English Language Arts and Literacy

ENGLISH

LANGUAGE ARTS

AND LITERACY

Grades Pre-Kindergarten to 12

Massachusetts

Curriculum

Framework –

2017

This document was prepared by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Members

Mr. Paul Sagan, Chair, Cambridge

Mr. James Morton, Vice Chair, Boston

Ms. Katherine Craven, Brookline

Dr. Edward Doherty, Hyde Park

Dr. Roland Fryer, Cambridge

Ms. Margaret McKenna, Boston

Mr. Michael Moriarty, Holyoke

Dr. Pendred Noyce, Boston

Mr. James Peyser, Secretary of Education, Milton

Ms. Mary Ann Stewart, Lexington

Mr. Nathan Moore, Chair, Student Advisory Council,

Scituate

Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D., Commissioner and Secretary to the Board

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, an affirmative action employer, is

committed to ensuring that all of its programs and facilities are accessible to all members of the public. We do

not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.

Inquiries regarding the Department’s compliance with Title IX and other civil rights laws may be directed to

the Human Resources Director, 75 Pleasant St., Malden, MA, 02148, 781-338-6105.

Permission is hereby granted to copy any or all parts of this document for non-commercial educational

purposes. Please credit the “Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.”

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148-4906

Phone 781-338-3000 TTY: N.E.T. Relay 800-439-2370

www.doe.mass.edu

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to present to you the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts

and Literacy adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in March 2017. This Framework is built upon the

foundation of the 2010 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy, as well as earlier

versions of our Massachusetts English Language Arts Frameworks published since 1997.

The current Framework incorporates improvements suggested by Massachusetts educators after six years of experience in

implementing the 2010 standards in their classrooms. These revised pre-kindergarten to grade 12 standards are based on

research and effective practice, and will enable teachers and administrators to strengthen curriculum, instruction, and

assessment.

The 2017 standards draw from the best of prior Massachusetts English Language Arts and Literacy Curriculum Frameworks,

and represent the input of hundreds of the Commonwealth’s pre-K–12 and higher education faculty. The 2017 standards

embody the Commonwealth’s commitment to providing all students with a world-class education.

This revision of the Framework retains the strengths of the previous frameworks and includes these improved features:

• Increased coherence among the Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language Standards.

• Incorporation of instructional examples from the 2001 Massachusetts standards.

• Stronger demonstrations of how literacy instruction—particularly in the early elementary years—is intertwined

with learning in mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, and other subjects of a well-balanced curriculum.

• Higher ambitions for student achievement, including standards that were written to provide more rigorous

preparation for college, careers, and civic participation.

• Numerous classroom instructional examples and samples of authentic student writing from Massachusetts

classrooms to clarify the meaning of the standards.

In the course of revising these standards, the Department received many valuable comments and suggestions. I want to

thank everyone who contributed their ideas, enthusiasm, and determination to make the standards useful for students,

families, educators, and the community. In particular, I am grateful to the members of the ELA/Literacy Standards Review

Panel and to our Content Advisors, for giving their time generously to the project of improving learning standards for

Massachusetts students. I am proud of the work that has been accomplished.

We will continue to collaborate with schools and districts to implement the 2017 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for

English Language Arts and Literacy over the next several years. All Massachusetts frameworks are subject to continuous

review and improvement for the benefit of the students of the Commonwealth.

We hope you will find this Framework useful in building a strong ELA/literacy curriculum for your school or district. A well-

rounded ELA curriculum should expose students to a rich diversity of high-quality, authentic literature from multiple genres,

cultures, and time periods. The purpose of teaching literature is not only to sharpen skills of comprehension and analysis,

but also to instill in students a deep appreciation for art, beauty, and truth, while broadening their understanding of the

human condition from differing points of view. Reading and discussing important works of prose and poetry will also help

students develop empathy for others while learning about who they are as individuals and members of a wider civilization

and world.

Thank you again for your ongoing support and for your commitment to achieving the goal of improved achievement for all

students.

Sincerely,

Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D.

Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education

Massachusetts Department of

Elementary and Secondary Education

75 Pleasant Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-4906

 
Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy   1 
Table of Contents 
Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................................6 
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................9 
Guiding Principles for English Language Arts and Literacy Programs .................................................................. 15 
Students Who Are Ready for College, Careers, and Civic Participation .............................................................. 17 
College and Career Readiness and Civic Preparation .......................................................................................... 18 
Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in  History/Social Studies,  
Science, Mathematics, and Technical Subjects Pre-K through Grade 5 ....................... 20 
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading ............................................................................ 21 
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing ............................................................................. 22 
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening..................................................... 24 
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language .......................................................................... 25 
Pre-K 
Pre-K Reading Standards ......................................................................................................................................... 26 
Pre-K Reading Standards for Literature [RL] ........................................................................................................ 26 
Pre-K Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] .......................................................................................... 26 
Pre-K Reading Standards for Foundational Skills [RF] ......................................................................................... 27 
Pre-K Writing Standards [W] ................................................................................................................................... 28 
Pre-K Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] .......................................................................................................... 29 
Pre-K Language Standards [L] .................................................................................................................................. 29 
Kindergarten 
Kindergarten Reading Standards ............................................................................................................................. 31 
Kindergarten Reading Standards for Literature [RL] ........................................................................................... 31 
Kindergarten Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] .............................................................................. 31 
Kindergarten Reading Standards for Foundational Skills [RF] ............................................................................. 32 
Kindergarten Writing Standards [W] ....................................................................................................................... 33 
Kindergarten Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] .............................................................................................. 34 
Kindergarten Language Standards [L] ..................................................................................................................... 35 
Grade 1 
Grade 1 Reading Standards ..................................................................................................................................... 37 
Grade 1 Reading Standards for Literature [RL] .................................................................................................... 37 
Grade 1 Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] ...................................................................................... 37 
Grade 1 Reading Standards for Foundational Skills [RF] ..................................................................................... 38 

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy   2 
Grade 1 Writing Standards [W] ............................................................................................................................... 39 
Grade 1 Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] ...................................................................................................... 40 
Grade 1 Language Standards [L] .............................................................................................................................. 41 
Grade 2 
Grade 2 Reading Standards ..................................................................................................................................... 43 
Grade 2 Reading Standards for Literature [RL] .................................................................................................... 43 
Grade 2 Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] ...................................................................................... 43 
Grade 2 Reading Standards for Foundational Skills [RF] ..................................................................................... 44 
Grade 2 Writing Standards [W] ............................................................................................................................... 45 
Grade 2 Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] ...................................................................................................... 46 
Grade 2 Language Standards [L] .............................................................................................................................. 48 
Grade 3 
Grade 3 Reading Standards ..................................................................................................................................... 50 
Grade 3 Reading Standards for Literature [RL] .................................................................................................... 50 
Grade 3 Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] ...................................................................................... 50 
Grade 3 Reading Standards for Foundational Skills [RF] ..................................................................................... 51 
Grade 3 Writing Standards [W] ............................................................................................................................... 52 
Grade 3 Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] ...................................................................................................... 54 
Grade 3 Language Standards [L] .............................................................................................................................. 55 
Grade 4 
Grade 4 Reading Standards ..................................................................................................................................... 58 
Grade 4 Reading Standards for Literature [RL] .................................................................................................... 58 
Grade 4 Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] ...................................................................................... 58 
Grade 4 Reading Standards for Foundational Skills [RF] ..................................................................................... 59 
Grade 4 Writing Standards [W] ............................................................................................................................... 60 
Grade 4 Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] ...................................................................................................... 62 
Grade 4 Language Standards [L] .............................................................................................................................. 63 
Grade 5 
Grade 5 Reading Standards ..................................................................................................................................... 66 
Grade 5 Reading Standards for Literature [RL] .................................................................................................... 66 
Grade 5 Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] ...................................................................................... 66 
Grade 5 Reading Standards for Foundational Skills [RF] ..................................................................................... 67 
Grade 5 Writing Standards [W] ............................................................................................................................... 68 
Grade 5 Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] ...................................................................................................... 70 

