ELA Grade 1 I Can Statements Draft - ND Curriculum Initiative

ELA Grade 1 I Can Statements 

North Dakota First Grade Common Core …The Next Generation 

Strand: Reading Literature 

Cluster: Key Ideas and Details 

Topic: Ask and Answer Questions 

(F) 

Standard: RL.1.1 

Ask and answer questions about key 

details in a text. 

I Can: 

• Ask at least one question about 

the story 

• Answer all who, what, when or 

where questions about the story 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• Students ask at least one 

question and answer all of the 

following: who, what, when and 

where about key details in the 

text. 

Vocabulary: 

Draft – NDCT October 2011 1


North Dakota Grade 1 Common Core …The Next Generation 



Topic: Retell stories 


Retell stories, including key details, 

and demonstrate understanding of 

their central message or lesson. 

Vocabulary: 


• Tell what the story is about and 

tell important parts 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• Choose a story such as The 

Three Little Pigs. In a container 

have retelling props like a 

piece of straw, a piece of 

wood, and a brick. Children will 

retell the story using the props. 

After discussing the key 

details, the children will tell the 

lesson. 






Topic: Story Elements 


Describe characters, settings, and 

major events in a story, using key 

details 

Vocabulary: 


• Tell who was in the story, where it 

happened, when it happened and 

what happened 

Notes: 

• Comprehension strategies 

supported in this standard 

include monitoring 

understanding. 

Tasks: 

• Tell the students that fables 

are stories that teach us a 

lesson. The characters in the 

story are usually animals and 

have one main characteristic. 

Read the familiar fable, “The 

Tortoise and the Hare.” Ask 

students what they can tell you 

about the tortoise. (He’s slow, 

but steady.) What can they tell 

about the hare? (He’s fast, but 

undependable.) Create a chart 

with cells for the title, 

characters (with one 

characteristic each), setting, 

key events (i.e., from the 

beginning, middle, and end), 

and the lesson learned (i.e., 

the moral of the story). As you 

read each fable in this unit, 

continue to fill in the chart. 



Give students more and more 

responsibility for filling in the 

characters, setting, and key 

events of a fable. Assess 

understanding at the end of the 

unit by reading a fable and 

then have each child write or 

dictate the entries on his or her 

own chart. 

Source commoncore.org 





Cluster: Craft and Structure 

Topic: Word Meaning within Text 


Identify words and phrases in stories 

or poems that suggest feelings or 

appeal to the senses. 

Vocabulary: 


• Tell how words make me feel 

Notes: 



include making inferences. 

Tasks: 

• Read The Wizard of Oz by L. 

Frank Baum (see Common 

Core Appendix B for Chapter 

One text) aloud to the class. 

As students meet each 

character in the text, guide 

them to think about the 

character’s feelings and how 

the author shows us how the 

character feels. Discuss how 

the author helps us use our 

senses to see, smell, feel, 

hear, and even taste while we 

are reading a book. As you 

read aloud, model the way you 

are drawn to use your senses. 

For example, in the second 

paragraph of chapter one, the 

author describes Kansas so 

that you can “see” the 

countryside clearly. Then he 

goes on to describe Aunt Em, 



Uncle Henry, Toto, and 

Dorothy, with a focus on their 

feelings. 

Source: ADE/ELA Committee 






Topic: Text Structure 


Explain major differences between 

books that tell stories and books that 

give information, drawing on a wide 

reading of a range of text types. 

Vocabulary: 


• Tell which books are stories and 

which tell true things 

Notes: 



include making connections. 

Tasks: 

• Teacher reads a fiction story 

and an expository book (The 

Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric 

Carle, and Chameleons in the 

Garden by Mary Lovein. One 

tells a story and the other gives 

information. Students identify 

the clues that support the 

differences between fiction and 

nonfiction (e.g., bears wearing 

clothes, people don’t fly like 

birds). 

• Throughout this unit, students 

are reading from a variety of 

texts: stories, poems, and 

informational texts. When you 

have a ten-minute block, play 

“I Spy” with the children 

(e.g., “I spy an informational 

book,” “I spy a non-fiction 

book”). The students then have 

to guess which book you are 

looking at in the display of unit 



books. 







Topic: Point of View 


Identify who is telling the story at 

various points in a text. 

Vocabulary: 


• Tell who is talking to tell the story 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• Students become familiar with 

the concept of narrator and the 

use of dialogue. Teacher 

models changing a passage 

from narrative to dialogue: 

Narrative: She went to town. 

