Kindergarten
KINDERGARTEN
The grade level designations in the K-2 Minnesota Academic Standards are strongly recommended.
However, school districts may place the K-2 standards at grade levels that accommodate their particular
curriculum, provided that all standards have been mastered by the end of grade 2.
I.
READING AND LITERATURE
The student will listen to and begin to read and understand grade-appropriate English language text.
A. Word Recognition, Analysis and Fluency
Standard: The student will understand and apply knowledge of the sounds of the English language
(phonemic awareness) and of the sound-symbol relationship (phonics).
1. The student will demonstrate phonological/phonemic awareness.
a. Identify, produce, and say rhyming words in response to an oral prompt.
b. Be able to recognize, identify, and produce alliterative words.
c. Be able to recognize the first and last sound of a spoken word.
d. Be able to blend first and last sounds of a word (onsets and rhymes).
e. Be able to segment sentences, syllables, and phonemes.
f. Be able to blend syllables and phonemes.
g. Be able to discriminate between words.
h. Be able to use visual symbols to generate sounds for short vowels and consonants.
2. The student will demonstrate phonics/decoding skills.
a. Be able to name upper and lower case letters in alphabetical and random order.
b. Match consonant and short vowel sounds to appropriate letters and say the common sounds of
most letters.
c. Begin to read and write consonant-vowel-consonant words. (developing)
d. Begin to read phonograms (~at, ug, ig, it, and, ot, et, and ut). (developing)
e. Begin to read initial consonants and blend with phonograms. (developing)
3. The student will know high frequency words.
a. Be able to read high frequency words “my, said, the, I, have, go, a, in, put, it, did, like, and, we,
not, get, can, you, & but”.
B. Vocabulary Expansion
Standard: The student will use a variety of strategies to develop and expand reading, listening and
speaking vocabularies.
1. The student will begin to learn new words through explicit instruction. (developing)
2. The student will begin to use words to describe and name people, places, and things. (developing)
3. The student will begin to use words to describe location, size, color, shape, and direction.
(developing)
4. The student will begin to use words to describe actions. (developing)
C. Comprehension
Standard: The student will listen to and understand the meaning of text.
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The student will make predictions from illustrations and story content.
The student will relate texts to prior knowledge and experiences.
The student will be able to tell a story or an idea in sequence by drawing.
The student will be able to recognize a 3-part sequence and arrange pictures in order to create a
story.
5. The student will be able to categorize and classify.
6. The student will be able to differentiate between fantasy and realism.
7. The student will begin to demonstrate literal comprehension by asking and answering questions
about narrative and informational text. (developing)
8. The student will begin to use context to predict and infer word meanings. (developing)
9. The student will begin to note details. (developing)
10. The student will begin to make inferences (draw conclusions). (developing)
11. The student will begin to identify cause and effect. (developing)
12. The student will begin to compare and contrast. (developing)
13. The student will begin to identify topic and main idea. (developing)
14. The student will begin to identify characters, plot, and setting within the story structure.
(developing)
D. Literature
Standard: The student will read or listen to a variety of texts.
1. The student will identify story structure (beginning, middle, and end).
2. The student will begin to listen to and understand the meaning of texts representing a variety of
genres (such as poetry, folk tales, drama, fantasy, realistic fiction, informational and biographical
texts) from America, as well as from other countries. (developing)
3. The student will begin to listen to and look at literature for personal enjoyment. (developing)
II.
WRITING
The student will write clearly and coherently to effectively communicate for a variety of audiences and
purposes.
A. Spelling, Grammar and Usage
Standard: The student will begin to recognize correct spelling and punctuation.
1. The student will be able to use developmentally appropriate spelling to write a sentence.
2. The student will use a period after sentences when prompted.
B. Handwriting
Standard: The student will form letters and numbers.
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The student will be able to print from left to right and from top to bottom.
The student will be able to print upper case letters.
The student will be able to print lower case letters.
The student will be able to write numbers 0 to 9.
The student will be able to print his/her first name clearly using correct letter formation.
6. The student will begin to use headline, baseline, and midline when writing. (developing)
7. The student will begin to print last name. (developing)
III.
SPEAKING, LISTENING AND VIEWING
The student will speak clearly and effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences and actively listen to,
view and evaluate oral communication and media.
A. Speaking and Listening
1. Listening
a. The student will be able to look at the speaker.
b. The student will be able to be quiet when someone is speaking.
c. The student will be able to sit quietly without distracting others and show the speaker you are
listening.
d. The student will be able to avoid interrupting.
e. The student will follow two step directions.
f. The student will begin to attend to and understand the meaning of messages. (developing)
2. Speaking
a. The student will be able to dictate a language experience story.
b. The student will be able to tell what his/her drawings are about.
c. The student will be able to share ideas and feelings.
d. The student will be able to answer and ask questions in complete sentences when prompted.
e. The student will be able to tell ideas in sequence.
f. The student will be able to speak loud enough to be heard but not too loud.
g. The student will be able to wait their turn to talk, not distract others, and look at others when
they talk.
h. The student will recite and respond to poems, rhymes and songs.
i. The student will respond orally to language patterns in stories and poems.
B. Viewing (concepts of Print)
Standard: The student will become familiar with the structure of printed material.
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The student will be able to identify a letter as a letter, word as a word, and a sentence as a sentence.
The student will know to read from left to right, top to bottom, and from front to back.
The student will be able to match spoken words to print.
The student will be able to identify first and last letter of written words.
The student will be able to recognize two words that are alike.
The student will be able to identify beginning and end of a sentence.
The student will be able to scan text for high-frequency words.
The student will be able to scan for words with familiar beginning consonant sound.
9. The student will begin to find words with a familiar last letter. (developing)