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy   3 
Grade 5 Language Standards [L] .............................................................................................................................. 71 
Resources for Implementing the Pre-K–5 Standards ............................................................. 74 
Range, Quality, and Complexity of Student Reading Pre-K–5 ............................................................................. 79 
Qualitative Analysis of Literary Texts for Pre-K–5: A Continuum of Complexity ................................................. 80 
Qualitative Analysis of Informational Texts for Pre-K–5: A Continuum of Complexity ....................................... 81 
Texts Illustrating the Range, Quality, and Complexity of Student Reading Pre-K–5 ........................................... 82 
Sample Text Set for the Elementary Grades: Water ............................................................................................ 83 
Key Cumulative Language Standards, Grades 3–12 ............................................................................................ 84 
Standards for English Language Arts Grades 6 through 12 ................................................. 85 
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading ............................................................................ 86 
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing ............................................................................. 87 
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening..................................................... 88 
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language .......................................................................... 89 
Grade 6 
Grade 6 Reading Standards ..................................................................................................................................... 90 
Grade 6 Reading Standards for Literature [RL] .................................................................................................... 90 
Grade 6 Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] ...................................................................................... 90 
Grade 6 Writing Standards [W] ............................................................................................................................... 91 
Grade 6 Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] ...................................................................................................... 93 
Grade 6 Language Standards [L] .............................................................................................................................. 94 
Grade 7 
Grade 7 Reading Standards ..................................................................................................................................... 96 
Grade 7 Reading Standards for Literature [RL] .................................................................................................... 96 
Grade 7 Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] ...................................................................................... 97 
Grade 7 Writing Standards [W] ............................................................................................................................... 97 
Grade 7 Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] .................................................................................................... 100 
Grade 7 Language Standards [L] ............................................................................................................................ 100 
Grade 8 
Grade 8 Reading Standards ................................................................................................................................... 102 
Grade 8 Reading Standards for Literature [RL] .................................................................................................. 102 
Grade 8 Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] .................................................................................... 102 
Grade 8 Writing Standards [W] ............................................................................................................................. 103 
Grade 8 Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] .................................................................................................... 105 
Grade 8 Language Standards [L] ............................................................................................................................ 106 

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy   4 
Grades 9–10 
Grades 9–10 Reading Standards............................................................................................................................ 108 
Grades 9–10 Reading Standards for Literature [RL] .......................................................................................... 108 
Grades 9–10 Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] ............................................................................. 108 
Grades 9–10 Writing Standards [W] ...................................................................................................................... 109 
Grades 9–10 Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] ............................................................................................. 111 
Grades 9–10 Language Standards [L] .................................................................................................................... 112 
Grades 11–12 
Grades 11–12 Reading Standards ......................................................................................................................... 115 
Grades 11–12 Reading Standards for Literature [RL] ........................................................................................ 115 
Grades 11–12 Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI] ........................................................................... 115 
Grades 11–12 Writing Standards [W].................................................................................................................... 116 
Grades 11–12 Speaking and Listening Standards [SL] ........................................................................................... 119 
Grades 11–12 Language [L] ................................................................................................................................... 119 
Resources for Implementing the Grades 6–12 Standards  
for English Language Arts ..................................................................................................................... 121 
Range, Quality, and Complexity of Student Reading in English Language Arts, Grades 6–12 ........................... 124 
Qualitative Analysis of Literary Texts for Grades 6–12:  A Continuum of Complexity ...................................... 125 
Qualitative Analysis of Informational Texts for Grades 6–12:  A Continuum of Complexity............................. 126 
Texts Illustrating the Range, Quality, and Complexity of  
Student Reading in English Language Arts, Grades 6–12 .................................................................................. 127 
Sample Text Set for Middle School Language Arts: Powerful Friendships ........................................................ 128 
Key Cumulative Language Standards, Grades 3–12 .......................................................................................... 129 
Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas Grades 6 through 12 ................................ 130 
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading .......................................................................... 131 
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing ........................................................................... 132 
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening................................................... 134 
Grades 6–8 
Grades 6–8 Reading Standards.............................................................................................................................. 135 
Grades 6–8 Reading Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas: History/Social Studies [RCA-H] .................. 135 
Grades 6–8 Reading Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas:  
Science and Career and Technical Subjects [RCA-ST] ........................................................................................ 135 
Grades 6–8 Writing Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas [WCA] .............................................................. 136 
Grades 6–8 Speaking and Listening Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas [SLCA] ..................................... 139 
Grades 9–10 

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy   5 
Grades 9–10 Reading Standards............................................................................................................................ 141 
Grades 9–10 Reading Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas: History/Social Studies [RCA-H] ................ 141 
Grades 9–10 Reading Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas:  
Science and Career and Technical Subjects [RCA-ST] ........................................................................................ 141 
Grades 9–10 Writing Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas [WCA] ............................................................ 142 
Grades 9–10 Speaking and Listening Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas [SLCA] ................................... 144 
Grades 11–12 
Grades 11–12 Reading Standards ......................................................................................................................... 146 
Grades 11–12 Reading Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas: History/Social Studies [RCA-H] .............. 146 
Grades 11–12 Reading Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas:  
Science and Career and Technical Subjects [RCA-ST] ........................................................................................ 146 
Grades 11–12 Writing Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas [WCA] .......................................................... 147 
Grades 11–12 Speaking and Listening Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas [SLCA] ................................. 149 
Resources for Implementing the Grades 6–12 Standards  
for Literacy in the Content Areas ...................................................................................................... 151 
Qualitative Analysis of Informational Texts for Grades 6–12:  A Continuum of Complexity............................. 154 
Appendix A: Application of the Standards for English Learners and Students with Disabilities ................... 155 
English Learners ................................................................................................................................................. 155 
Students with Disabilities ................................................................................................................................... 156 
Appendix B: A Literary Heritage .................................................................................................................... 158 
I. Suggested Authors, Illustrators, and Works from the Ancient World to the Late Twentieth Century .......... 158 
II. Suggested Authors and Illustrators from the Late Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Centuries .................. 164 
III. Suggested Authors of Contemporary and Historical World Literature ........................................................ 170 
Appendix C: Glossary of Terms ...................................................................................................................... 172 
Appendix D: Resources and Bibliography ...................................................................................................... 187 
 
   

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 6

Acknowledgments

Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for English Language Arts and Literacy