Dialogue: “I’m going to town.” 

• When reading aloud to 

students, model using different 

voices to help students identify 

who is speaking throughout the 

story. 

• As students read 

independently, remind them 

that different characters often 

tell the story at different times 

in a book. Using a book such 

as Mouse Tales by Arnold 

Lobel, allow the students to reread 

parts of the text where the 

weasel speaks, where the 

mouse speaks, and where the 

narrator tells the story. Provide 

a bowl of raw elbow macaroni 

at each table. Ask students to 



use the macaroni to cover the 

quotation marks in the book, 

reminding them that it means 

someone is speaking. 

Assigning the parts to three 

readers will show others how 

dialogue works in literature. 






Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 

Topic: Visuals and Text 


Use illustrations and details in a 

story to describe its characters, 

settings, or events. 

Vocabulary: 


• Tell about the story using pictures 

and words 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• After reading a selection, 

complete a story map with 

characters, settings, and 

events while discussing how 

pictures and details clarified 

the story map. 






Topic: Not applicable to literature 


Not applicable to Literature 


Notes: 

Vocabulary: 

Tasks: 






Topic: Compare and Contrast 


Compare and contrast the 

adventures and experiences of 

characters in stories. 

Vocabulary: 


• Tell how stories are the same and 

different 

Notes: 

• Comprehension strategy 


include: making text-to-text 

connections and monitoring 


Tasks: 

• After reading or hearing two 

selections children prepare a 

Venn diagram (with support) or 

orally state similarities and 

differences. 

• Tell the students that the 

Indian fable, “The Blind Men 

and the Elephant” is the 

original telling of a fable more 

commonly known as “Seven 

Blind Mice.” Read the original 

story by Karen Backstein first, 

and then read Ed Young’s 

“Seven Blind Mice.” (Read 

aloud to students, or they may 

read on their own if they are 

able.) As the two fables are 

added to the story chart, ask 

the students to explain how 



these two stories are the same 

and how they are different. 






Cluster: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity 

Topic: Text Complexity 


With prompting and support, read 

prose and poetry of appropriate 

complexity for grade 1. 

Vocabulary: 


• Read and listen to prose and 

poems 

Notes: 

• Prose is a type of literature 

without a formal pattern of 

verse or meter (not poetry). 

Poetry may include structure, 

meter and rhyme. 

Tasks 

• Expose children to prose and 

poetry, such as poetry written 

by Dennis Lee, Douglas 

Florian, and/or Shel Silverstein 

or prose written by Frank 

Ashe, Arnold Lobel, Mo 

Williams, Ted Arnold, and/or 

Elsie Holmelund Minarik. 




Strand: Reading Standards for Informational Texts 


Topic: Ask and Answer 

Questions 

Standard: RI.1.1 

Ask and answer 

questions about key 

details in a text. 

Vocabulary: 


• Ask questions about 

details in a text 

• Answer questions 

about details in a text 

Notes: 

• Comprehension strategies supported in this standard include 

asking questions. 

Tasks: 

• Teachers model asking questions (who, what, where, when, why, 

and how) to elicit student responses to informational text. 

Who? What? Where? Why? When? How? 

Source: commoncore.org 






Topic: Main Topics and Key Details 


Identify the main topic and retell key 

details of a text. 

Vocabulary: 


• Tell important details Notes: 



include synthesizing 

information. 

Tasks: 

• Tell the students that just 

because books are called 

“ABC books” it does not mean 

they are always easy to 

understand. Therefore, to 

understand them, we have to 

be willing to ask questions and 

to think deeply. Tell the 

students that they are going to 

look at The Graphic Alphabet 

by David Pelletier. On each 

page there is a letter, but 

there is more going on than 

just that letter. Look at “A.” 

Have the students ask 

questions about the page and 

try to answer them (e.g., “Why 

is the letter “A” crumbling? 

Could the letter be a 

mountain? Is that an 



‘avalanche’?”). There will be 

new vocabulary introduced, 

but as you go through the 

book and throughout the unit, 

students will have an 

opportunity to learn those 

words. 







Topic: Connections and 

Relationships in 

Informational Text 


Describe the connection 

between two individuals, 

events, ideas, or pieces 

of information in a text. 

