllables, like pen and cil making pencil.
K.F.PA.4.d
Say what is left of a spoken word when one syllable is taken away, like monkey without mon leaving key.
Onsets & Rimes
K.F.PA.5.a
Put the first sound and the rest of a spoken one-syllable word back together, like m plus op making mop.
K.F.PA.5.b
Split a spoken one-syllable word into its opening sound and the part that follows, like breaking sat into s and at.
Phonemic Awareness
K.F.PA.6.a
Pick out and say the first sound, then the last sound, and later the middle sound in three-sound words like cat, sun and pig.
K.F.PA.6.b
Hear whether a spoken one-syllable word has a short or long vowel sound, like the short a in cap and the long a in cape.
K.F.PA.6.c
Blend sounds into spoken one-syllable words, count their sounds and split them apart, using words of up to three sounds like b, u, s for bus.
K.F.PA.6.d
Change short spoken words of up to three sounds by adding, dropping or swapping one sound, like at to hat, hat to bat, or bat to at.

Concepts of Print

11 standards
Conceptualizing Text
K.F.CP.1.a
Understand that printed words and pictures stand for real things and ideas and carry a message for the reader.
K.F.CP.1.b
Notice the print in everyday places and tell what it means, like a stop sign or the label on a cereal box.
K.F.CP.1.c
Tell the difference between a letter, a word, a numeral and a picture or symbol on a page or sign.
Book Orientation & Directionality of Print Texts
K.F.CP.2.a
Hold a book the right way up and open it from the front cover to start reading.
K.F.CP.2.b
Track print left to right along each line and down the page, and turn the pages from right to left.
K.F.CP.2.c
Point out a book's front and back covers and find the title, the author's and illustrator's names and the cover pictures.
Mechanics of Print Texts
K.F.CP.3.a
Understand that every written word is built from separate letters, like c, a and t making cat.
K.F.CP.3.b
Notice that written words have empty spaces between them that show where each word stops.
K.F.CP.3.c
Know that a written sentence starts with a capital letter and finishes with a mark, like a period, that shows it is over.
Alphabet Knowledge
K.F.CP.4.a
Say the whole alphabet from A to Z in the right order.
K.F.CP.4.b
Name any capital or small letter when it is shown out of order, and point to a letter when its name is called.

Phonics

7 standards
Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondences
K.F.P.1.a
Know the main sound each consonant letter makes and say it on sight, like m for the first sound in moon.
K.F.P.1.b
Know and say both the short and the long sound of each vowel letter, like the a in cat and the a in cake.
Decoding with Phonics
K.F.P.2.a
Read short words like at, go and map by saying each letter's sound and blending them, including common words spelled the way they sound.
K.F.P.2.b
Find the parts of tricky common words that can be sounded out and read them, like the s and d in said.
K.F.P.2.e
Tell apart words with nearly the same spelling by noticing the sound of the letter that changes, like cat and cap or pin and pan.
Encoding with Phonics
K.F.P.3.a
Spell short one-syllable words by writing a letter for each sound heard, like up, me and dog, including common sight words.
K.F.P.3.b
Recognize and spell common words that do not follow the usual sound rules, like the, said and was.

Fluency

3 standards
Oral & Silent Reading Fluency
K.F.F.1.a
Use phonics to grow a set of words read at a glance, both regular and tricky ones, alone and in sentences, plus the first and last names of classmates.
K.F.F.1.b
Read well-known texts aloud together as a group at a fitting loudness and speed, like a class poem or chant.
K.F.F.1.c
Read kindergarten-level texts knowing why they are reading and making sense of what the words say.

Handwriting

5 standards
Motor Skills & Letter/Word Formation
K.F.H.1.a
Print each capital and lowercase letter of the alphabet by hand.
K.F.H.1.b
Print whole words by hand, including their own first and last name.
K.F.H.1.c
Leave the right amount of space between letters, between words and between sentences when writing.
Transcription & Handwriting Fluency
K.F.H.2.a
Practice the basics of putting spoken words down on paper, like writing a short sentence they just said aloud.
K.F.H.2.b
Start writing letters correctly and with growing ease, including the letters of their first and last name.