and Mathematics Review Panel, 2016–2017

Rachel Barlage, Lead English Teacher, Chelsea High

School, Chelsea Public Schools

Jennifer Berg, Assistant Professor of Mathematics,

Fitchburg State University

Tara Brandt, Mathematics Supervisor, K–12,

Westfield Public Schools

Jennifer Camara-Pomfret, English Teacher, Seekonk

High School, Seekonk Public Schools

Tricia Clifford, Principal, Mary Lee Burbank School,

Belmont Public Schools

Linda Crockett, Literacy Coach, Grades 6–8, Westfield

South Middle School, Westfield Public Schools

Linda Dart-Kathios, Mathematics Department

Chairperson, Middlesex Community College

Linda Davenport, Director of K–12 Mathematics,

Boston Public Schools

Beth Delaney, Mathematics Coach, Revere Public

Schools

Lisa Dion, Manager of Curriculum, Data and

Assessment, New Bedford Public Schools

Tom Fortmann, Community Representative,

Lexington

Oneida Fox Roye, Director of English Language Arts

and Literacy, K–12, Boston Public Schools

Andrea Gobbi, Director of Academic Programs,

Shawsheen Valley Technical High School

Donna Goldstein, Literacy Coach, Coelho Middle

School, Attleboro Public Schools

Andrea Griswold, Grade 8 English Teacher, Mohawk

Trail Regional Middle and High School, Mohawk

Trail/Hawlemont Regional School District

Susan Hehir, Grade 3 Teacher, Forest Avenue

Elementary School, Hudson Public Schools

Anna Hill, Grade 6 English Language Arts Teacher,

Charlton Middle School, Charlton Public Schools

Sarah Hopson, K–4 Math Coach, Agawam Elementary

Schools, Agawam Public Schools

Nancy Johnson, Grades 7–12 Mathematics Teacher

and Department Head, Hopedale Jr.-Sr. High School,

Hopedale Public Schools (retired); President,

Association of Teachers of Mathematics in

Massachusetts

Patty Juranovits, Supervisor of Mathematics, K–12,

Haverhill Public Schools

Elizabeth Kadra, Grades 7 & 8 Mathematics Teacher,

Miscoe Hill Middle School, Mendon-Upton Regional

School District

Patricia Kavanaugh, Middle School Mathematics

Teacher, Manchester-Essex Middle and High School,

Manchester-Essex Regional School District

John Kucich, Associate Professor of English,

Bridgewater State University

David Langston, Professor of

English/Communications, Massachusetts College of

Liberal Arts

Stefanie Lowe, Instructional Specialist, Sullivan

Middle School, Lowell Public Schools

Linda McKenna, Mathematics Curriculum Facilitator,

Leominster Public Schools

Eileen McQuaid, 6–12 Coordinator of English

Language Arts and Social Studies, Brockton Public

Schools

Matthew Müller, Assistant Professor of English,

Berkshire Community College

Raigen O'Donohue, Grade 5 Teacher, Columbus

Elementary School, Medford Public Schools

Eileen Perez, Assistant Professor of Mathematics,

Worcester State University

Laura Raposa, Grade 5 Teacher, Russell Street

Elementary School, Littleton Public Schools

Danika Ripley, Literacy Coach, Dolbeare Elementary

School, Wakefield Public Schools

Heather Ronan, Coordinator of Math and Science,

PK–5, Brockton Public Schools

Fran Roy, Chief Academic Officer/Assistant

Superintendent, Fall River Public Schools

Melissa Ryan, Principal, Bourne Middle School,

Bourne Public Schools

Karyn Saxon, K–5 Curriculum Director, English

Language Arts and Social Studies, Wayland Public

Schools

Jeffrey Strasnick, Principal, Wildwood Early Childhood

Center and Woburn Street Elementary School,

Wilmington Public Schools

Kathleen Tobiasson, Grades 6 & 7 English Teacher,

Quinn Middle School, Hudson Public Schools

Brian Travers, Associate Professor of Mathematics,

Salem State University

Nancy Verdolino, K–6 Reading Specialist and K–6

English Language Arts Curriculum Chairperson,

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 7

Hopedale Public Schools; President, Massachusetts

Reading Association

Meghan Walsh, Grade 3 Teacher, John A. Crisafulli

Elementary School, Westford Public Schools

Rob Whitman, Professor of English, Bunker Hill

Community College

Kerry Winer, Literacy Coach, Oak Hill Middle School,

Newton Public Schools

Joanne Zaharis, Math Lead Teacher/Coach,

Sokolowski School, Chelsea Public Schools

Content Advisors

English Language Arts and Literacy

Bill Amorosi, ELA/Literacy Consultant

Mary Ann Cappiello, Lesley University

Erika Thulin Dawes, Lesley University

Lorretta Holloway, Framingham State University

Brad Morgan, Essex Technical High School

Deborah Reck, ELA/Literacy Consultant

Jane Rosenzweig, Harvard University

Mathematics

Richard Bisk, Worcester State University

Andrew Chen, EduTron Corporation

Al Cuoco, Center for Mathematics Education, EDC

Sunny Kang, Bunker Hill Community College

Maura Murray, Salem State University

Kimberly Steadman, Brooke Charter Schools

External Partner

Jill Norton, Abt Associates

Massachusetts Executive Office of

Education

Tom Moreau, Assistant Secretary of Education

Massachusetts Department of Higher

Education

Susan Lane, Senior Advisor to the Commissioner

Massachusetts Department of

Elementary and Secondary Education

Jeffrey Wulfson, Deputy Commissioner

Heather Peske, Senior Associate Commissioner

Center for Instructional Support

Alexia Cribbs

Lisa Keenan

Ronald Noble

Office of Literacy and Humanities

Rachel Bradshaw, Lead Writer, ELA/Literacy

David Buchanan

Mary Ellen Caesar

Susan Kazeroid

Helene Levine

Tracey Martineau

Lauren McBride

Susan Wheltle, Consultant

Office of Science, Technology/Engineering, and

Mathematics

Anne Marie Condike

Anne DeMallie

Jacob Foster

Melinda Griffin

Meto Raha

Ian Stith

Leah Tuckman

Cornelia Varoudakis, Lead Writer, Mathematics

Barbara Libby, Consultant

Office of Educator Development

Matthew Holloway

Office of English Language Acquisition and

Academic Achievement

Fernanda Kray

Sara Niño

Office of Special Education Planning and

Policy

Teri Williams Valentine

Lauren Viviani

Office of Planning, Research, and Delivery

Matthew Deninger

Commissioner’s Office

Jass Stewart

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 8

Office of Student Assessment Services

Mary Lou Beasley

Catherine Bowler

Amy Carithers

Haley Freeman

Simone Johnson

Jennifer Malonson

Elizabeth Niedzwiecki

Jennifer Butler O’Toole

Michol Stapel

James Verdolino

Daniel Wiener

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 9

Introduction

The Origin of these Standards: 1993–2010

The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 directed the Commissioner and Department of Education to

create academic standards in a variety of subject areas. Massachusetts adopted its first set of English language

arts (ELA) standards in 1997 and revised them in 2001. In 2007 the Massachusetts Department of Elementary

and Secondary Education (ESE) convened a team of educators to revise the 2001 English Language Arts

Curriculum Framework, and when in 2009 the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National

Governors Association (NGA) began a multi-state standards development project called the Common Core State

Standards initiative, the two efforts merged. The pre-K–12 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English

Language Arts and Literacy, a new framework that included both the Common Core State Standards and unique

Massachusetts standards and features, was adopted by the Boards of Elementary and Secondary Education and

Early Education and Care in 2010. A similar process unfolded for mathematics.

Review of ELA/Literacy and Mathematics Standards, 2016–2017

In November 2015, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to move forward

with development of Massachusetts’s own next-generation student assessment program in ELA/literacy and

mathematics. In conjunction with this action, the Board supported a plan to convene review panels comprised of

Massachusetts pre-K–12 teachers and higher education faculty “to review the current ELA/literacy and

mathematics curriculum frameworks and identify any modifications or additions to ensure that the

Commonwealth's standards match those of the most aspirational education systems in the world, thus

representing a course of study that best prepares students for the 21

century.”

In February 2016, ESE appointed a panel of Massachusetts educators from elementary, secondary, and higher

education to review the ELA/literacy and mathematics standards and suggest improvements based on their

experiences using the standards for five years to guide pre-K–12 curriculum, instruction, assessment, and

educator preparation. Additional comment on the standards was sought through public presentations and

surveys and from content-area advisors in mathematics and ELA/literacy.

Public response to the Framework draft published in December 2016 shaped the current Framework. Revisions

preserve the best in previous Massachusetts curriculum frameworks while incorporating suggestions for

strengthening the standards. To increase clarity, more than 100 instructional examples have been added, some

originating in previous Massachusetts ELA/literacy frameworks and others linked to analyses of authentic

student writing. To increase coherence, there are stronger connections among the ELA/literacy standards, as

well as more explicit links to literacy in other subject areas. Some standards take a more ambitious stance than

in the previous Framework toward preparing students for the world beyond high school. New resources on

evaluating text complexity and creating text sets have been added. The Glossary has been refined to reflect the

usage of terms in the standards. A new Introduction emphasizes the role of literacy in a well-rounded curriculum

and reflects the Definition of College and Career Readiness and Civic Preparation adopted by the Massachusetts

Boards of Elementary and Secondary and Higher Education in 2016.

Thus the 2017 Framework draws from the best of prior Massachusetts standards and represents the wisdom of

hundreds of the Commonwealth’s pre-K–12 and higher education faculty. The 2017 standards embody the

Commonwealth’s commitment to providing all students with a world-class education.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 10

The Literate Person of the Twenty-First Century

As a natural outgrowth of meeting the charge to define college and career readiness and civic preparation, the

standards also lay out a vision of what it means to be a literate person in this century. Indeed, the skills and

understandings students are expected to demonstrate have wide applicability outside the classroom or

workplace. Students who meet the standards readily undertake the close, attentive reading that is at the heart

of understanding and enjoying complex works of literature. They habitually perform the critical reading

necessary to navigate the staggering amount of information available today both in print and digitally. They

actively seek the wide, deep, and thoughtful engagement with high-quality literary and informational texts that

builds knowledge, enlarges experience, and broadens worldviews. They reflexively demonstrate the cogent

reasoning and use of evidence that is essential to both private deliberation and responsible citizenship in a

democratic republic. Students who meet the standards develop the skills in reading, writing, speaking, and

listening that are the foundation for any creative and purposeful expression in language.