Vocabulary: 


• Tell how things go 

together 

Notes: 

• Comprehension strategies supported in this standard include 

making connections 

Tasks: 

• Teachers provide graphic organizers (e.g., flowchart, timeline 

for events, webs-forming relationships from main ideas to 

others, main idea and supporting details). 

• Students highlight key details written on the graphic organizer. 

• Students restate the topic and support key details using the 

information from their graphic organizer. 

• Students read a section from a social studies or science 

informational text and identify the main topic and retell key 

details of the text. 

Main Topic 

Detail Detail Detail 

Conclusion 







Topic: Questioning and Clarifying 


Ask and answer questions to help 

determine or clarify the meaning of 

words and phrases in a text. 

Vocabulary: 


• Learn the meaning of words I do 

not know 

Notes: 



include asking questions. 

Tasks: 

• Teachers model (think-aloud) 

how to identify and determine 

meanings of unknown words 

during shared reading of 

informational text. 

• Look at the illustration or 

graph. 

• Use background knowledge 

regarding the subject. 

• Look at the sentence before 

and after to help build 

meaning. 

• Use morphology, affixes, 

Greek & Latin roots to help 

arrive at meaning. 

Students keep word journals or 

records for easy reference 






Topic: Text Features 


Know and use various text features 

(e.g. headings, table of contents, 

glossaries, electronic menus, icons) 

to locate key facts or information in a 

text. 

Vocabulary: 


• Use the parts of a book to find 

information 

Notes: 



include determining 

importance. 

Tasks: 

• Give the students this prompt: 

“Write about your favorite 

animal. Be sure to include 

interesting facts about your 

animal and end with a solid 

closing. Allow your students to 

begin by working in teams to 

gather information. Using nonfictional 

texts, remind them to 

use the index or table of 

contents to locate more 

information about the animal. 

When they have some basic 

information, have them write 

the first draft. Ensure that 

adults are available to help 

with revision of the writing. 







Topic: Pictures and Words for 

Understanding 


Distinguish between information 

provided by pictures of other 

illustrations and information provided 

by the words in a text. 

Vocabulary: 


• Understand what is read 

because the pictures and words 

help me 

Notes: 



include making connections 

and monitoring understanding. 

Tasks: 

• Use pictures and illustrations 

the author provided to clarify 

the information. (e.g., Why did 

the author put this graph in the 

text? What does the graph 

show us? How does this 

picture help you know what 

the author wanted you to 

understand?) 






Topic: Key Ideas and Details 


Use the illustrations and details in a 

text to describe its key ideas. 

Vocabulary: 


• Use the pictures and words to 

help understand ideas 

Notes: 




importance. 

Tasks: 

• Tell the students that just 

because books are called 

“ABC books” it does not mean 

they are always easy to 

understand. Therefore, to 

understand them, we have to 

be willing to ask questions and 

to think deeply. Tell the 

students that they are going to 

look at The Graphic Alphabet 

by David Pelletier On each 

page, there is a letter, but 

there is something more going 

on than just that letter. Look at 

“A.” Have the students ask 

questions about the page and 

try to answer them (e.g., “Why 

is the letter “A” crumbling? 

Could the letter be a 

mountain? Is that an 

‘avalanche’?”). There will be 



new vocabulary introduced, 

but as you go through the 

book and throughout the unit, 

students will have an 

opportunity to learn those 

words. 







Topic: Supporting Details 


Identify the reasons an author gives 

to support points in a text. 

Vocabulary: 


• Tell some important things the 

author wanted me to learn 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• The emphasis in this standard 

is how text is created with 

specific points or main ideas 

and it is supported by details 

or reasons. “Points in text” 

refers to main ideas and 

supporting details. 

• Teachers state main idea and 

ask students for supporting 

details. 






Topic: Similarities and Differences 


Identify basic similarities in and 

differences between two texts on the 

same topic (e.g. in illustrations, 

descriptions, or procedures). 

Vocabulary: 


• Tell how two texts are the same 

or different 

Notes: 



include making text-to-text 

connections and determining 

importance. 

Tasks: 

• Read about animals of the 

Arctic and about animals of 

the Antarctic. Then, using a t- 

chart that contains the most 

important points, key details, 

similarities, and differences, 

compare the two informational 

texts. 





Cluster: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity 

Topic: Text Complexity 


With prompting and support, read 

informational texts appropriately 

complex for grade 1. 

Vocabulary: 


• Read true stories with help 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• Students will read 

informational texts (example 

biography of Abraham Lincoln) 

with support from their 

teacher. 




