English Language Arts-Kindergarten

Catholic Standards for Writing

Writing Standards

Catholic Standards for Language

Language Standards

Catholic Standards for Speaking and Listening

Speaking and Listening Standards

Create written works that glorify the Creator, reflect the heart of the Redeemer and are inspired by the Spirit. 

Share well-crafted works, especially those with elements of unity, harmony, and radiance of form. CSDS4

Write in ways to order our thoughts, align them with truth, and accurately express knowledge and feelings. CSWS2 

Text Types and Purposes 

Production and Distribution of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Exhibit an understanding that words are important to the Word.

Use language as a bridge for communication for the betterment of all involved. CSWS1 

Use language to order our thoughts and to accurately express knowledge and feelings. CSWS2 

Conventions of Standard English

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Listen attentively and display appropriate reverence during prayer time and in Church. 

Use language as a bridge for communication for the betterment of all involved. CSWS1

Share beautifully told and well-crafted works, especially those with elements of unity, harmony, and radiance of form. CSDS4

Delight and wonder at listening to creative, sound, and healthy stories, and poems and plays. CSDS7 

Share the beauty and cadence of poetry. CSDS9 

Comprehension and Collaboration

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is . . .)

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic, (e.g., compose a sentence reflecting Catholic teachings/values, create a language experience story based on Catholic teachings/values). 

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened. 

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

With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of traditional and digital tools to produce and publish writing; including collaboration with peers (e.g., create a class book on a variety of topics including those related to Catholic beliefs and values). 

Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them).

With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content

With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts.

Participate in collaborative conversations with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.

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

Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail. 

CSIS5: Recite prayers and poems of substance that encourage all to strive for virtue and goodness.

Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly. 

Print many uppercase and lowercase letters. 

Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs.

Form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes).

Understand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how).

Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with)

Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.

Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I. 

Recognize and name end punctuation.

Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).

Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships. 

Identify new meanings for familiar words and apply them accurately (e.g., knowing duck is a bird and learning the verb to duck).

Use the most frequently occurring inflections and affixes (e.g., -ed, -s, re-, un-, pre-, -ful, -less) as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word. 

Sort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent. 

Demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their opposites (antonyms).

Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., note places at school that are colorful).

Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs describing the same general action (e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) by acting out the meanings. 

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with kindness and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion).

Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges that is respectful.