College and Career Readiness (CCR) and Grade-Specific Standards

The CCR standards anchor the document and define general, cross-disciplinary literacy expectations that must

be met for students to be prepared to enter college and the workforce ready to succeed. The pre-K–12 grade-

specific standards define end-of-year expectations and a cumulative progression designed to enable students to

meet college and career readiness expectations no later than the end of high school.

Individual CCR anchor standards are identified by strand, CCR status, and number (R.CCR.6, for example, is the

sixth CCR anchor standard for the Reading strand). Strand coding designations are found in brackets at the top

of the page, to the right of the full strand title. Individual grade-specific standards are identified by strand,

grade, and number (or number and letter, where applicable): for example, RI.4.3 stands for Reading:

Informational Text, grade 4, standard 3; and W.5.1a stands for Writing, grade 5, standard 1a.

Grade Levels for Pre-K–8; Grade Bands for 9–10 and 11–12

Except for the grades 6–8 standards for literacy in the content areas, the standards use individual grade levels in

pre-kindergarten through grade 8 to provide useful specificity. For grades 9–12, standards for both ELA and

literacy in the content areas use two-year bands to allow schools and districts flexibility in high school course

design.

The pre-kindergarten standards apply to children who are older four- and younger five-year-olds. A majority of

these students attend education programs in a variety of settings: community-based early care and education

centers, family day care, Head Start programs and public preschools. In this age group, the foundations of

language, speaking and listening, reading, and writing are formed during conversations, play, informal drama,

and experience with real objects and situations.

An Integrated Model of Literacy

Although the standards are divided into Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language strands for

conceptual clarity, the processes of communication are closely connected, as reflected throughout this

document. There are cross-references among the standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and

Language, as well as numerous examples that show how standards may be combined in effective instruction.

The standards emphasize the importance for all students (and particularly English learners) of learning general

academic vocabulary, sometimes called “Tier Two” words, such as affect, analyze, argue, average, compose,

conclude, contradict, culture, effect, explain, foundation, image, integrate, method, percent, region, research,

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 11

translate, transpose, or vision. These abstract concepts are broadly used across disciplines and sometimes have

different meanings depending on the academic context.

Literacy in the Context of a Well-Rounded Curriculum

The standards in this Framework are focused on English language arts and literacy. But to be truly literate,

students need to acquire wide-ranging knowledge of the world learned through a well-balanced curriculum.

Content knowledge is the indispensable companion to improved reading comprehension, since a child needs

background knowledge about a topic in order to identify the main ideas and details of an informational text, or

to understand how and why events unfold in a historical novel.

All through the elementary grades, students

need to be immersed in classrooms, schools, and libraries that provide a wide variety of books and media at

different levels of complexity in a variety of genres—both literature and nonfiction. They need daily activities in

which they develop language skills, mathematical understanding and fluency, understanding of experimentation

and observation in science, creative experience in visual and performing arts, and the ability to interact with the

community in a variety of ways.

The pre-K–5 standards include expectations for reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language applicable to

a range of subjects, including ELA, social studies, science, mathematics, the arts, and comprehensive health.

The standards insist that instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language be a shared

responsibility within the school. This is particularly important in middle and high schools, where students

encounter a number of teachers from different academic departments daily. The grades 6–12 standards are

divided into two sections: one for ELA; and the other for history/social studies, science, mathematics, and career

and technical subjects. This division reflects the unique, time-honored place of ELA teachers in developing

students’ literacy skills and literary understandings while at the same time recognizing that teachers in other

disciplines have a particular role in developing students’ capacity for reading and writing informational text.

To achieve a well-rounded curriculum at all grade levels, the standards in this Framework are meant to be used

with the standards of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Mathematics, History and Social Science,

Science and Technology/Engineering, the Arts, Comprehensive Health and Physical Education, Foreign

Languages, Digital Literacy and Computer Science, and, in grades 9–12, Career/Vocational Technical Education.

Part of the motivation for the standards’ interdisciplinary approach to literacy is extensive research establishing

that students who wish to be college and career ready must be proficient in reading complex informational text

independently in a variety of content areas. Most of the required reading in college and workforce training

programs is informational in structure and challenging in content; postsecondary education programs typically

provide students with both a higher volume of such reading than is generally required in pre-K–12 schools and

comparatively little scaffolding.

It should be noted that recent revisions of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Science and

Technology/Engineering (2016) and Mathematics (2017) also highlight literacy in their Guiding Principles and

Practice Standards. The reason for placing literacy standards and guiding principles in each discipline’s

framework is twofold: first, this approach allows each discipline to articulate the literacy skills that are most

See Liana Heitin in Education Week (Cultural Literacy Creator Carries on Campaign, October 12, 2016) and Daniel Willingham in American Educator (How

Knowledge Helps, Spring 2006).

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 12

appropriate to college and career readiness in that field; second, educators in each subject area will be able to

easily locate standards and guiding principles for incorporating literacy within the frameworks they consider

their own. As the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks in other areas are revised in the future, educators from

each subject area will likely be asked to address disciplinary literacy in their fields of study.

Reading and Listening in the Framework: A Balance of Extended and Shorter

Texts

Students are expected to read extended texts: well-written, full-length novels, plays, long poems, and

informational texts chosen for the importance of their subject matter and excellence in language use. Students

build stamina by reading extended texts because such works often explore complex topics in ways that shorter

texts cannot. Learning to persist in the reading of extended texts predisposes students to reading for pleasure as

adults and prepares them for academic reading in college, technical and professional reading in the workplace,

and reading about issues of civic importance in the community.

Reading full-length works of fiction, drama, poetry, or literary nonfiction allows students to see how an author

creates complex characters who change over time in response to other characters and events. In full-length

informational texts, authors explore a topic in depth, with levels of argument, evidence, and analysis impossible

in shorter texts. Moreover, these longer literary and informational texts often address challenging concepts and

philosophical questions.

But of course there is also a place for shorter texts, both in adult reading and in the curriculum. Literate adults

keep current on world, national, and local events and pursue personal and professional interests by reading and

listening to a host of articles, editorials, journals, and digital material. Teachers can build that habit in students

and add coherence to the curriculum by ensuring that students read and listen to related shorter texts, such as

articles or excerpts of longer works that complement an extended text. These shorter texts can serve a number

of purposes, such as building background knowledge, providing a counterargument to the extended text, or

providing a review or critical analysis of the longer text. Shorter selections can also show how the extended

text’s topic is treated in another literary genre or medium, such as film or visual arts.

A well-designed curriculum also makes room for student choice. Classroom, school, and public libraries play a

vital role in making available a wide range of books available that allow students to pursue their own interests,

develop a preference for certain authors, and cultivate a love of reading.

Text Complexity and the Growth of Reading Comprehension

The Reading Standards place equal emphasis on the sophistication of what students read and the skill with

which they read. Standard 10 defines a grade-by-grade “staircase” of increasing text complexity that rises from

beginning reading to the college and career readiness level. Whatever they are reading, students must also show

a steadily growing ability to discern more from and make fuller use of text, including making an increasing

number of connections among ideas and between texts; considering a wider range of textual evidence; and

becoming more sensitive to inconsistencies, ambiguities, and poor reasoning in texts.

Critical Approaches to Analysis in the Framework

All successful reading involves understanding the main ideas, themes, and details of a work. Reading Standards 1

through 3, under the cluster heading Key Ideas and Details, embody this idea. There are many approaches to

critical reading; the Framework focuses on the two described below.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 13

1. Formal Analysis or Close Reading

This approach focuses on determining what a complex text means by examining word choice and the structure

of sentences. Most effectively applied to poetry or other short complex texts with multiple layers of meaning

and nuanced vocabulary, or to excerpts from larger complex texts, this method of analysis is not appropriate for

reading an entire extended text, because it slows readers and potentially leads them to miss an author’s

overarching ideas while focusing on details of vocabulary and syntax. Close reading is also an inappropriate and

unnecessary approach to reading texts that are easy to understand.

These are readily accessible texts for a

grade level, characterized by literal ideas presented in a straightforward manner, with uncomplicated sentence

structure and familiar vocabulary.

