What does a student learn in StateAlaska,GradeGrade 1,SubjectEnglish Language Arts?

Students read a passage carefully, then point to specific sentences or details from it to back up what they say or write about it.

Students find the main idea of a story or book and explain what details support it. They practice putting the whole thing into their own words.

Students explain how a character's actions or a story's events are connected. They describe why something happened or how one event led to the next.

Students figure out what words mean by how they're used in a sentence or story. They also notice how a writer's word choices change the feel of what they're reading, whether something sounds scary, funny, or kind.

Students notice how a story or article is put together. They look at how one sentence or paragraph connects to the next, and how smaller parts build up to the whole piece.

Students look at who is telling a story or giving information and think about how that shapes what gets included and how it sounds.

Students look at pictures, charts, and words together to understand what a story or book is about. They use what they see in the illustrations to add to what they learn from the text.

Students look at how an author tries to convince a reader of something. They decide whether the reasons given actually make sense and whether there is enough proof to back them up.

Students read two books on the same topic and talk about what's alike, what's different, and what they learned from putting the books together.

Students read stories and nonfiction books on their own, practicing until the words come smoothly and the meaning sticks.

Students write simple opinion pieces that state what they think and give a reason why. In first grade, this means picking a side on something familiar, like a favorite book or animal, and backing it up with at least one clear sentence.

Students write to explain something real: how an animal lives, how something works, or why something happens. They pick the important facts, put them in order, and write clearly enough that a reader learns something new.

Students write a short story about something real or made up. They use details and a clear beginning, middle, and end to make the story easy to follow.

Students write sentences that match the job: a story sounds like a story, directions sound like directions, and the words fit whoever will read it.

Students practice making their writing better by planning what to say, fixing mistakes, and trying again if something isn't working. Good writing usually takes more than one try.

Students use a computer or tablet to write, publish, and share their work with others.

Students pick a question they want to answer, then find information to answer it. The project might take one day or stretch over a week, but the goal stays the same: learn enough to show what they found out.

Students find facts from books and websites, check that the sources seem trustworthy, and put the information into their own words instead of copying it directly.

Students find sentences or details from a book that back up what they want to say. They point to the text as proof, not just their own opinion.

Students practice writing regularly, sometimes finishing a piece in one sitting and sometimes working on it over several days. The goal is to get comfortable writing for different reasons and different readers.

Students take turns in class discussions, listen to what others say, and add their own ideas clearly. This is the foundation for every group conversation they will have in school.

Students listen to a story read aloud, watch a short video, or look at a picture and talk about what they learned. They practice getting information from more than one source, not just words on a page.

Students listen to someone speak and decide whether their reasons and examples actually back up what they're saying.

Students share what they learned out loud, in an order that makes sense to the listener. They pick words and details that fit who they're talking to and why.

Students use pictures, videos, or simple charts to help explain their ideas when presenting to the class. Visuals make the message clearer for the audience.

Students practice switching between everyday talk and "school voice," knowing when to use complete sentences and more careful language depending on who they are speaking to.

Students learn the basic rules of English: how to build a sentence, which words to capitalize, and how to use common punctuation. These rules apply whether students are writing on paper or answering a question out loud.

Students learn the basic rules for writing: which words get a capital letter, where a period or question mark goes, and how to spell common words correctly.

Students learn that words and sentences can change depending on the situation. A sentence in a story sounds different from directions on a worksheet, and choosing the right words helps a reader or listener understand exactly what you mean.

Students figure out what an unfamiliar word means by looking at the words around it, breaking it into smaller parts, or checking a dictionary.

Students learn that words can mean more than what they say. They practice spotting comparisons, noticing how words relate to each other, and picking up on shades of meaning like the difference between "cold" and "freezing."

Students learn new words they need for school and life, then practice using them in reading and writing. When they hit an unfamiliar word, they figure out what it means on their own instead of waiting for help.

Students ask and answer questions about stories they read. They point to specific words or sentences from the text to back up what they say.

Students retell a story in their own words and explain what the story is really about, whether that's a lesson learned, a funny moment, or a surprising event.

Students describe who is in a story, where it takes place, and what happens, including the main problem and how it gets solved. They point to details from the text to back up what they say.

Words in stories and poems do more than give information. Students find words and phrases that describe how something feels, sounds, smells, or tastes, or that show a character's emotion.

Story books have made-up characters and events. Information books give real facts about the world. Students learn to tell the difference between the two, and to recognize poems as their own kind of writing.

Students figure out who is speaking or narrating as the story unfolds. Is it a character inside the story, or a storyteller on the outside looking in?

Students look at the pictures in a story alongside the words to describe what the characters are doing, where the story takes place, and how the problem gets solved.

This standard doesn't apply to literary reading. Literature standards focus on stories and poems, not on evaluating an author's argument or evidence, so this skill is reserved for informational texts.

