English Language Arts Standards » Anchor Standards » College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language

The 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.

  Suggested tag: cc-k-5e-l-ccr-1

• 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

  Suggested tag: cc-k-5e-l-ccr-2

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.

  Suggested tag: cc-k-5e-l-ccr-3

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.

  Suggested tag: cc-k-5e-l-ccr-4

• 5. Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

  Suggested tag: cc-k-5e-l-ccr-5

• 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 when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.

  Suggested tag: cc-k-5e-l-ccr-6

Note on range and content of student language use

To build a foundation for college and career readiness in language, 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.