What does a student learn in StateTexas,GradeKindergarten,SubjectEnglish Language Arts?

Listening carefully and joining conversations helps students build the language skills they need for reading and writing. Students practice following along, responding to others, and putting thoughts into words.

Students listen to spoken words and play with their sounds: blending separate sounds into a word, breaking a word apart into its sounds, and swapping sounds to make new words.

Students figure out what unfamiliar words mean by using clues from nearby sentences, pieces of the word itself, or a reference like a picture dictionary.

Students learn to move their eyes and finger across the page from left to right while practicing how to write clear, readable letters and words.

Students learn to think about why they're reading before they start. A teacher might assign a book to learn something new, or a student might pick one just for fun. Knowing the reason helps students pay attention to what matters.

Before, during, and after reading a story or book, students ask their own questions about what they hear or read. Asking questions helps them understand what is happening and remember what they learned.

Students guess what will happen next in a story, then check whether they were right. They use clues from the words and pictures to make their guess and update it as they read.

Reading a story, students connect what happens to something in their own life or to another book they know. This habit helps them understand what they read.

Reading a story out loud isn't enough. Students learn to use clues from the text to figure out things the author didn't say directly, then point to the words that led them there.

Students retell a story or short passage in their own words, keeping the main idea and the order of events intact.

Students listen to two or more stories or books on the same topic, then put ideas from both together to say something new. This is the start of thinking across texts.

When a story stops making sense, students learn to stop and fix it. They might reread a sentence, think about what they already know, or ask a question to get back on track.

Students talk or write about how a story or book connects to something in their own life, like a pet, a family member, or something that happened to them.

Students write sentences to show what they understood from a book or story. At this level, they start noticing simple ways two books are alike or different.

Students find a detail or picture from a book to back up what they say or write about it. The evidence comes straight from the page, not from imagination.

Students listen to a story or short passage, then retell what happened in their own words without changing what it meant. The goal is to capture the main idea, not just recall random details.

Students practice staying active with a text by jotting words, drawing pictures, or writing quick thoughts while reading. It builds the habit of responding to what they read instead of just moving on.

Stories have characters, a setting where the action happens, and a problem to solve. Students learn to spot these pieces in books they read or hear.

Kindergartners learn to recognize what makes a story a story and what makes a list a list. They notice that books look and work differently depending on the kind of writing inside.

Students learn to tell the difference between books that teach facts, books that try to change your mind, and books that tell a story. They notice what makes each type look and sound different.

Students look at a book and figure out why the author wrote it and who it was written for. They notice how the author's word choices and pictures shape what readers think and feel.

Books use more than words. Students learn how pictures, labels, and text size help an author show meaning or guide a reader's eye to what matters.

Students notice how an author picks specific words to create a feeling or paint a picture. They begin to see that some words feel happy, scary, or exciting, and that those choices shape what a story is like to read.

Stories use tools like rhyme, repeated words, or surprise to pull readers in. Students learn to notice those tools and see how they change the way a story feels.

Students practice writing short pieces more than once, building habits like spacing words, forming letters clearly, and fixing mistakes as they go.

Students pick what kind of writing fits their topic before they start. A story about a pet looks different from a list of pet facts, and students begin to see why.

Students practice turning a first attempt at writing into something clearer and more complete. That might mean adding a detail, fixing a sentence, or putting ideas in an order that makes sense.

Students look back at something they wrote and make it better by changing words, adding details, or moving sentences around so the writing is clearer.

Students fix their own writing by checking capital letters at the start of sentences, end punctuation, and basic spelling. This is early editing practice, not a full grammar overhaul.

Students share their finished writing with others, like classmates or family. This might mean reading a piece aloud, displaying it on a wall, or putting it in a class book.

Students write simple stories about their own life or short poems, using the basic building blocks of each type of writing.

Students write simple facts about a real topic, like an animal or a place. They learn how informational writing looks different from a story and practice choosing details that help a reader learn something new.

Students pick a side on a simple topic and write sentences to explain why they think that way. The writing gives a reason to back up the opinion.

Students write simple letters or notes to a real person, like a friend or family member, using words that fit who will read them.

Students ask questions about a topic they want to learn more about, then work to figure out what those questions mean and how to find answers.

With a teacher's help, students come up with a question they want to answer, make a simple plan for finding information, and collect books or other sources that help answer it.

Students pick books, pictures, or other sources that help answer a question they are exploring. They practice finding information that actually fits the topic, not just anything nearby.

Students learn that some sources come straight from the person who saw or did something (like a diary or photo) while others explain or summarize what happened (like a book about history). They start to notice which sources seem trustworthy.

Students put together ideas from books or conversations to answer a question, then say or show where the information came from.