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

Students read a passage carefully, then point to the exact words or sentences that back up what they think the text means. They learn to use the text itself as proof, not just a guess.

Students find the main point of a story or article, then explain the key details that support it. They can sum up what they read in their own words.

Students trace how a character changes, how an event leads to another, or how an idea grows as a story or article moves forward.

Students figure out what words mean based on how they are used in a story or book. They also notice how an author's word choices change the feeling or message of what they read.

Students learn how the parts of a story or book fit together. A sentence, a paragraph, or a chapter each plays a role, and good readers notice how those pieces connect to make the whole thing work.

Stories and articles are written by someone with a reason for writing. Students learn to notice whose voice is telling the story and how that choice changes what gets said and how it sounds.

Reading isn't just about words on a page. Students learn to make sense of pictures, charts, and videos alongside written text, and to think about what each one shows that the others don't.

Students learn to spot the main argument in what they read and ask whether the reasons given actually hold up. Does the author's evidence make sense, and is there enough of it to be convincing?

Students read two books on the same topic and compare what each author says, noticing where the books agree, disagree, or tell the story differently.

Reading gets harder every year. This standard asks students to read stories and nonfiction books on their own, at the level their grade expects, and understand what they read without help.

Students read a story and answer questions about what happened, who was in it, and why. They also ask their own questions when something is unclear.

Students retell a story in their own words, covering the key details, and explain what lesson or message the story teaches.

Students describe who is in a story, where it takes place, and what happens, pointing to specific details from the text to back up what they say.

Students find words in a story or poem that paint a picture or stir a feeling. Think of lines like "the icy wind howled" or "she felt a rush of joy."

Stories have characters and events that unfold over time. Information books explain facts about the world. Students learn to tell these two kinds of books apart by reading plenty of both.

Students figure out who is speaking or narrating at different moments in a story. Is it a character? The author? Recognizing the storyteller helps students understand whose eyes they're seeing the story through.

Students look at the pictures and words in a story together to describe who is in it, where it takes place, or what happens. The illustrations help fill in details the words alone don't show.

Students look at two stories side by side and explain how the characters' experiences are alike and how they are different. The focus is on what happens to each character and how they handle it.

First graders read simple stories and poems at their reading level, with a teacher's help when needed.

Students read a short nonfiction passage and answer questions about what it says. They also practice asking their own questions about the facts and details they find.

Students find the big idea of a nonfiction passage and describe the most important details that support it.

Students read a nonfiction passage and explain how two things in it are connected. For example, they might explain how rain causes a river to rise, or why one event led to another.

Students stop at unfamiliar words in a nonfiction passage and ask questions to figure out what those words mean. They use the sentences around the word as clues.

Headings, glossaries, and tables of contents help readers find information fast. Students learn what these parts of a book or webpage are for and use them to track down specific facts.

Pictures and words each tell part of the story in a nonfiction book. Students practice noticing what they learn from a photo or drawing versus what they learn from reading the actual sentences.

Students look at the pictures and read the words in a book together to figure out the main idea. The illustrations and the text work as a pair, each filling in what the other leaves out.

Students find the reasons an author gives to back up the main point in a book or article. For example, if an author says bugs are helpful, students look for the sentences that explain why.

Students read two books on the same topic and point out what the books share and where they disagree. They might compare the pictures, the facts, or the steps each book describes.

Students read true, fact-based books and articles matched to first-grade reading level. A teacher or adult may guide them with questions or hints along the way.

Reading print means knowing that words go left to right, sentences start with a capital letter, and spaces separate one word from the next. Students show they understand how a page of writing is organized.

A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. Students learn to spot those features so they can read and write sentences correctly.

Students listen to spoken words and work with the sounds inside them. They can break a word into its syllables, identify a single sound at the start or end of a word, and swap one sound out to make a new word.

Students listen to a word like "cape" or "cap" and identify whether the vowel sound is long or short. This is a listening skill, not a reading one. No letters yet, just sounds.

Students listen to separate sounds and blend them into a whole word out loud. For example, they hear "/s/ /t/ /o/ /p/" and say "stop."

Students listen to a single spoken word and say each sound on its own: the first sound, the middle vowel, and the last sound. For example, in "cat," they say /k/, /a/, /t/ separately.

Students listen to a word like "cat" and say each sound separately: /k/, /a/, /t/. This is the building block for learning to read and spell.

Students use letter-sound patterns they know to sound out and read unfamiliar words on the page.

Students learn that two consonants together can make one sound, like the "sh" in "ship" or the "ch" in "chin." They use that knowledge to read and spell common words.

Students read short, simple words by sounding out each letter in order. Think "cat," "ship," or "drum," where every letter follows a predictable sound pattern.

Words like "cake" and "rain" have long vowel sounds spelled in predictable ways. Students learn that a silent -e at the end changes the vowel sound, and that two vowels together (like "ai" or "ea") often make one long sound.

Students count the vowel sounds in a word to figure out how many syllables it has. Knowing that every syllable needs at least one vowel sound helps them break longer words into readable parts.

Students split a longer word into two smaller chunks to read it. Breaking "rabbit" into "rab" and "bit" is the kind of work this standard covers.

Students read words that have common endings added, like "walked," "jumping," or "cats," and recognize that the base word stays the same even when the ending changes.

Some words don't follow normal spelling rules and just have to be memorized. Students read these common words on sight, words like "said," "come," and "where," without sounding them out.

Reading out loud smoothly and accurately helps students understand what they read. In first grade, students practice reading sentences without stumbling so the meaning comes through clearly.

Students read first-grade texts with a clear reason in mind, not just calling out words but actually following the meaning as they go.