In English language arts classes, close reading is often a prerequisite to composing literary analyses. Close

reading often involves re-reading a difficult passage several times in order to determine meaning—a useful

practice to learn in grades K–12 and one that skilled readers employ automatically. This approach informs the

wording of Reading Standards 4 to 6, grouped together under the cluster heading Craft and Structure. By design,

these standards are echoed in Language Standards 1 through 6, which deal with standard English conventions,

language and style, and vocabulary development.

2. Comparative Analysis

This approach is based on the concept that a reader gains understanding of a text by setting it in a broader

context. This often means comparing it to other texts and seeking similarities and differences among them. A

variety of comparisons can be used, including, at the simplest level, comparing what the words in picture books

say to what the pictures show. Other forms of comparison involve multiple works by one author, multiple texts

on a similar topic or theme by different authors, multiple examples within and across genres, or multiple

interpretations of a similar theme across media (e.g., print and video). Comparative analysis can also include

examining the historical, political, and intellectual contexts of a work as well as using information from an

author’s biography in an interpretation. This approach informs the wording of Reading Standards 7 through 9,

with the cluster heading Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

Writing in the Framework

Teachers expect students to write in school every day—short pieces about what they have read that might be

completed in one sitting, and longer compositions that might take a week to a month or longer, with time for

research, synthesizing information from multiple texts, drafting, revising, and editing. Cluster headings in the

Writing Standards therefore include Range of Writing, Research to Build and Present Knowledge, and Production

and Distribution of Writing.

The first three Writing Standards, under the cluster heading Text Types and Purposes, address in detail the

components of writing opinions or arguments, explanations, and narratives. The intent of these standards is to

promote flexibility, not rigidity, in student writing. Many effective pieces of writing blend elements of more than

one text type in service of a single purpose: for example, an argument may rely on anecdotal evidence, a short

story may function to explain some phenomenon, or a literary analysis may use explication to develop an

argument. In addition, each of the three types of writing is itself a broad category encompassing a variety of

See Timothy Shanahan at shanahanonliteracy.com (A Fine Mess: Confusing Close Reading and Text Complexity, August 3, 2016) and Marilyn Adams in

American Educator (Advancing Our Students' Language and Literacy: The Challenge of Complex Texts, Winter 2010–2011).

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 14

texts: for example, narrative poems, short stories, and memoirs represent three distinct forms of narrative

writing.

To develop flexibility and nuance in their own writing, students need to read a wide range of complex model

texts. It is also important that students can discuss evidence from texts in formulating their ideas or positions, as

well as demonstrate awareness of competing ideas or positions. The Writing Standards are therefore closely

linked to the Reading and Speaking and Listening Standards. They are also intertwined with the Language

Standards, which include the essential conventions of standard written and spoken English and aspects of

vocabulary development, but also approach language as a matter of craft, style, and informed choice among

alternatives.

Speaking and Listening in the Framework

Students are expected to discuss their school experiences in the curriculum daily with their peers, their teachers,

and their families. Speaking and Listening Standards 1 through 3 address conversation, collaboration,

responding to media, and gaining information through listening and viewing and by identifying speakers’ points

of view and evaluating their reasoning. Standards 4 through 6 address preparing and presenting oral and media

presentations. The Speaking and Listening Standards are closely related to preparation for participation in civic

life. They also, like the Writing Standards, link to the Language Standards’ expectations for making informed and

effective choices in language use.

Research in the Framework

Research, addressed most explicitly in Writing Standards 7 through 9, involves identifying a topic; selecting and

narrowing a research question; identifying, reading, and evaluating source materials; and using these materials

as evidence in an explanation or argument. Though the Writing Standards address the process of research most

comprehensively, other strands also link to various components of academic research: for example, Reading

Standard 7 and Speaking and Listening Standard 2 both focus on integrating content from diverse sources.

Language in the Framework

The Language Standards address the use of standard English conventions (Standards 1–3) and the development

of vocabulary (Standards 4–6). Standard 6 emphasizes the importance of developing both general academic and

domain-specific vocabulary as a cumulative process. The term “general academic vocabulary” refers to high-

frequency words and phrases that are used broadly across disciplines in mature academic discourse and that

sometimes have distinctly different meanings depending on the discipline and context. This category includes

words such as affect, analyze, argue, average, coincidence, compose, conclude, contradict, culture, effect,

explain, foundation, image, integration, masterpiece, method, percent, region, research, and translate. “Domain-

specific vocabulary” words and phrases are relatively low-frequency terms that have a single, albeit important,

meaning and are primarily used within one discipline. This category includes words and phrases such as glacier,

personification, parallelogram, Revolutionary War, and abstract painting.

Literature on language acquisition often refers to words used in everyday conversation as “Tier One” words,

general academic vocabulary as “Tier Two” words, and domain-specific vocabulary as “Tier Three” words.

Teachers of all disciplines should pay attention to making sure students understand the “Tier Two” words they

See Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York, NY: Guilford.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 15

encounter and can use them properly when speaking and writing. “Tier Three” vocabulary is best taught as

students study individual subjects in the curriculum.

What the ELA/Literacy Framework Does and Does Not Do

The standards define what all students are expected to know and be able to do, not how teachers should teach.

While the standards focus on what is most essential, they do not describe all that can or should be taught. A

great deal is left to the discretion of teachers and curriculum developers and coordinators.

No set of grade-level standards can reflect the great variety of abilities, needs, learning rates, and achievement

levels in any given classroom. The standards define neither the support materials some students may need, nor

the advanced materials others should have. It is also beyond the scope of the standards to define the full range

of supports appropriate for English learners and for students with disabilities. Still, all students must have the

opportunity to learn and meet the same high standards if they are to access the knowledge and skills that will be

necessary in their post-high-school lives.

The standards should be read as allowing for the widest possible range of students to participate fully from the

outset and with appropriate accommodations to ensure maximum participation of students with disabilities. For

example, for students with disabilities reading should allow for the use of Braille, screen-reader technology, or

other assistive devices, while writing should include the use of a scribe, computer, or speech-to-text technology.

In a similar manner, speaking and listening should be interpreted broadly to include sign language.

While the ELA and content area literacy components described herein are critical to college, career, and civic

readiness, they do not define the whole of readiness. Students require a wide-ranging, rigorous academic

preparation and, particularly in the early grades, attention to such matters as social, emotional, and physical

development and approaches to learning.

Guiding Principles for English Language Arts and Literacy

Programs

The following principles are philosophical statements that underlie the standards and resources in this

curriculum framework. They should guide the design and evaluation of English language arts and literacy

programs in schools and the broader community. Programs guided by these principles will prepare students for

colleges, careers, and their lives as productive citizens.

Guiding Principle 1

Students should receive explicit instruction in skills, including phonics and decoding. Explicit skill instruction is

especially important in narrowing opportunity gaps.

Guiding Principle 2

To become successful readers, students need to develop a rich academic vocabulary and broad background

knowledge.

Guiding Principle 3

Educators should help students develop a love of reading by:

• Selecting high-quality works of literature and nonfiction.

• Reading aloud in class.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 16

• Providing students with ample opportunity and encouragement for sustained independent reading, both

for school and on their own.

Guiding Principle 4

Students should be exposed to complex and challenging texts at their grade level and above, with extra support

and scaffolding as needed, reflecting high expectations for all students.

Guiding Principle 5

Students should read a diverse set of authentic texts balanced across genres, cultures, and time periods.

Authentic texts are intact and unadapted texts in their original complexity; they are texts composed for

purposes other than being studied in school.

Guiding Principle 6

Students should have frequent opportunities for discussing and writing about their readings in order to develop

critical thinking skills and to demonstrate understanding.

Guiding Principle 7

Reading well-crafted texts is an essential foundation for developing effective writing skills.

Guiding Principle 8

Developing the ability to write well demands regular practice across multiple forms and genres of writing and

opportunities to write for a variety of audiences, including expository, analytical, persuasive, narrative, and

creative writing, as well as explicit instruction in vocabulary and standard English conventions.

Guiding Principle 9

Educators and families should view each other as resources who are both invested in supporting students’ skills

in reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Guiding Principle 10

Social and emotional learning can increase academic achievement, improve attitudes and behaviors, and reduce

emotional distress. Students should practice recognizing aspects of themselves in texts (self-awareness),

struggling productively with challenging texts (self-management), tailoring language to audience and purpose

(social awareness), grappling vicariously with choices faced by others (responsible decision making), and

collaborating respectfully with diverse peers (relationship skills).