Strand: Foundational Skills 

Cluster: Print Concepts 

Topic: Concepts about print 

Standard: RF.1.1 

Demonstrate understanding of the 

organization and basic features of 

print. 

a) Recognize the distinguishing 

features of a sentence (e.g., 

first word, capitalization, 

ending punctuation). 

Vocabulary: 


• Write a sentence that starts with 

a capital and ends with a mark 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• Teachers provide sentences 

with convention errors (e.g., 

capitals, punctuation) that have 

been explicitly taught. Students 

will identify and correct errors. 

• Students highlight basic 

feature of print in a passage 

(e.g., first word, capitalization, 

ending punctuation). 


• Use questions and prompts 

such as: 

a) Show me the first word of 

the sentence. 

b) Where does the period 

(question mark, etc) go? 

c) Show me the capital letter. 

d) How does a sentence 

begin? 

e) What goes at the end of a 

sentence? 

Source: NCDE 





Cluster: Phonological Awareness 

Topic: Spoken words, syllables and 

sounds 


Demonstrate understanding of 

spoken words, syllables, and sounds 

(phonemes). 

a) Distinguish long from short 

vowel sounds in spoken 

single-syllable words. 

b) Orally produce single-syllable 

words by blending sounds 

(phonemes), including 

consonant blends. 

c) Isolate and pronounce initial, 

medial vowel, and final 

sounds (phonemes) in spoken 

single-syllable words. 

d) Segment spoken singlesyllable 

words into their 

complete sequence of 

individual sounds 

(phonemes). 

Vocabulary: 


• Hear long and short vowels 

• Blend sounds to make words 

• Know beginning, middle, and 

ending sounds 

Notes: 

Tasks: 


such as: 

a) Does this word have a long 

or short vowel sound? 

b) Say each sound you hear in 

this word slowly. 

c) What do you hear at the 

beginning of this word? 

What do you hear next? At 

the end? 

Source: NCDE 





Cluster: Phonics and Word Recognition 

Topic: Decoding words/Phonics 


Know and apply grade-level phonics 

and word analysis skills in decoding 

words. 

a) Know the spelling-sound 

correspondences for common 

consonant digraphs. 

b) Decode regularly spelled onesyllable 

words. 

c) Know final –e and common 

vowel team conventions for 

representing long vowel 

sounds. 

d) Use knowledge that every 

syllable must have a vowel 

sound to determine the 

number of syllables in a 

printed word. 

e) Decode two-syllable words 

following basic patterns by 

breaking the words into 

syllables. 

f) Read words with inflectional 

endings. 

g) Recognize and read gradeappropriate 

irregularly spelled 

words. 


• Sound out one-syllable words 

• Sound out words that end with 

silent e. 

• Use vowels to sound out syllables 

• Break words into parts 

• Read words with endings 

• Read first grade sight words 

Notes: 

• Common vowel teams include: 

ai, ay, ee, ea, oa. 

Tasks: 


such as: 

a) Does that sound right? 

b) Does that look right? 

c) Does that make sense? 

d) Look at the word, does it 

look like…? 

e) You said…does it look 

like…? What do these two 

letters sound like together 

(sh, th, ch) in this word? 

f) Can you clap the syllables 

in this word? 

g) What does this final e tell 

you about this word? 

h) Look at the beginning of 

that word, can you get it 

started? 

Source: NCDE 



Vocabulary: 





Cluster: Fluency 

Topic: Accuracy, Fluency and 

Comprehension 


Read with sufficient accuracy and 

fluency to support comprehension. 

a) Read on-level text with 

purpose and understanding. 

b) Read on-level text orally with 

accuracy, appropriate rate, 

and expression on successive 

readings. 

Use context to confirm or selfcorrect 

word recognition and 

understanding, rereading as 

necessary. 

Vocabulary: 


• Understand what I read 

• Know the purpose of what I read 

• Read fluently 

• Self-correct when I read 

Notes: 



include monitoring 


Tasks: 

• Model reading orally with 

fluency and accuracy, as well 

as expression and selfcorrecting. 

Also model the 

reading strategies (such as 

visualizing, background 

knowledge, important ideas, 

inferring, monitor and clarify, 

predict and set purpose, 

questioning, story structure, 

summarize, and text structure). 


such as: 

a) Make your reading sound 

like the characters are 

talking. 

b) Make your voice sound like 

the words are together. 

c) Make your voice go up 

when you see the question 

mark at the end. 

d) Make your voice go down 

when you see the period at 



the end. 

e) Go back and reread when it 

doesn’t sound or look like 

you think it should. 