Students look at two stories side by side and talk about how the characters' adventures are alike and how they differ. A teacher helps guide the conversation.

Students read short stories and poems from different cultures around the world. Teachers help them work through the words and ideas as they go.

Students ask and answer questions about a nonfiction book or article, using details from the text. A teacher may help by asking guiding questions or connecting the reading to something students already know.

Students find the main point of a nonfiction book or article, then retell the key facts that support it. Think of it as answering "What is this mostly about?" and "What did I learn?"

Students read a nonfiction book and explain how two things in it are connected. For example, they might explain why an event happened or how one person's actions affected another.

Students stop at unfamiliar words in a nonfiction book and ask what they mean, using the sentences around them to figure it out.

Students use titles, labels, bold words, and arrows on a page to find specific facts. These visual clues act as signposts that point straight to the information they need.

Photos and illustrations show what something looks like. The words in a book explain what is happening or why. Students learn to notice what each one tells them separately.

Students look at the pictures and read the words together to figure out what a nonfiction book is mostly about. The illustrations help fill in details the words alone don't show.

Students find the spots in a nonfiction book or article where the author shares an opinion to back up a point. They learn that not every sentence is a fact.

Students read two books on the same topic and point out what the books share and where they disagree. They might compare pictures, descriptions, or step-by-step instructions.

With a teacher's help, students read nonfiction books and articles on different topics, like animals, weather, or how things work. The books match what a first grader can handle with some support.

Students learn how a book works: which direction to read, where a sentence starts and ends, and what spaces between words mean. These basics make everything else in reading possible.

Reading a sentence means spotting where it starts and stops. Students learn to find the capital letter at the beginning and the period, question mark, or exclamation point at the end.

Students listen to spoken words and work with the sounds inside them. They clap syllables, blend sounds together to make a word, and break a word apart into its individual sounds.

Students listen to a spoken word and decide whether the middle vowel sound is long (like the "a" in "cake") or short (like the "a" in "cat"). This is all done by ear, no reading required.

Students hear individual sounds spoken aloud and blend them together to say a complete word. This includes words that start with two consonants together, like "frog" or "skip."

Students listen to a word like "cat" and pick out the first sound, the middle vowel sound, and the last sound, one at a time.

Students listen to a one-syllable word and break it into every separate sound. For example, "ship" becomes three sounds: /sh/, /i/, /p/.

Students use letter-sound patterns they've learned to sound out unfamiliar words while reading. This is the core decoding work of first grade: turning printed letters into words they can recognize and say.

Students learn that two consonants together can make one sound, like the "sh" in "ship" or the "ch" in "chip." They practice reading and spelling words that use these pairs.

Students read short, simple words by sounding out each letter. Think "cat," "ship," or "jump", words that follow the basic rules every first-grader is learning.

Students learn that a silent "e" at the end of a word (like "cake") makes the vowel say its name, and that two vowels together (like "ea" in "beat") usually make one long vowel sound.

Students count syllables in a word by remembering that every syllable needs at least one vowel sound. Hearing two vowel sounds means two syllables.

Students learn to split longer words into two parts to sound them out. A word like "rabbit" or "napkin" gets broken in the middle so it is easier to read.

Students read words that have common endings added to them, like "jumped," "running," or "cats." Recognizing these endings helps students read faster and understand how a word's meaning changes.

Students read common words that don't follow normal spelling rules, like "said," "was," and "they." Recognizing these words on sight helps students read sentences smoothly without stopping to sound each word out.

Students read aloud smoothly and accurately enough to focus on meaning, not just sounding out words. Reading at a steady pace helps students understand what they read, not just get through it.

Students read short books and passages at the right level for first grade, thinking about what the words mean as they go, not just saying them aloud.

Students practice reading the same short passage aloud more than once until the words come out smoothly, at a natural pace, and with feeling.

When students read a sentence and something feels off, they pause, reread, and fix the word or meaning on their own. They use the words around a tricky spot to check whether what they read makes sense.

Students write a short opinion piece, name the topic or book, give one reason for their opinion, and wrap it up with a closing sentence that says how they feel about it.

Students pick a topic, write a few facts about it, and wrap up with a closing sentence that ties it together. Think of it as a mini report with a beginning, a middle, and an ending.

Students write a short story about something real or made up, telling what happened in order using words like "first," "next," and "then," and finishing with an ending that wraps things up.

This standard doesn't apply in Grade 1. Writing production and distribution skills at this level are covered under other writing standards for the grade.

Students revise their writing with help from a teacher or classmate, answering questions to add sharper details that make the piece clearer and more specific.

With help from a teacher or adult, students type or create writing on a computer or tablet and share it with others. They may work alongside a classmate to finish and publish the piece together.

Students work with the class to look up information on a topic and use what they find to write something together, like a set of steps or a short summary of facts.