Engagement & Intention for Comprehension & Composition

26 standards
Reader & Writer Identity
K.P.EICC.1.a
Set reading and writing goals for school and for fun, talk about them, check progress and change them when needed, like reading a new picture book each week.
K.P.EICC.1.b
Talk or write about the kinds of books, topics and writing they like best and why, like animal books or silly rhyming stories.
K.P.EICC.1.c
Choose, read and write texts about things that interest them and that connect to class topics, like a book about bugs during a science unit.
K.P.EICC.1.d
Gather a toolkit of reading and writing strategies and reach for the right one when needed, like using pictures for clues or sounding out a word to spell it.
K.P.EICC.1.e
Take part in a class reading and writing community, helping set group rules, talking about books, sharing writing, listening to others and trading feedback.
K.P.EICC.1.f
Become more independent as a reader and writer, like choosing a book from the class library and exploring it alone.
Engagement & Intention
K.P.EICC.2.a
Share true or made-up experiences by reading and making stories, like listening to a picture book or drawing and telling about a trip to the park.
K.P.EICC.2.b
Use texts to learn facts, build skills, make choices and pass on ideas, like reading a book about pets before choosing a class pet.
K.P.EICC.2.c
Read and make texts to learn and explain how things work, like following a picture guide to plant a seed and then showing the steps.
K.P.EICC.2.d
Read and create texts that help them think about and judge other texts and ideas, like drawing the best part of a story and saying why.
K.P.EICC.2.e
Read and make texts that help fix a problem or sway a choice, like a poster asking classmates to put toys away.
Comprehension Strategies
K.P.EICC.3.a
Know why they are reading, set reading goals, notice when meaning breaks down and fix it, like going back to the pictures in a confusing part.
K.P.EICC.3.b
Look quickly through a text before reading to spot the parts that will help most, like flipping through a picture book to see its title and pictures.
K.P.EICC.3.c
Connect what they already know to a text, notice where the two disagree or where something is missing, and add the new learning, like finding out bats are not birds.
K.P.EICC.3.d
Picture parts of a text in their mind and retell them briefly to keep track of meaning, like imagining the three bears' house and telling what just happened.
K.P.EICC.3.e
Guess what will happen or what fact will come next in a text and check those guesses while reading, like predicting from the cover picture.
K.P.EICC.3.f
Figure out ideas a text does not say directly, back them up with clues and follow them, like knowing a character is sad from a picture of tears.
K.P.EICC.3.g
Work out new words and ideas from the sentence around them, school words they know and word parts, like the s at the end of cats meaning more than one.
Writing Processes
K.P.EICC.4.a
Decide why they are writing, what they want the writing to do and who will read it, like making a card to thank a school helper.
K.P.EICC.4.b
Plan how a piece will be built by choosing its form, kind and order to fit its reason and its readers, like deciding a how-to book needs steps in order.
K.P.EICC.4.c
Come up with ideas to write about by thinking about what they know, looking in books and talking with others, like sharing pet stories before writing.
K.P.EICC.4.d
Fit ideas and facts into their writing plan and give the most important and useful ones a key spot, like putting the best fact about frogs first.
K.P.EICC.4.e
Make a first draft that pulls ideas together with chosen words, sentences and writer's tricks that suit the reason and the reader, like a labeled picture story.
K.P.EICC.4.f
Look back at their writing, alone or with feedback, and judge whether it does what they meant it to do, like checking a picture story shows every step.
K.P.EICC.4.g
Revise writing after checking it or hearing feedback, changing its order, ideas, facts, words or style to make it work better, like adding a missing detail.
K.P.EICC.4.h
Fix errors in their writing so it follows the rules of written English, like adding a capital letter at the start and a period at the end.

Situating Texts

6 standards
Context
K.P.ST.1.a
Use what they know, simple research and talks with others to find the background that matters most to a text, like the place, time or culture of a story.
K.P.ST.1.b
Think about how the background of a text shapes why it was written and why people read it, like a holiday book written for families who celebrate that day.
K.P.ST.1.c
Explore how the time, place and culture behind a text affect what the writer chose and how readers react, like a story set long ago feeling unfamiliar.
Author, Audience, & Purpose
K.P.ST.2.a
Use what they know about the writer, the reader and the setting to find or set a text's purpose and judge how well it meets it, like whether a joke book is funny.
K.P.ST.2.b
Think about the writer, the reader and the background to spot a text's point of view or give their own writing one, like a story told by the dog.
K.P.ST.2.c
Use how authors think about readers and setting to pick which ideas to stress and which layout, words, sentences and tricks work best, like big pictures for little kids.