Source: NCDE 




Strand: Writing 

Cluster: Text Types and Purposes 

Topic: Opinions/Arguments 

Standard: W.1.1 

Write opinion pieces in which they 

introduce the topic or name the book 

they are writing about, state an 

opinion, supply a reason for the 

opinion, and provide some sense of 

closure. 

Vocabulary: 


• Write what I think and why I think 

that 

Notes: 




• See Appendix A, pages 24-25 

for more information about 

writing arguments. 

Tasks: 

• Students write a book review 

and write why they liked or did 

not like the book. 

• Students choose the better pet 

between a dog and a cat. They 

write a reason why and end 

with their opinion. 






Topic: Informative/Explanatory 


Write informative/explanatory texts 

in which they name a topic, supply 

some facts about the topic, and 

provide some sense of closure. 

Vocabulary: 


• Choose a real topic and write my 

facts 

Notes: 




Tasks: 

• Students choose a nonfiction 

topic and create one of the 

following: reports, definitions, 

lists, observations, journals, 

procedures, posters, 

pamphlets, news articles, or 

handouts. 






Topic: Narrative 


Write narratives in which they 

recount two or more appropriately 

sequenced events, include some 

details, regarding what happened, 

use temporal words to signal event 

order, and provide some sense of 

closure. 

Vocabulary: 


• Write about events that happened 

first, next, and last 

Notes: 




Tasks: 

• Students choose a nonfiction 

topic and create one of the 

following: reports, definitions, 

lists, observations, journals, 

procedures, posters, or news 

articles. 





Cluster: Production and Distribution of Writing 

Topic: 

Revising Writing 


Begins in 3 rd Grade 


Notes: 

Vocabulary: 

Tasks: 





Cluster: Production and Distribution of Writing 

Topic: 

Revising Writing 


With guidance and support from 

adults, focus on a topic, respond to 

questions and suggestions from 

peers, and add details to strengthen 

writing as needed. 

Vocabulary: 


• Use suggestions to add details to 

make my writing better 

Notes: 




importance. 

Tasks: 

• After completing a rough draft 

on a chosen topic, share with 

teacher and peers to hear 

suggestions for adding details. 

Students will then revise as 

needed to strengthen writing. 






Topic: 

Digital Publishing 



adults, use a variety of digital tools 

to produce and publish writing, 

including in collaboration with peers. 

Vocabulary: 


• Share my writing with technology 

Notes: 




importance. 

Tasks: 

• As a class (or individually), 

create digital stories using 

PowerPoint, the Internet, 

Kidspiration, Kid Pix, etc. 





Cluster: Research to Build and Present Knowledge 

Topic: 

Shared Research and Writing 


Participate in shared research and 

writing projects (e.g., explore a 

number of “how-to” books on a given 

topic and use them to write a 

sequence of instructions). 

Vocabulary: 


• Find facts 

• Write a book with my classmates 

Notes: 




importance. 

Tasks: 

• Read books about forest 

animals or farm animals. Have 

children list some facts and 

choose two or three facts 

about a few animals and write 

a class book. 





Cluster: Research to Build and Present Knowledge 

Topic: 

Use sources to answer questions. 



adults, recall information from 

experiences or gather information 

from provided sources to answer a 

question. 

Vocabulary: 


• Write an answer to a question 

Notes: 



include making connections, 

synthesizing information, and 

determining importance. 

Tasks: 

• With a question in mind, listen 

to or read books on the topics 

and write an answer to 

question such as, “How are 

frogs different from toads?” 




Strand: Speaking and Listening 

Cluster: Comprehension and Collaboration 

Topic: 

Conversation 

Standard:SL.1.1 

Participation in collaborative 

conversations with diverse partners 

about grade 1 topics and texts with 

peers and adults in small and larger 

groups. 

a. Follow agreed-upon rules for 

discussions (e.g., listening to 

others with care, speaking 

one at a time about the 

topics and texts under 

discussion). 

b. Build on others’ talk in 

conversations by responding 

to the comments of others 

through multiple exchanges. 

c. Ask questions to clear up any 

confusion about the topics 

and texts under discussion. 


