Literacy by Grade

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Each child's literacy journey happens on their own timeline.  Even so, there are grade level standards and developmental benchmarks that can be used to understand the typical literacy progression of young learners.  

Kindergarten Literacy 

Developmental Benchmarks

• Learning to recognize letters and sounds.
• Developing fine motor skills for writing.
• Understanding simple story structure (beginning, middle, end).
• Listening and attending for short periods.
• Speaking in full sentences and expanding vocabulary.

Literacy Standards

   Reading

• Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences.
•  Understand that print carries meaning and read common high-frequency words (e.g., the, is, my).
• Ask and answer questions about key story details.

   Writing:

•  Use drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion, narrative, and informative texts.
• Print many uppercase and lowercase letters.

   Speaking/Listening:

•  Participate in conversations; follow rules for discussion.
• Describe familiar people, places, things, and 

Grade 1 Literacy

Developmental Benchmarks

• Becoming more confident in decoding and recognizing patterns
• Writing complete sentences with punctuation
• Reading aloud with some fluency.
• Retelling stories with more detail and sequence.
• Expanding vocabulary and use of language.

Literacy Standards

   Reading:

• Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
• Read grade-level texts with purpose and understanding.
• Identify main topic and retell key details of a text
• Recognize spelling-sound correspondences for common vowel teams (e.g., ea, oo).

   Writing:

• Write opinion pieces, informative texts, and narratives with structure.
• Use common spelling patterns and begin editing for clarity.

   Speaking/Listening:

• Ask and answer questions to clarify ideas
• Recount key ideas or details from a text read aloud.

Grade 2 Literacy

Developmental Benchmarks

• Transitioning from learning to read to reading to learn.
• Writing more clearly and with focus.
• Using more sophisticated vocabulary and grammar.
• Building reading fluency and comprehension.
• Understanding literal vs. inferential meanings.

Literacy Standards

   Reading:

• Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
• Ask and answer who, what, when, where, why, and how questions.
• Describe the structure of a story (beginning, middle, end, problem/solution).

   Writing:

• Write well-organized narratives, opinion, and informational texts with support.Use linking words (e.g., because, and, but).

   Speaking/Listening:

• Summarize information from oral presentations.
• Use complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

Grade 3 Literacy

Developmental Benchmarks

• Reading with fluency and greater depth.
• Understanding themes and author's purpose.
• Writing multi-paragraph texts with clear structure.
• Using evidence to support ideas.
• More independent reading and research.

Literacy Standards

   Reading:

• Determine main idea and supporting details.
• Describe characters and explain their actions.
• Compare and contrast texts.
• Understand figurative language and use context clues.

   Writing:

• Write opinion pieces with reasons supported by facts.
• Plan, draft, revise, and edit independently.
• Use cursive writing (in some standards).

   Speaking/Listening:

• Report on a topic with appropriate facts and relevant details.
• Engage in collaborative discussions and express ideas clearly.