Massachusetts Standards
Massachusetts Kindergarten ELA Standards
All 42 Massachusetts English language arts standards for kindergarten, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's document, linked at the end of this page.
42 standards
Reading Standards for Literature
9 standardsRL.K.1
With help, ask and answer questions about the important parts of a story, like who is in it and what happens.
RL.K.2
With help, retell a familiar story, like The Three Little Pigs, keeping the important parts in.
RL.K.3
With help, say who is in a story, where it takes place and the big things that happen in it.
RL.K.4
Ask and answer questions about words they do not know in a story or poem, like asking what a cottage is.
RL.K.5
Recognize common kinds of texts and how they are built, like the parts of a story in a book or the rhyme, rhythm, and repeated lines in a poem.
RL.K.6
With help, explain that the cover or title page tells who made a book, and name its author and illustrator and what each one does to tell the story.
RL.K.7
With help, look at a picture in a storybook and say which moment of the story it shows.
RL.K.9
With help, tell how what happens to the characters in two familiar stories is alike and how it is different.
RL.K.10
Join in when the class reads a story together, listening, answering and following along.
Reading Standards for Informational Text
10 standardsRI.K.1
With help, ask and answer questions about the important parts of a story, like who is in it and what happens.
RI.K.2
With help, say what an informational book is mostly about and retell some of the facts it gives.
RI.K.3
With help, tell how two people, events or facts in an informational book go together, like a seed and the plant it becomes.
RI.K.4
With help, ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words in a nonfiction book, like what a beak or a burrow is.
RI.K.5
Show where the front of a book is, where the back is, and find the page inside that gives the title.
RI.K.6
Name the author and illustrator of a nonfiction book and tell what each one does to share its ideas and facts.
RI.K.7
With help, say which person, place, thing or idea from an informational book a picture or photo shows.
RI.K.8
With help, find the reasons an author gives for a point, like why a book says dogs make good pets.
RI.K.9
With help, find simple ways two texts on the same topic are alike and different, like in their pictures, descriptions, or steps.
RI.K.10
Join in when the class reads a story together, listening, answering and following along.
Reading Standards for Foundational Skills
4 standardsRF.K.1
Follow print left to right and top to bottom, know that letters in order make a word with spaces between words, and name every upper and lowercase letter.
RF.K.2
Hear and make rhymes, clap syllables, say the first, middle and last sounds in a short word like cat, and swap a sound to make a new word, like cat to hat.
RF.K.3
Say the main sound of each consonant, know the long and short sounds of a, e, i, o and u, and read common sight words like the, of and you.
RF.K.4
Read early emergent reader books, like short patterned books with picture support, for a reason and with understanding.
Writing Standards
8 standardsW.K.1
Draw, dictate, and write an opinion piece that names the topic or book and states a preference, such as which book is their favorite.
W.K.2
Draw, dictate, and write to name a topic and share a few facts about it, like what a pet dog needs.
W.K.3
Draw, dictate, and write about one event or a few loosely linked ones in order, react to what happened, and use rhyming words to shape a poem.
W.K.5
With an adult's help, listen to classmates' questions and ideas about a piece of writing and add details to make it better.
W.K.6
With adult help, try out different digital tools to create and share writing, including working with classmates.
W.K.7
Take part in a class project, like reading several books by one author together and sharing opinions about them.
W.K.8
With an adult's help, answer a question by remembering something that happened or by looking in books the teacher provides.
W.K.10
Write or dictate often for many different tasks, reasons, and readers, like a note to a friend or a list for class.
Speaking and Listening Standards
6 standardsSL.K.1
Talk with classmates and adults about kindergarten topics and books, following the rules, taking turns and keeping the conversation going.
SL.K.2
Show understanding of a read-aloud, a talk or a video by asking and answering questions about it and asking when something is confusing.
SL.K.3
Ask a question to get help, find something out or clear up something confusing, and answer questions from others.
SL.K.4
Describe a familiar person, place, thing or event, like a pet or a birthday, and add more detail when prompted.
SL.K.5
Add a drawing or other picture to a description when it helps show more detail.
SL.K.6
Speak loudly enough to be heard and say thoughts, feelings and ideas so that others understand.
Language Standards
5 standardsL.K.1
Use correct grammar by building fuller sentences with common word types, asking questions beyond yes or no, adding s or es for plurals, and using number words to 100.
L.K.2
Capitalize the first word of a sentence and the word I, name the period and question mark, and spell simple words the way they sound, like kat for cat.
L.K.4
Figure out what a new word means, like duck as a bird and duck as a move, and use endings and beginnings like -ed, -s and un- as clues.
L.K.5
With an adult's help, sort objects into groups, pair words with their opposites, link words to real life, and act out the difference between walk, march and strut.
L.K.6
Use new words picked up from talking, kindergarten activities, being read to, and responding to books, like using hibernate after a bear unit.
The official Massachusetts documents
- Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy, Pre-K to 12, 2017 · adopted March 2017 · current for 2026-27
The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Massachusetts's standards, not the official wording, which Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.