• Follow rules when I talk with my 

classmates 

• Ask questions about the topic 

• Add my own comments to the 

topic 

Notes: 




Tasks: 

• Using the ABC books as a 

model, generate some ideas 

for writing a class ABC book. 

Work together as a class to 

come up with a big class 

question. Begin by asking 

questions such as, “Is it 

possible to create an ABC 

book with ‘Games to Play’ as 

our title?” Allow the class to 

give some ideas (e.g., names, 

authors, books, plants, and 

insects). After ideas have 

been shaped into a research 

question, allow the children to 

vote on a theme for the class 

ABC book. Once the theme is 



Vocabulary: 

chosen, collect (and research 

using a variety of texts and 

digital resources) ideas for 

each letter of the alphabet. 

Decide on a design for the 

book. Assign each student a 

letter in the book. Each page 

should include an upper and 

lower case letter, the key 

word, an illustration, and a 

sentence using the key word. 

Be sure to have them follow 

rules for spelling and 

punctuating correctly. 







Topic: 

Listening Comprehension 

Standard: SL1.2 

Ask and answer questions about key 

details in a text read aloud or 

information presented orally or 

through other media. 

Vocabulary: 


• Ask and answer questions to 

learn more about something 

Notes: 




importance. 

Tasks: 

• Look at a piece of art, 

photograph, or illustration. 

Have children brainstorm 

questions about the media. 

Record questions on a chart 

and have children think deeply 

to answer questions that were 

generated. Discuss the value 

in asking questions to help 

understand the topic. 






Topic: 

Listen and Respond 

Standard:SL.1.3 

Ask and answer questions about 

what a speaker says in order to 

gather additional information or 

clarify something that is not 

understood. 

Vocabulary: 


• Ask good questions after listening 

to someone speak 

Notes: 




Tasks: 

• Discuss the difference 

between quality questions and 

stories. Then, invite a guest 

speaker into the classroom 

(such as a dental hygienist, 

police, or nurse). Allow 

students to ask quality 

questions. 





Cluster: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas 

Topic: 

Oral Expression 

Standard: SL.1.4 

Describe people, places, things, and 

events with relevant details, 

expressing ideas and feelings 

clearly. 

Vocabulary: 


• Express my ideas and feelings 

clearly 

Notes: 




Tasks: 

• Tell students to stand up and 

walk around. Then, tell them 

to walk like they are going out 

to ice cream having them note 

how their gaits changes. Next, 

tell them they should walk 

after they got in trouble, again, 

note how their gaits change. 

Continue this game as time 

permits with other scenarios. 

When finished, discuss how 

feelings changed using 

descriptive language (i.e. 

excited instead of happy). 

Record responses on chart. 






Topic: 

Multimedia Presentations 


Add drawings or other visual 

displays to descriptions when 

appropriate to clarify ideas, 

thoughts, and feeling. 

Vocabulary: 


• Use pictures or things to help 

people understand me 

Notes: 



include visualizing. 

Tasks: 

• Ask the students to think about 

how all of the Cinderella 

stories are different because 

of the time and place where 

they happen. Challenge the 

students to draw the "trying on 

the slipper" scene as if it were 

happening right now and in the 

place where they live. Scan 

the pictures and create a 

Power Point slide for each 

image. Students 

present their drawings to 

the class explaining their 

adaptation of the “slipper 

scene.” 







Topic: 

Appropriate Oral Communication 


Produce complete sentences when 

appropriate to task and situation. 

(See grade 1 Language standards 1 

and 3 on page 26 for specific 

expectations). 

Vocabulary: 


• Talk in sentences 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• Model incomplete sentences. 

Discuss what is missing in 

those incomplete sentences. 

As a group, recreate the 

incomplete thought into a 

quality sentence. Group 

students and give them 

incomplete sentences to 

transform into quality 

sentences. Discuss examples 

with group. 




Strand: Language 

Cluster: Conventions of Standard English 

Topic: Grammar Usage 

Standard: L.1.1 

Demonstrate command of the 

conventions of standard English 

grammar and usage when writing or 

speaking. 

a) Print all upper- and lowercase 

letters. 

b) Use common, proper, and 

possessive nouns. 

c) Use singular and plural nouns 

with matching verbs in basic 

sentences (e.g., He hops; We 

hop). 

d) Use personal, possessive, and 

indefinite pronouns (e.g., I, me, 

my; they, them, their, anyone, 

everything). 

e) Use verbs to convey a sense 

of past, present, and future 

(e.g., Yesterday I walked 

home; Today I walk home; 

Tomorrow I will walk home). 

f) Use frequently occurring 

adjectives. 

g) Use frequently occurring 

conjunctions (e.g., and, but, or, 


• Print all upper- and lowercase 

letters 

• Know what nouns are 

• Match nouns with action words 

(He hops. We hop.) 