Author’s Craft

12 standards
Reading like a Writer
K.P.AC.1.a
Find and use the story, information and opinion parts of texts and explain how each helps readers and the text's goal, like how a character makes readers care.
K.P.AC.1.b
Notice and try out strong or fun word choices and explain how they affect readers and serve the text, like a sound word such as splash bringing a scene alive.
K.P.AC.1.c
Explain how the way an author builds sentences affects readers and helps the text's goal, like a repeated sentence in a picture book inviting kids to join in.
K.P.AC.1.d
Describe how a text is laid out and ordered and explain how its format, patterns and features help readers follow it, like labels on a picture.
Writing like a Reader
K.P.AC.2.a
Weave story, information and opinion parts into their own texts to reach readers and meet a goal, like a picture story that also shares a fact about frogs.
K.P.AC.2.b
Choose words and phrases on purpose to shape how readers feel, think or act, like writing yummy on a sign for a class bake sale.
K.P.AC.2.c
Decide how to build their sentences to suit and sway readers and meet a goal, like repeating a short sentence to make a story fun to read aloud.
K.P.AC.2.d
Arrange their texts with formats, patterns and features that help readers follow along and serve the goal, like numbering the steps in a how-to drawing.
Text Design
K.P.AC.3.a
Explore and make texts in different forms and genres and learn how their features change meaning, mood, style, purpose and audience, like a song versus a picture book.
K.P.AC.3.b
Use what they know about forms and genres to decide what ideas and facts belong in a text, like a fact book about whales needing real facts, not pretend ones.
K.P.AC.3.c
Use what they know about forms and genres to decide how ideas are ordered and laid out, like a story running from beginning to middle to end.
K.P.AC.3.d
Read, watch and make texts that mix words, pictures and sound to reach readers and meet a goal, like a recorded picture story told in their own voice.

Collaboration & Presentation

9 standards
Collaboration
K.P.CP.1.a
Come ready to group talks and shared work so they can take an active part, like bringing their drawing to the carpet for sharing time.
K.P.CP.1.b
Work with classmates to agree on group rules, goals and steps and keep a shared project moving, like taking turns while building a class book.
K.P.CP.1.c
Add to talks and group projects by sharing ideas, listening to what others say and giving helpful comments, like telling a partner a favorite part of their picture.
K.P.CP.1.d
Team up with others to talk about topics, look into questions, solve problems and read or make texts together, like finding out with a partner what plants need.
Presentation
K.P.CP.2.a
Speak and share clearly when presenting ideas, facts or their own work, like telling the class about a drawing in a strong voice.
K.P.CP.2.b
Pick and combine the forms that best fit the reason and the listeners when presenting, like holding up a picture while describing a weekend trip.
K.P.CP.2.c
Change their voice, speed and gestures to suit the reason and the listeners, like speaking softly and slowly during a calm part of a story.
K.P.CP.2.d
Talk with listeners after presenting by asking them questions and answering theirs, like taking questions about a show-and-tell item.
K.P.CP.2.e
Learn and recite all or part of well-known poems and speeches suited to kindergarten, like a classic nursery rhyme, to build background knowledge.

Grammar Conventions

16 standards
Grammar, Usage, & Mechanics
K.L.GC.1.1
Learn and master speaking in full thoughts that pair a naming word with an action word, like my dog barks.
K.L.GC.1.2
Learn and master saying one or more than one of something correctly when talking, like one cat and two cats.
K.L.GC.1.3
Learn and master asking spoken questions with question words like who, what, where, when and why.
K.L.GC.1.4
Learn and master writing a capital letter at the start of each sentence and for the word I wherever it appears.
K.L.GC.1.5
Begin making regular plurals by adding -s or -es, like cat to cats and box to boxes.
K.L.GC.1.6
Start adding -ing, -ed or -s to verbs and using the new forms, like jump becoming jumping, jumped and jumps.
K.L.GC.1.7
Begin using action words that show what someone does, like run, hop and paint.
K.L.GC.1.8
Begin using describing words for things and for actions, like a big red ball or running fast.
K.L.GC.1.9
Begin using both general naming words and the names of particular people or places, like girl and Maya or city and Atlanta.
K.L.GC.1.10
Begin forming and using verbs for the past, present and future, like walked, walk and will walk.
K.L.GC.1.11
Begin using the little pointing words that come before nouns, like a, an and the, my and your, and this or that.
K.L.GC.1.12
Begin writing the names of particular people, places and things with a capital letter, like Sam, Georgia and Monday.
K.L.GC.1.13
Begin ending each written sentence with the mark that fits it, whether a period, an exclamation mark or a question mark.
Syntax
K.L.GC.2.a
Understand that a complete sentence needs both who or what it is about and what that one does or is, like the frog jumps.
K.L.GC.2.b
With an adult's help, write simple sentences that each tell a whole thought, like I see a bug.
K.L.GC.2.c
With an adult's help, match verbs to one or more than one subject, like the dog runs but the dogs run.

