Use descriptive language to express a feeling, opinion, or emotion

Use new words to describe everyday events and personal experiences

Use simple sentences and/or full thoughts

Use descriptive language to share simple facts and ideas about a specific topic

Describe helpful, respectful, and equitable language

Identify differences between kind and hurtful language

Begin to use inclusive language that respects gender identity

Begin to use language that demonstrates cultural sensitivity and respect

Use question words to create questions about a specific topic or theme

Ask questions about a specific topic or theme

Respond to questions, answering or citing requested information

Use words for sequence (first, next, then, etc.), time (today, tomorrow, at noon, etc.), and spatial concepts (under, over there, beside, etc.)

Begin to use language specific to topic

Begin to use language specific to audience

Begin to use language specific to situation

Use questions, wonderings, and reflections to respond to new information or visual imagery

Begin to use turn-taking when interacting with others

Begin to demonstrate consideration for the thoughts and feelings of others

Begin to use words in place of actions to seek a response (conflict resolution, negotiation, material requests, etc.)

Receive information from others

Reflect while others are speaking

Interrupt when necessary or appropriate

Identify concepts of print when engaging with text

Explain that printed text carries meaning

Differentiate between letters and numbers

Differentiate between words and letters

Segment words in a sentence

Segment compound words

Identify rhyming words

Produce rhyming words

Segment spoken multisyllabic words

Delete a syllable in a multisyllabic word (including compound words)

Segment words into onset and rime

Identify words that start with the same initial sound

Produce a word starting with a given sound (e.g., "Tell me a word that starts with /b/")

Produce the first sound of a given word (e.g., "Tell me what sound the word 'bat' starts with")

Identify some words with the same final consonant

Blend two to four sounds orally to make a word

Segment some one-syllable words into separate sounds (e.g., initial and final sounds)

Identify own name

Name all letters of a given word

Match upper-case and lower-case letters

Order alphabet in sequence

Blend some initial consonants with common word families

Attempt to sound out new words

Decode some single syllable words. For example, consonant-vowel-consonant words (sit, cat, hop, etc.), vowel-consonant words (it, up, on, etc.), and consonant-vowel words (to, me, so, etc.)

Demonstrate automatic naming of all letters

Demonstrate automatic recall of most letter sounds

Automatically read some single syllable words. For example, consonant-vowel-consonant words (sit, cat, hop, etc.), vowel-consonant words (it, up, on, etc.), and consonant-vowel words (to, me, so, etc.)

Begin to read with expression decodable text with single syllable words. For example, consonant-vowel-consonant words (sit, cat, hop, etc.), vowel-consonant words (it, up, on, etc.), and consonant-vowel words (to, me, so, etc.)

Automatically read some high frequency words

Use Tier One (common) words in interactions (run, dog, house, etc.)

Begin to use Tier Two (all-purpose) words in interactions (decide, positive, community, etc.)

Use describing words

Describe word relationships (synonyms and opposites, etc.)

Use kinship vocabulary (brother, sister, sibling, mother, father, grandparent, Elder, etc.)

Use story vocabulary (Once upon a time, etc.)

Provide appropriate vocabulary to complete a phrase/sentence

Sort common objects into categories

Explain different meaning between similar verbs (stomp vs. march, etc.)

Ask about word meanings

Connect prior knowledge of words and word meanings to make predictions and discuss what will happen next

Identify new meanings for familiar words

Use vocabulary of feelings (happy, great, sad, frustrated, etc.)

Describe prior knowledge and connections to text imagery

Discuss predictions about a text based on cover art, imagery, or other information

Connect information and events to personal experiences

Retell one or two events in familiar stories, orally

Predict a plausible next event in a story

Retell the main event of a story, orally or through other forms of representation

Make inferences about a main character

Retell sequence of events from beginning, middle, and end

Elaborate on a main topic using a retell or illustrations, providing a few simple details

Select from a variety of text forms, for interest or learning needs (decodable text, braille, audio book, graphic text, non-fiction text, etc.)

Read or view a variety of text forms for interest or learning needs in first or additional languages

Express preferences and opinions about text and text features to others

Ask to view texts and be read to

Seek text linking to prior knowledge or current learnings

Refer to various text forms for knowledge, entertainment, interest, and information

Interact with storytellers and people in the community (Elders, family members, librarians, etc.)

Talk about information in non-fiction texts and elements of a story from pictures or read-alouds

Use basic text features to gain obvious information

Recognize some simple text forms (fiction, non-fiction, visual, oral text, videos, poems, posters, letters, true and imaginary texts, etc.)

Recognize basic text features and characteristics (author, illustrator, title, etc.)

Experiment with mark making and illustration

Represent own name

Represent most letters

Represent most upper-case and lower-case letters

Begin to represent left-to-right and top-to-bottom directionality

Identify and apply some mechanics (hand posture, grip, paper placement, use of assistive/augmentative technology, etc.)

Use letters to represent sounds

Match some letters to sounds in spoken language

Use abbreviated letter-sound mapping (often omitting consonants and vowels)

Use some phoneme segmentation during invented spelling

Attempt to spell and represent single syllable words: consonant-vowel-consonant words (sit, cat, hop, etc.), vowel-consonant words (it, up, on, etc.), and consonant-vowel words (to, me, so, etc.)

Begin to spell out loud and finger spell to determine sounds in a word

Represent some of the sounds in a word ("hc" for "hockey" and "mtk" for monster truck, etc.)

Begin to use short vowels in writing

Use drawings, letters, and approximations to record meaning

Begin to use sequence when representing ideas visually and orally

Begin to express feelings, opinions, and imaginative ideas orally, and through pictures

Begin to experiment with meaningful documentation of own thoughts or oral language

Begin to create simple sentences (e.g., subject-verb-object)

Begin to ask questions using pictures and other representations

Begin to represent or write complete thoughts

Begin to experiment with punctuation

Begin to use conventional spacing

Explain picture and story representations

Begin to represent or tell a story, properly sequenced

Begin to identify story elements

Begin to generate ideas for writing and representing (pictures, jot notes, etc.)

Begin to organize ideas for writing and representing (story map, story plan, etc.)

Choose forms for specific audiences and purposes

Begin to gather information for research

Begin to use strategies for prewriting (storytelling, sharing, drawing, etc.)

Use information to support ideas

Gather information to answer a question or solve a problem

Use information to form a simple argument