• Use a different word for a noun 

(I, me, my; they, them, their, 

anyone, everything) 

• Use action words for things that 

happened yesterday, today, and 

tomorrow 

• Use describing words 

• Use connecting words 

• Use a, an, and the 

• Use prepositions like over, under, 

and, around 

• Combine sentences 

Notes: 

• Adjectives include size, shape, 

and color words 

Tasks: 

• Using the ABC books as a 

model, generate some ideas 

for writing a class ABC book. 

Work together as a class to 

come up with a big class 

question. Begin by asking 

questions such as, “Is it 

possible to create an ABC 

book with ‘Games to Play’ as 

our title?” Allow the class to 

give some ideas (e.g., names, 

authors, books, plants, 

insects). After ideas have been 

shaped into a research 

question, allow the children to 

vote on a theme for the class 

ABC book. Once the theme is 

chosen, collect (and research 

using a variety of texts and 

digital resources) ideas for 

each letter of the alphabet. 

Decide on a design for the 



so, because). 

h) Use determiners (e.g., articles, 

demonstratives). 

i) Use frequently occurring 

prepositions (e.g., during, 

beyond, toward). 

Produce and expand complete 

simple and compound declarative, 

interrogative, imperative, and 

exclamatory sentences in response 

to prompts. 

book. Assign each student a 

letter in the book. Each page 

should include an upper and 

lower case letter, the key word, 

an illustration, and a sentence 

using the key word. Be sure to 

have them follow rules for 

spelling and punctuating 

correctly. 

Source:commoncore.org 

Vocabulary: 





Cluster: Conventions of Standard English 

Topic: Capitalization, Punctuation 

and Spelling 


Demonstrate command of the 

conventions of standard English 

capitalization, punctuation, and 

spelling when writing. 

a) Capitalize dates and names 

of people. 

b) Use end punctuation for 

sentences. 

c) Use commas in dates and to 

separate single words in a 

series. 

d) Use conventional spelling for 

words with common spelling 

patterns and for frequently 

occurring irregular words. 

e) Spell untaught words 

phonetically, drawing on 

phonemic awareness and 

spelling conventions. 


• Capitalize dates and names 

• Use end punctuation for 

sentences 

• Use commas in dates and lists 

• Spell sight words and word family 

words 

• Use invented spelling 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• To teach the use of a comma 

in a series, list the five senses 

on the white board. Give 

students a “setting” card (e.g., 

zoo, farm, or beach) and have 

them dictate a sentence using 

one of the senses, naming 

three things they are able to 

use one of the senses for, in 

that setting. Explain that when 

we use the word “and” we are 

using a conjunction. For 

example, “At the zoo, I smell 

popcorn, elephants, and cotton 

candy.” Write the dictated 

sentence and then challenge 

them to write their own 

sentences. 

• To introduce the relationship 

between punctuation and 

reading expression, use the 

book Yo! Yes? Show the 



Vocabulary: 

students the cover of the book 

with its very simple title: Yo! 

Yes? Ask how someone would 

say those words? YO! YES? 

As you read the book with the 

students, have the boys read 

one page, and the girls the 

opposite page. As they focus 

on the illustrations and the way 

the author ends each 

sentence, they will know how 

to read the words, and a story 

will be created in their minds. 

Follow this reading with other 

books so that the children 

learn how important it is to 

read with the end punctuation 

in mind. 






Cluster: Knowledge of Language 

Topic: 


(Begins in grade 2) 


Notes: 

Vocabulary: 

Tasks: 





Cluster: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 

Topic: Word Meanings 


Determine or clarify the meaning of 

unknown and multiple-meaning 

words and phrases based on grade 

1 reading and content, choosing 

flexibly from an array of strategies. 

a) Use sentence-level context as 

a clue to the meaning of a 

word or phrase. 

b) Use frequently occurring 

affixes as a clue to the 

meaning of a word. 

c) Identify frequently occurring 

root words (e.g., look) and 

their inflectional forms (e.g., 

looks, looked, looking). 