Guiding Principle 11

Educators should select works of fiction and nonfiction that instill in students a deep appreciation for art,

beauty, and truth, while broadening their understanding of the human condition from differing points of view.

Reading, discussing, and writing about high-quality prose and poetry should also help students develop empathy

for one another and a sense of their shared values and literary heritage, while learning about who they are as

individuals and developing the capacity for independent, rigorous thinking.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 17

Students Who Are Ready for College, Careers, and Civic

Participation

The descriptions that follow are not standards themselves but instead offer a portrait of students who meet the

standards set out in this document.

They demonstrate independence.

Students can, without significant scaffolding, comprehend and evaluate complex texts across a range of types

and disciplines, and they can construct effective arguments and convey intricate or multifaceted information.

Likewise, students are able independently to discern a speaker’s key points, request clarification, and ask

relevant questions. They build on others’ ideas, articulate their own ideas, and confirm they have been

understood. Without prompting, they demonstrate command of standard English and acquire and use a wide-

ranging vocabulary. More broadly, they become self-directed learners, effectively seeking out and using

resources to assist them, including teachers, peers, and print and digital reference materials.

They build strong content knowledge.

Students establish a base of knowledge across a wide range of subject matter by engaging with works of quality

and substance. They become proficient in new areas through research and study. They read purposefully and

listen attentively to gain both general knowledge and discipline-specific expertise. They refine and share their

knowledge through writing and speaking.

They respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and

discipline.

Students adapt their communication in relation to audience, task, purpose, and discipline. They set and adjust

purpose for reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language use as warranted by the task. They appreciate

nuances, such as how the composition of an audience should affect tone when speaking and how the

connotations of words affect meaning. They also know that different disciplines call for different types of

evidence (e.g., documentary evidence in history and experimental evidence in science).

They comprehend as well as critique.

Students are engaged and open-minded—but discerning—readers and listeners. They work diligently to

understand precisely what an author or speaker is saying, but they also question an author’s or speaker’s

assumptions and premises and assess the veracity of claims and the soundness of reasoning.

They value evidence.

Students cite specific evidence when offering an oral or written analysis or interpretation of a text. They use

relevant evidence when supporting their own points in writing and speaking, making their reasoning clear to the

reader or listener, and they constructively evaluate others’ use of evidence.

They use technology and digital media strategically and capably.

Students employ technology thoughtfully to enhance their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language

use. They tailor their searches online to acquire useful information efficiently, and they integrate what they

learn using technology with what they learn offline. They are familiar with the strengths and limitations of

various technological tools and mediums and can select and use those best suited to their communication goals.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 18

They come to understand other perspectives and cultures.

Students appreciate that the twenty-first-century classroom and workplace are settings in which people from

often widely divergent cultures and who represent diverse experiences and perspectives must learn and work

together. Students actively seek to understand other perspectives and cultures through reading and listening,

and they are able to communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds. They evaluate other points of

view critically and constructively. Through reading great classic and contemporary works of literature

representative of a variety of periods, cultures, and worldviews, students can vicariously inhabit worlds and

have experiences much different than their own.

College and Career Readiness and Civic Preparation

Preparation for success in the world after high school ideally begins when children are very young. Students’

families and their preschool, elementary, and middle school teachers shape aspirations and build academic

foundations. Teachers and families prepare students to participate fully in society and to pursue a career or

college education.

Young children frequently dream about what they will be when they grow up, and as they get a little older,

many pursue interests in and out of school that might lead them to become scientists, teachers, artists, doctors,

journalists, government leaders, business owners, fashion designers, entrepreneurs, or members of any number

of other skilled and creative vocations. Skillful educators at all grade levels are always aware that their actions

and attitudes will shape students' capacities to succeed after high school.

The Massachusetts Boards of Elementary and Secondary and Higher Education adopted a definition of college

and career readiness in 2013 and amended it in 2016 to include a section on civic preparation. The definition

reads, in part:

"Massachusetts students who are college and career ready and prepared for civic life will demonstrate the

knowledge, skills, and abilities that are necessary to successfully complete entry-level, credit-bearing college

courses; participate in certificate or workplace training programs; enter economically viable career pathways;

and engage as active and responsible citizens in our democracy."

The Massachusetts definition identifies the following key knowledge and academic skills for English language

arts:

• Read and comprehend a range of sufficiently complex texts independently.

• Write effectively when using and/or analyzing sources.

• Build and present knowledge through research and the integration, comparison, and synthesis of

ideas.

• Use context to determine the meaning of words and phrases.

In addition, to be prepared for civic participation, students need key knowledge, skills, and dispositions related

to English language arts and literacy, including:

• Core civic content knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge to different circumstances and

settings.

• Civic intellectual skills, including the ability to identify, assess, interpret, describe, analyze, and

explain matters of concern in civic life.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 19

• Civic participatory skills, including knowing how to work collaboratively in groups and organizational

settings, interface with elected officials and community representatives, communicate perspectives

and arguments, and plan strategically for civic change.

• Civic dispositions, including interpersonal and intrapersonal values, virtues, and behaviors, respect

for freedom of speech and thought, respect for others, commitment to equality, capacity for

listening, and capacity to communicate in ways accessible to others.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy   20 
 
Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in  
History/Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, and 
Technical Subjects 
Pre-K through Grade 5 
 
 
ANCHOR STANDARDS 
Reading 
Writing 
Speaking and Listening 
Language 
STANDARDS BY GRADE LEVEL 
Pre-K 
Kindergarten 
Grade 1 
Grade 2 
Grade 3 
Grade 4 
Grade 5 
RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTING Pre-K–5 STANDARDS 
 
 
 

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 21

College and Career Readiness Anchor

Standards for Reading

The pre-K–5 standards on the following pages define what students should

understand and be able to do by the end of each grade. They

correspond to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor

standards below by number. The CCR and grade-specific

standards are necessary complements—the former providing

broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity—that

together define the skills and understandings that all students

must demonstrate.

Key Ideas and Details

1. Read closely to determine what a text states explicitly and to

make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence

when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from

a text.

2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze

their development; summarize the key supporting details

and ideas.

3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop

and interact over the course of a text.

Craft and Structure

4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text,

including determining technical, connotative, and figurative

meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape

meaning or tone.

5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific

sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of a text relate to

each other and the whole.

6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and

style of a text.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media

and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as

in words.

8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a

text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare

the approaches the authors take.

Please see “Research to Build and Present Knowledge” in Writing and “Comprehension and Collaboration” in Speaking and Listening for additional standards relevant to gathering, assessing,

and applying information from print and digital sources.

Note on range and content of

student reading

To build a foundation for college and

career readiness, students must read

widely and deeply from among a broad

range of high-quality, increasingly

challenging literary and informational

texts. Through extensive reading of

stories, dramas, poems, and myths from

diverse cultures and different time

periods, students gain literary and

cultural knowledge as well as familiarity

with various text structures and

elements.

By reading texts in history/social studies,

science, mathematics, and other

disciplines, students build a foundation

of knowledge in these fields that will also

give them the background to be better

readers in all content areas. Students can

gain this foundation only when the

curriculum is intentionally and

coherently structured to develop rich

content knowledge within and across

grades. Students also acquire the habits

of reading independently and closely,

which are essential to their future

success.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 22

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

10. Independently and proficiently read and comprehend

complex literary and informational texts.

College and Career Readiness Anchor

Standards for Writing

The pre-K–5 standards on the following pages define what students should understand and be able to do by the

end of each grade. They correspond to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards below by

number. The CCR and grade-specific standards are necessary complements—the former providing

broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity—that together define the skills and understandings

that all students must demonstrate.

Text Types and Purposes

1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of

substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and

relevant and sufficient evidence.

2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey

complex ideas and information clearly and accurately

through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of

content.

3. Write narratives to develop experiences or events using

effective literary techniques, well-chosen details, and well-

structured sequences.

Production and Distribution of Writing

4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the

development, organization, and style are appropriate to

task, purpose, and audience.

5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning,

revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

6. Use technology to produce and publish writing and to

interact and collaborate with others.