Vocabulary

5 standards
General, Academic, & Specialized Vocabulary
K.L.V.1.a
Learn everyday, school and subject words and phrases from kindergarten books and lessons, like the weather words sunny and cloudy.
K.L.V.1.b
Use everyday, school and subject words from kindergarten when talking and writing in different places, like naming shapes in math or seasons in science.
Meaning & Purpose
K.L.V.3.a
With an adult's help, work out what new words mean and which meaning fits a word with more than one, like a bat that flies or one used in baseball.
K.L.V.3.b
Sort everyday words into simple groups by how they are alike or different, like colors, foods and animals.
K.L.V.3.e
Use the words they have learned and how words connect to pick the right word when speaking and writing, like choosing huge instead of big.

Context

4 standards
Purpose & Audience
K.T.C.1.a
Tell whether a text is meant to tell a story, give information or share an opinion, and who it was written for, across many kinds of texts.
K.T.C.1.b
With an adult's help, name different ways a message can be shared, like a printed book, a screen, a recording or a picture.
K.T.C.1.c
With an adult's help, make texts in different forms, like a drawing, a short recording, a printed page or something made on a tablet.
Authors & Speakers
K.T.C.2.a
Name the author and illustrator of a picture book and explain that one writes the words and the other makes the pictures.

Structure & Style

5 standards
Organization
K.T.SS.1.a
Use clues like the title, headings, photos and drawings to tell whether a book is made up or true.
K.T.SS.1.b
With an adult's help, add a title, pictures or labels to their own work so it is clearer and easier to follow.
K.T.SS.1.c
With an adult's help, tell events and actions again in the order they happened, like the steps of getting ready for school.
Craft
K.T.SS.2.a
Find lively or describing words in a text that show feelings or how things look, sound, smell, taste or feel, like grumpy or crunchy.
K.T.SS.2.b
With an adult's help, use lively describing words to make their own writing fun to read, like a fluffy, sleepy cat.

Techniques

11 standards
Narrative Techniques
K.T.T.1.a
Name the building blocks a story is made from, including who is in it, where it happens and the main things that happen.
K.T.T.1.c
With an adult's help, show they understand a story's lesson from what the main characters say and do, like sharing makes friends happy.
K.T.T.1.d
With an adult's help, tell how characters and their experiences are alike and different in stories from many cultures, like folktales about clever animals.
K.T.T.1.e
Draw, label, write and tell an adult a story with characters, a setting and events, putting the events in the order they happened.
Expository Techniques
K.T.T.2.a
Identify how informational texts are put together, including naming the main topic, like a book that is all about sharks.
K.T.T.2.b
With an adult's help, tell how two people, events, ideas or facts in a text go together, like rain making puddles.
K.T.T.2.d
Draw, label, write and tell an adult an informational piece that names a topic and gives facts about it, like what dogs need.
Opinion Techniques
K.T.T.3.a
Explain how a fact, which can be checked, differs from an opinion, which tells what someone thinks, like dogs have four legs versus dogs are the best pet.
K.T.T.3.c
Draw, label, write and tell an adult what they think about a topic, like which recess game is the most fun.
Poetic Techniques
K.T.T.4.a
Notice the tools poets use to build poems, including rhyming words, like hill and Jill in a nursery rhyme.
K.T.T.4.b
With an adult's help, make up short poems using poets' tools like repeated words or sound words, with or without rhyme.

Research & Analysis

5 standards
Research & Inquiry
K.T.RA.1.a
With an adult's help, ask questions to research about a topic they are curious about, like how bees make honey.
K.T.RA.1.b
With an adult's help, research a class topic together, collecting facts from given books, websites or people and sorting them on a chart or other organizer.
K.T.RA.1.c
With an adult's help, share true facts that fit the topic in different ways, like a drawing, a short talk or a class poster.
Curating Sources & Evidence
K.T.RA.2.a
With an adult's help, point to a page, picture or sentence in a text to back up an idea, answer or opinion.
K.T.RA.2.b
With an adult's help, look for information in different places, like books, websites, videos or a family member they ask.

The official Georgia documents

The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Georgia's standards, not the official wording, which Georgia Department of Education publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.