Vocabulary: 


• Find root words and endings 

• Use word clues to figure out what 

a word means 

• Use the end of words to figure out 

what a word means 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• Read a fictional animal story, 

such as Are You My Mother? 

by Philip D. Eastman. Discuss 

the vocabulary in the story and 

work on retelling. Ask the 

students (if, for example, 

discussing Are You My 

Mother?), “What word was 

funny in the story because of 

the way it was used?” 

(Possible answer: “Snort”) How 

did you know what it meant? 

Divide the students into groups 

of three and have them tell the 

story to each other, taking 

turns as each tells a part. Let 

them know that if they are 

stuck on a part of the story, 

you will come and allow them 

to use the book to solve the 

problem. Encourage the 

students to try to remember as 

many details as they can to tell 

the story because that is what 

makes it interesting. When 



they are finished retelling the 

story, talk about what lesson 

might be learned from the 

story. 

• Choose some verbs that are 

rather bland, such as “to walk.” 

Ask the children to imagine 

that they are in the book The 

Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum 

with Dorothy and that they are 

walking on the yellow brick 

road. Have them imagine that 

they are really happy. How 

would they walk? (Possible 

answers: Skip, run, dance.) 

Allow students to show us how 

that kind of motion would look. 

Then, have them imagine that 

they are feeling sad and 

discouraged. How would they 

walk? (Possible answers: 

trudge, drag) Make a list of all 

the words that could be used 

as a better choice than 

“walk.”This lesson on verbs 

can be extended to cover roots 

and affixes –ed, -s, -ing. 







Topic: Word Relationships and 

Nuances 



adults, demonstrate understanding 

of word relationships and nuances in 

word meanings. 

a) Sort words into categories 

(e.g., colors, clothing) to gain 

a sense of the concepts the 

categories represent. 

b) Define words by category and 

by one or more key attributes 

(e.g., a duck is a bird that 

swims; a tiger is a large cat 

with stripes). 

c) Identify real-life connections 

between words and their use 

(e.g., note places at home 

that are cozy). 

d) Distinguish shades of 

meaning among verbs 

differing in manner (e.g., look, 

peek, glance, stare, glare, 

scowl) and adjectives differing 


• Put words in groups that are the 

same 

• Tell what words mean and add 

details 

• Make connections between 

words 

• Show words that mean moving 

and how they are moving 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• Follow up on a book read 

previously in class, such 

as Are You My Mother? (Philip 

D. Eastman). Go back and 

reread the story. As you read it 

this time, read for the purpose 

of finding all of the animals and 

things that baby bird thought 

might be his mother. As 

students find the words, write 

them on index cards (e.g., 

kitten, hen, dog, cow, boat, 

plane). Sort the words into 

categories (e.g., animals, 

modes of transportation,). 

Think of more words for each 

of the categories. 




in intensity (e.g., large, 

gigantic) by defining or 

choosing them or by acting 

out the meanings. 

Vocabulary: 






Topic: Vocabulary Development 


Use words and phrases acquired 

through conversations, reading and 

being read to, and responding to 

texts, including using frequently 

occurring conjunctions to signal 

simple relationships (e.g., I named 

my hamster Nibblet because she 

nibbles too much because she likes 

that). 

Example comes from National 

Common Core 

Vocabulary: 


• Put two little sentences together 

in one sentence 

Notes: 

Tasks: 

• Teachers model using 

conjunctions by providing two 

sentences and then connecting 

the two sentences with a 

conjunction (but, and, 

because).For example, I want 

to play after school. I have 

soccer practice. Sentence with 

conjunction: I want to play after 

school, but I have soccer 

practice. 

Students then practice 

orally or in writing with a 

partner. 

Source: Arizona 

• Create a word bank after a 

science or social studies unit. 

Students will write about 

completed unit using three 

new words from the word 

bank. Students will illustrate 

the sentences. 

Source material from the following groups was used to inform many of the tasks compiled in this document: 



Arizona Department of Education. (2011). Arizona English language arts standards. Retrieved from 

http://www.ade.az.gov/standards/contentstandards.asp 

Common Core Curriculum Mapping Project. (2011). Common core curriculum maps: English language arts. Retrieved from 

http://www.commoncore.org 

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (2011). Instructional support tools: English language arts, unpacked content. 

Retrieved from http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/acre/standards/common-core-tools/

ELA Grade 1 I Can Statements Draft - ND Curriculum Initiative

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