Research to Build and Present

Knowledge

7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects

based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding

of the subject under investigation.

8. When conducting research, gather relevant information

from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility

and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information

while avoiding plagiarism.

9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to

support analysis, interpretation, reflection, and research.

Measuring text complexity involves a qualitative evaluation of the text, a quantitative evaluation of the text, and matching reader to text and task. See the Pre-K–5 resource section in this

Framework for more information regarding range, quality, and complexity of student reading for grades pre-K–5. Appendix A of the Common Core State Standards also discusses text

complexity in depth, and the Massachusetts Model Curriculum Unit Project provides examples of complex texts and tasks.

Note on range and content

of student writing

To build a foundation for college and

career readiness, students need to learn

to use writing as a way of offering and

supporting opinions, demonstrating

understanding of the subjects they are

studying, and conveying real and

imagined experiences and events. They

learn to appreciate that a key purpose of

writing is to communicate clearly to an

external, sometimes unfamiliar

audience, and they begin to adapt the

form and content of their writing to

accomplish a particular task and

purpose. They develop the capacity to

build knowledge on a subject through

research and to respond analytically to

literary and informational sources. To

meet these goals, students must devote

significant time and effort to writing,

producing numerous pieces over short

and extended time frames throughout

the year.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 23

Range of Writing

10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time

frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 24

College and Career Readiness Anchor

Standards for Speaking and Listening

The pre-K–5 standards on the following pages define what students should

understand and be able to do by the end of each grade. They correspond to the College and Career Readiness

(CCR) anchor standards below by number. The CCR and grade-specific standards are necessary complements—

the former providing broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity—that together define the skills

and understandings that all students must demonstrate.

Comprehension and Collaboration

1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of

conversations and collaborations with diverse

partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing

their own clearly and persuasively.

2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in

diverse media and formats, including visually,

quantitatively, and orally.

3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and

use of evidence and rhetoric.

Presentation of Knowledge and

Ideas

4. Present information, findings, and supporting

evidence such that:

• Listeners can follow the line of reasoning.

• The organization, development, vocabulary,

and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and

audience.

5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual

displays of data to express information and enhance

understanding of presentations.

6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and

communicative tasks, demonstrating command of

formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Note on range and content

of student speaking and

listening

To build a foundation for college and

career readiness, students must have

ample opportunities to take part in a

variety of rich, structured

conversations—as part of a whole class,

in small groups, and with a partner.

Being productive members of these

conversations requires that students

contribute accurate, relevant

information; respond to and develop

what others have said; make

comparisons and contrasts; and analyze

and synthesize a multitude of ideas in

various domains.

New technologies have broadened and

expanded the role that speaking and

listening play in acquiring and sharing

knowledge and have tightened their link

to other forms of communication. Digital

texts confront students with the

potential for continually updated

content and dynamically changing

combinations of words, graphics, images,

hyperlinks, and embedded video and

audio.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 25

College and Career Readiness Anchor

Standards for Language

The pre-K–5 standards on the following pages define what students should understand

and be able to do by the end of each grade. They correspond to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor

standards below by number. The CCR and grade-specific standards are necessary complements—the former

providing broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity—that together define the skills and

understandings that all students must demonstrate.

Conventions of Standard English

1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of

standard English grammar and usage when writing

or speaking.

2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of

standard English capitalization, punctuation, and

spelling when writing.

Knowledge of Language

3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how

language functions in different contexts, to make

effective choices for meaning or style, and to

comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and

multiple-meaning words and phrases by using

context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and

consulting general and specialized reference

materials, as appropriate.

5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language,

word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

6. Acquire and use accurately a range of general

academic and domain-specific words and phrases

sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and

listening at the college and career readiness level;

demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary

knowledge.

Note on range and content

of student language use

To build a foundation for college and

career readiness, students must gain

control over many conventions of

standard English grammar, usage, and

mechanics as well as learn other ways to

use language to convey meaning

effectively. They must also be able to

determine or clarify the meaning of

grade-appropriate words encountered

through listening, reading, and media

use; come to appreciate that words have

nonliteral meanings, shadings of

meaning, and relationships to other

words; and expand their vocabulary in

the course of studying content. The

inclusion of Language Standards in their

own strand should not be taken as an

indication that skills related to

conventions, effective language use, and

vocabulary are unimportant to reading,

writing, speaking, and listening; indeed,

they are inseparable from such contexts.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 26

Pre-K Reading Standards

Pre-K Reading Standards for Literature [RL]

The following standards offer a focus for instruction each year and help ensure that students gain adequate

exposure to a range of texts and tasks. Rigor is also infused through the requirement that students read

increasingly complex texts through the grades. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet

each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in

preceding grades. Pre-K is for older 4-year-olds to younger 5-year-olds.

Key Ideas and Details

1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about a story or poem read aloud.

2. With prompting and support, retell a sequence of events from a story read aloud.

3. With prompting and support, act out characters and events from a story or poem read aloud.

Craft and Structure

4. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words in a story or poem read

aloud. (See pre-kindergarten Language Standards 4–6 on applying knowledge of vocabulary to reading.)

5. Show awareness of the rhythmic structure of a poem or song by clapping or through movement.

6. With prompting and support, “read” the illustrations in a picture book by describing a character or place

depicted, or by telling how a sequence of events unfolds.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7. With prompting and support, make predictions about what happens next in a picture book after

examining and discussing the illustrations.

For example, students listen as their teacher reads Jump, Frog, Jump by Robert Kalan. When each

creature comes to the pond and hints at the next hazard for Frog, the teacher pauses in the reading

and asks students to use the pictures and their prior knowledge to make a prediction about what will

happen next. (RL.PK.6, RL.PK.7)

8. (Not applicable.)

9. With prompting and support, make connections between a story or poem and their own experiences.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

10. Listen actively as an individual and as a member of a group to a variety of age-appropriate literature

read aloud.

Pre-K Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI]

Key Ideas and Details

1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about an informational text read aloud.

2. With prompting and support, recall important facts from an informational text after hearing it read

aloud.

For example, students participate in discussions about the senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and

smell. They listen to read-alouds of a number of books on the topic, such as Aliki’s My Five Senses,

learn new vocabulary, and draw pictures and dictate words to show the importance of one of the

senses. (RI.PK.2, RI.PK.4, W.PK.2, L.PK.6)

3. With prompting and support, represent or act out concepts learned from hearing an informational text

read aloud (e.g., make a skyscraper out of blocks after listening to a book about cities or, following a

read-aloud on animals, show how an elephant’s gait differs from a bunny’s hop).

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 27

Craft and Structure

4. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words in an informational text

read aloud. (See pre-kindergarten Language Standards 4–6 on applying knowledge of vocabulary to

reading.)

5. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

6. With prompting and support, “read” illustrations in an informational picture book by describing facts

learned from the pictures (e.g., how a seed grows into a plant).

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7. With prompting and support, describe important details from an illustration or photograph.

8. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

9. With prompting and support, identify several books on a favorite topic or several books by a favorite

author or illustrator.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

10. Listen actively as an individual and as a member of a group to a variety of age-appropriate informational

texts read aloud.

Pre-K Reading Standards for Foundational Skills [RF]

These standards are directed toward fostering students’ understanding and working knowledge of concepts of

print, the alphabetic principle, and other basic conventions of the English writing system. A research- and

evidence-based scope and sequence for phonological and phonics development and the complete range of

foundational skills are not ends in and of themselves. They are necessary and important components of an

effective, comprehensive reading curriculum designed to develop proficient readers with the capacity to

comprehend texts across a range of types and disciplines. Instruction should be differentiated: as students

become skilled readers, they will need much less practice with these concepts. Struggling readers may need

more or different kinds of practice. The point is to teach students what they need to learn and not what they

already know—to discern when particular children or activities warrant more or less attention.

Note: In pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, children are expected to demonstrate increasing awareness and

competence in the areas that follow.

Print Concepts

1. With guidance and support, demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of

printed and written text: books, words, letters, and the alphabet.

a. Handle books respectfully and appropriately, holding them right-side-up and turning pages one

at a time from front to back.

b. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

c. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

d. Recognize and name some uppercase letters of the alphabet and the lowercase letters in their

own name.