Students pull facts from a book, picture, or their own experience to answer a question a teacher gives them. Adults help along the way.

This standard doesn't apply in Grade 1. Students begin learning to gather information from sources and use it in their writing starting in Grade 4.

This standard doesn't apply in Grade 1. Writing range expectations start in Grade 3, so no specific skill is assessed here.

Students talk with classmates and adults about books and topics, in small groups and with the whole class. They take turns, listen to what others say, and add their own ideas to the conversation.

Students take turns talking and listen quietly while classmates speak. This is the foundation of every group conversation they will have in school.

Students keep a conversation going by listening to what a classmate says and responding with their own thought, back and forth, more than once.

When something in a book or conversation doesn't make sense, students ask a question instead of staying confused. It's a simple habit that helps them follow along and understand more.

Students listen to a story or short video, then ask and answer questions about what happened or what they learned.

Students listen to a speaker, then ask questions to fill in missing details or clear up anything confusing. They also answer questions others ask about what was said.

Students practice putting words to the world around them: describing a person, a place, or something that happened using details that actually matter. The goal is saying what they mean clearly, feelings included.

Students add a drawing or picture to what they say or write to help others understand their idea. A sketch can show what words alone might not explain clearly.

Students practice speaking in full sentences instead of one-word answers, matching how they talk to what the moment calls for. A question in class gets a real sentence back, not just a nod or a single word.

Students practice the basic rules of English grammar: forming sentences correctly, using the right verb tense, and choosing words that fit. This shows up in both their writing and when they talk in class.

Students write every letter of the alphabet, both capital and lowercase, by hand.

Students learn the difference between everyday nouns like "dog," names like "Rex," and possessive nouns like "Rex's bowl" to show who owns something.

Students learn that the verb in a sentence has to match its noun. One dog barks, but two dogs bark. They practice spotting and fixing mismatches in short sentences.

Students practice swapping out names for words like "I," "me," "my," "they," and "their." They also use open-ended words like "anyone" or "everything" in their sentences.

Students practice changing a verb to show when something happens: in the past, right now, or later. They learn that the same action, like walking home, gets a different word depending on when it occurred.

Students practice describing words like big, cold, and happy. They use those words in sentences to make their writing and talking clearer.

Students learn to connect ideas with joining words like "and," "but," "or," "so," and "because." These small words help sentences explain how two things relate.

Students learn when to use words like "a," "an," "the," "this," and "that" in front of nouns. They practice choosing the right word so their sentences sound natural and clear.

Students practice words that show how things relate in place or time, like "during recess" or "toward the door." These small words help sentences make sense.

Students practice writing four types of sentences: statements, questions, commands, and exclamations. They also learn to stretch short sentences into longer ones by adding details.

Students learn the basic rules of writing: when to use a capital letter, where to put a period or comma, and how to spell common words correctly.

Students learn to start dates (like Monday or July) and people's names with a capital letter.

Students learn to end every sentence with the right mark: a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point. Getting this right helps readers know when one idea stops and the next one starts.

Students practice putting commas in the right spots, like between the day and year in a date, or between words in a list. Think "red, white, and blue" or "June 14, 2025."

Students spell common words the way they appear in books, not just the way they sound. That includes everyday words like "said," "was," and "they," which don't follow the usual sound patterns.

Students sound out words they don't know how to spell yet, using the letter sounds and patterns they've learned. The spelling may not be perfect, but it follows the sounds in the word.

This standard doesn't apply in first grade. It starts in second grade, when students begin studying how word choice and sentence structure shape meaning.

Students figure out what unfamiliar words mean while reading. They try different strategies, like using nearby sentences for clues or breaking a word into parts they already know.

Students use the other words in a sentence to figure out what an unfamiliar word means, instead of stopping or skipping it.

Students learn that adding a beginning or ending to a word changes its meaning. Knowing that "un-" means "not" or "-er" means "more" helps them figure out unfamiliar words on their own.

Students recognize that a base word like "look" stays the same when endings like -s, -ed, or -ing are added. They see how one word can shift into looks, looked, and looking.

Students learn that words connect to each other in patterns. They practice grouping words by category, acting out verbs, and noticing how two words can mean almost the same thing but feel different.

Students group words by what they have in common, such as putting "red," "blue," and "green" together because they're all colors. Sorting helps them see what makes a category a category.

Students sort words into groups and describe what makes each thing distinct. For example, they explain that a duck is a bird that swims, or that a tiger is a large cat with stripes.

Students connect words to real life by thinking of examples they already know. If the word is "cozy," they might picture a blanket or a favorite chair.

Students learn that words like "look," "peek," and "stare" all describe seeing but mean something different. They practice picking the right word or acting it out to show they know the difference.

Students practice using new words they pick up from books and conversations. They also use connecting words like "because" to show how ideas relate to each other.