Skip to main content
Indiana Standards

Indiana Kindergarten ELA Standards

All 29 Indiana English language arts standards for kindergarten, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Indiana Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.

29 standards

Reading Foundations

9 standards
K.RF.1
Show that reading goes left to right along each line and from the top of the page down, like following the words with a finger during a read-aloud.
K.RF.2
Understand that every written word is built from letters in a set order, like c, a and t spelling cat.
K.RF.3
Recognize and name every capital and small letter of the alphabet, like knowing both B and b on sight.
K.RF.4
Tell when two words rhyme and come up with rhyming words of their own, like cat, hat and bat.
K.RF.5
Say words aloud, break them into syllables and put syllables back together into words, like clapping the two beats in rabbit.
K.RF.6
Hear and say the first, middle and last sounds in words with three or four sounds, like the m, a and p in map.
K.RF.7
Match each consonant letter to its sound when reading, like seeing b and saying the sound at the start of ball.
K.RF.8
Sound out words using letter sounds, including open and closed syllables, digraphs like sh and blends like st, as in go, ship and stop.
K.RF.9
Read simple decodable books aloud, getting the words right and recognizing them quickly instead of stopping to sound out each one.

Reading Comprehension

7 standards
K.RC.1
With help, ask and answer questions about what a text is mostly about and its important details, whether they read it or hear it.
K.RC.2
With help, retell well-known stories, poems and nursery rhymes with their important details, like what happens to Humpty Dumpty.
K.RC.3
Name the important parts of a story, like who is in it, where it happens and what takes place.
K.RC.4
With help, predict what will happen in a story, like guessing what the hungry bear will do next.
K.RC.5
With help, retell what a book is mostly about and its key details, like that frogs start out as tadpoles in a book about frogs.
K.RC.6
Find the title, author and pictures in a nonfiction book and tell how each one connects to what the book is about.
K.RC.7
Name pictured objects and sort them into groups while talking it through, like by color, by shape, or into opposites such as hot and cold.

Writing

8 standards
K.W.1
Write most capital and small letters, forming each one correctly and leaving the right amount of space between letters in a word.
K.W.2
Write in the right direction, starting each line at the left and working from the top of the page down.
K.W.3
Use drawings and words to share a main idea and some facts about a topic, like a page about what a puppy needs.
K.W.4
Tell about one event or a short story by drawing, writing and dictating to an adult, putting what happened in order.
K.W.5
With help, plan by talking and drawing, make a draft in pictures or words, add details, and use technology to publish the finished piece.
K.W.6
With help, pick out useful sources for learning about a topic, like pictures, charts, simple books, their own experiences or people they can ask.
K.W.7
When speaking or writing, use nouns for one and for more than one, like dog and dogs, include verbs, and know that some sentences tell while others ask.
K.W.8
Capitalize the first word of a sentence and the word I, name end marks like the period and question mark, and spell simple words by their sounds.

Communication and Collaboration

5 standards
K.CC.1
Join in conversations about kindergarten topics and books with classmates and adults, in small groups and with the whole class.
K.CC.2
Ask questions to get help, find out information, or make sense of something confusing, like asking what a new word means.
K.CC.3
Ask and answer questions about the key details of a read-aloud, a talk or a video, like what the main character wanted.
Common Core SL.1.2
K.CC.4
Say poems, rhymes and songs aloud clearly, describe people, places, things and events they know in full sentences, and add more details with help.
K.CC.5
Listen to and follow simple directions with two or three steps, like hang up your coat and then sit on the rug.

The official Indiana documents

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