2. With guidance and support, demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds

(phonemes).

a. With guidance and support, recognize and produce rhyming words (e.g., identify words that

rhyme with /cat/ such as /bat/ and /sat/).

b. With guidance and support, segment words in a simple sentence by clapping and naming the

number of words in the sentence.

c. Identify the initial sound of a spoken word and, with guidance and support, generate several

other words that have the same initial sound.

d. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

e. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

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Phonics and Word Recognition

3. Demonstrate beginning understanding of phonics and word analysis skills.

a. Link an initial sound to a picture of an object that begins with that sound and, with guidance and

support, to the corresponding printed letter (e.g., link the initial sound /b/ to a picture of a ball

and, with support, to a printed or written “B”).

b. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

c. Recognize their own name and familiar common signs and labels (e.g., STOP).

d. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

Fluency

4. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

Pre-K Writing Standards [W]

The following standards offer a focus for instruction each year to help ensure that students gain adequate

mastery of a range of skills and applications. Each year in their writing, students should demonstrate increasing

sophistication in all aspects of language use, from vocabulary and syntax to the development and organization

of ideas, and they should address increasingly demanding content and sources. Students advancing through the

grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and

understandings mastered in preceding grades. The expected growth in student writing ability is reflected both in

the standards themselves and in the collections of annotated student writing samples in Appendix C of the

Common Core State Standards and the Massachusetts Writing Standards in Action Project. Pre-K is for older 4-

year-olds to younger 5-year-olds.

Text Types and Purposes

Note: The intent of Writing Standards 1–3 is to ensure flexibility, not rigidity, in student writing. Many effective

pieces of writing blend elements of more than one text type in service of a single purpose: for example, an

argument may rely on anecdotal evidence, a short story may function to explain some phenomenon, or a

literary analysis may use explication to develop an argument. In addition, each of the three types of writing is

itself a broad category encompassing a variety of texts: for example, narrative poems, short stories, and

memoirs represent three distinct forms of narrative writing. Finally, although the bulk of writing assigned in

school should address the purposes described below, other forms of writing—for example, lists and notes,

descriptive letters, personal reflections—should have a place in the classroom as well. To develop flexibility and

nuance in their own writing, students need to engage with a wide range of complex model texts (see Reading

Literature Standard 10 and Reading Informational Text Standard 10) and study authors who have written

successfully across genres (see Appendix B: A Literary Heritage).

1. Dictate words to express a preference or opinion about a topic (e.g., “I would like to go to the fire

station to see the truck and meet the firemen.”).

2. Use a combination of dictating and drawing to supply information about a topic.

For example, students draw pictures to show how they planted tulip bulbs in the school garden in the

fall. They dictate words and sentences about the soil in the garden, the tools they used, and what the

bulbs will become in the spring.

3. Use a combination of dictating and drawing to tell a story.

Production and Distribution of Writing

4. (Begins in grade 1.)

5. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

6. Recognize that digital tools (e.g., computers, mobile phones, cameras) are used for communication and,

with guidance and support, use them to convey messages in pictures and/or words.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 29

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

7. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

8. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

9. (Begins in grade 4.)

Range of Writing

10. (Begins in kindergarten or when the individual child is ready.)

Pre-K Speaking and Listening Standards [SL]

The following standards offer a focus for instruction each year to help ensure that students gain adequate

mastery of a range of skills and applications. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each

year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding

grades. Pre-K is for older 4-year-olds to younger 5-year-olds.

Comprehension and Collaboration

1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners during daily routines and play.

a. Observe and use appropriate ways of interacting in a group (e.g., taking turns in talking, listening

to peers, waiting to speak until another person is finished talking, asking questions and waiting

for an answer, gaining the floor in appropriate ways).

b. Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.

For example, students practice holding conversations with one another when they are playing being

shopkeepers and customers in a store, when they are getting ready for snack time, when they are

counting blocks, or when they are in a circle discussing which books they liked the best that day at

school.

2. Recall information for short periods of time and retell, act out, or represent information from a text read

aloud, a recording, or a video (e.g., watch a video about birds and their habitats and make drawings or

constructions of birds and their nests).

3. Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not

understood.

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

4. Describe personal experiences; tell stories.

5. Create representations of experiences or stories (e.g., drawings, constructions with blocks or other

materials, clay models) and explain them to others.

6. Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

Pre-K Language Standards [L]

The following standards offer a focus for instruction each year to help ensure that students gain adequate

mastery of a range of skills and applications. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each

year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding

grades. For example, though sentence fragments may receive the most attention in grade 4, more nuanced

discussions of the topic should develop throughout the later grades as students continue to analyze speakers’

and authors’ sentence structure, vary syntax for effect in their own speaking and writing, and more. Pre-K is for

older 4-year-olds to younger 5-year-olds.

Conventions of Standard English

1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when speaking.

Sentence Structure and Meaning

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 30

a. Demonstrate the ability to speak in complete sentences and to form questions using frequently

occurring nouns, verbs, question words, and prepositions; name and use in context numbers 0–

10 (see pre-kindergarten mathematics standards for Counting and Cardinality).

For example, a student uses full sentences to tell the class about her new puppy, including how she

played with the puppy, where he likes to sleep, and what he eats. (SL.PK.4, L.PK.1)

2. (Begins in kindergarten.)

Knowledge of Language

3. (Begins in grade 2.)

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

4. Ask and answer questions about the meanings of new words and phrases introduced through books,

activities, and play.

a. With guidance and support, generate words that are similar in meaning (e.g., happy/glad,

angry/mad).

5. With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

a. Demonstrate understanding of concepts by sorting common objects into categories (e.g., sort

objects by color, shape, texture).

b. (Begins in kindergarten.)

c. Apply words learned in classroom activities to real-life examples (e.g., name places in school

that are fun, quiet, or noisy).

d. (Begins in kindergarten.)

6. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, listening to books read aloud, activities, and

play.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 31

Kindergarten Reading Standards

The following standards offer a focus for instruction each year and help ensure that students gain adequate

exposure to a range of texts and tasks. Rigor is also infused through the requirement that students read

increasingly complex texts through the grades. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet

each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in

preceding grades.

Kindergarten Reading Standards for Literature [RL]

Key Ideas and Details

1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

2. With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.

For example, after hearing their teacher read and show the illustrations in Gerald McDermott’s picture

book version of a traditional African tale, Anansi the Spider, students retell the folktale about the

clever spider Anansi and draw pictures to illustrate characters and their interactions at important

points in the story. (RL.K.2, RL.K.3, W.K.3)

3. With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

Craft and Structure

4. Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. (See kindergarten Language Standards 4–6 on

applying knowledge of vocabulary to reading.)

5. Recognize common types of texts and characteristics of their structure (e.g., story elements in books;

rhyme, rhythm, and repetition in poems).

For example, students read with their teacher two texts about foods that are made, eaten, and

enjoyed all around the world: pancakes. The two texts are Tomie DePaola’s book Pancakes for

Breakfast and Christina Rossetti’s poem “Mix a Pancake.” After discussing the two texts, students

explain how they knew from the structure of each work that the first text was a story and the second a

poem. (RL.K.5, SL.K.1)

6. With prompting and support, explain that reading the cover or title page is how to find out who created

a book; name the author and illustrator of a book and define the role of each in telling the story.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7. With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they

appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

8. (Not applicable.)

9. With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in

familiar stories.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

10. Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

Kindergarten Reading Standards for Informational Text [RI]

Key Ideas and Details

1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

2. With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.

3. With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces

of information in a text.

Craft and Structure

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy 32

4. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. (See

kindergarten Language Standards 4–6 on applying knowledge of vocabulary to reading.)

5. Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book.

6. Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the ideas or

information in the text.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7. With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they

appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).

For example, students study the life cycles of plants and animals. Read-alouds from books such as One

Bean by Anne Rockwell, From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons, and A Tree is a Plant by Clyde Robert

Bulla introduce students to core science concepts and vocabulary through illustrations and words.

Students draw, dictate, and write observations in science journals. (RI.K.2, RI.K.4, RI.K.7, SL.K.5, L.K.6)

8. With prompting and support, identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.

9. With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the

same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, procedures).

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

10. Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

Kindergarten Reading Standards for Foundational Skills

[RF]