Students practice reading the same passage out loud more than once, getting smoother and more expressive each time. The goal is reading aloud at a steady pace, with few errors.

Students catch their own mistakes while reading. When a word doesn't sound right or make sense in the sentence, they reread to fix it.

Students write sentences that take a side on a topic and back it up with reasons from what they read or learned.

Students write to explain something real, like how an animal lives or how a process works, using facts organized in a clear order.

Students write stories about real or imagined events, putting the moments in order and adding specific details that make the story come alive on the page.

Students write in a way that fits the job. A story sounds like a story. A letter to a teacher sounds different from a note to a friend. The writing makes sense for who will read it and why.

Writing is a process, not a one-shot draft. Students plan before they write, look back at what they wrote, fix what isn't working, and try again when a different approach would say it better.

Students use a computer or tablet to write, share, and work on writing with others. This standard grows with the grade, so the actual task looks different for a first grader than for an older student.

Students pick a question they want to answer, then read, look, or listen to find out. Short projects might take a day; longer ones build over a week or more.

Students learn to find facts from more than one book or website, check whether each source can be trusted, and put the information into their own words.

Students find sentences or details in a book that back up what they want to say. They use what they read as proof for their ideas.

Students write often, sometimes spending days on a piece and sometimes finishing in one sitting. The goal is to get comfortable putting words on paper for different reasons and different readers.

Students write a short opinion piece that names a topic or book, says what they think about it, gives one reason why, and wraps up with a closing sentence.

Students pick a topic, write a few facts about it, and wrap it up with a closing sentence. Think of it as a short "here's what I know" paragraph with a beginning and an end.

Students write a short story that tells two or more things that happened in order, uses words like "first," "then," and "finally" to show what came next, and wraps up with an ending.

Students revise their writing by listening to a teacher or classmate's questions, then adding details that make their point clearer. The focus stays on one topic throughout.

With a teacher's help, students use computers or tablets to write and share their work, sometimes alongside a classmate.

Students work with classmates to look into a topic together, then write something based on what they found, like a set of steps explaining how to do something.

Students answer a simple question by drawing on something they lived through or by looking at a book, photo, or other source a teacher provides. Adults help them find and use what they need.

Students listen to what classmates say, then add their own ideas to keep the conversation going. They practice this in pairs, small groups, and whole-class discussions.

Students look at a photo, chart, or video and connect what they see to what they hear or read. They think about whether the information makes sense and how the pieces fit together.

Students listen to someone speak and decide whether their reasons and examples actually support what they're saying. This is the foundation for spotting a weak argument or a strong one.

Students share ideas out loud in a clear order, with details that fit who is listening and why.

Students learn to use pictures, videos, or slides to make their point clearer when sharing information with an audience.

Students learn to change how they talk depending on the situation. Chatting with a friend sounds different from answering a question in class, and knowing when to use proper, careful language is a skill they practice.

Students take turns talking and listening in group conversations about books and classroom topics, whether the group is two kids or the whole class.

Students take turns talking and listen without interrupting when the class discusses a story or topic together.

Students listen to what a classmate says and respond to it directly, keeping the conversation going across several back-and-forth turns rather than just waiting for their own chance to talk.

Students ask questions when something in a conversation or read-aloud doesn't make sense. Asking helps them understand the topic before moving on.

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

Students listen to a speaker and ask questions when something is confusing or unclear. They also answer questions to help others understand what was said.

Students describe a person, place, thing, or event out loud, using details that help listeners picture what happened or how something feels.

Students add a drawing or picture to a spoken description to make their meaning clearer. A sketch of a dog, for example, helps listeners understand what students are talking about when words alone fall short.

Students practice speaking in full sentences instead of single words or fragments, matching how they talk to what the moment calls for.

Students use correct grammar when they write sentences and talk out loud. This means putting words in the right order, using the right verb forms, and following the basic rules that make writing and speech easy to understand.

Students learn when to use capital letters, where to place periods and commas, and how to spell words correctly in their writing.

Word choice changes depending on where you are and who you are talking to. Students begin noticing how a sentence sounds different in a story, a letter, or a conversation, and practice picking words that fit the moment.

When students come across a word they don't know, they figure out what it means by looking at the words around it or by checking a dictionary or glossary.

Words don't always mean exactly what they say. Students learn to notice when language is playful or indirect, like "it's raining cats and dogs," and to see how words connect to each other in meaning.

Students learn words they'll meet in books and class discussions, and practice figuring out unfamiliar words on their own. Building this habit early means students can keep reading and writing without stopping every time they hit an unknown word.

Students learn the basic rules of English: how to build a sentence, when to use words like "a" or "the," and how to talk and write so others can follow along.

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

Students learn the difference between everyday nouns like "dog," names like "Maria," and possessive nouns like "Maria's dog." They practice using all three correctly in their writing and speech.

Students practice making nouns and verbs agree in simple sentences: one person or thing gets one verb form, and a group gets another. Think "She runs" versus "They run."

Students learn to swap in the right stand-in word for a person or thing. They practice choosing between words like "I," "me," and "my," or "they," "them," and "their" when speaking and writing.

Students learn to change a verb to show when something happens: in the past, right now, or later. "I walked," "I walk," and "I will walk" are all the same action at different times.

Students use common describing words, like "big," "cold," or "happy," to make their sentences more specific.

Students practice connecting ideas in a sentence using small linking words like "and," "but," "or," "so," and "because." This helps their writing and speech make sense from one thought to the next.

Students learn when to use words like "a," "an," "the," "this," and "that" in front of nouns. They practice choosing the right one so sentences sound correct and make sense to a reader.

Students practice words that show where, when, or how things relate, such as "toward the door" or "during lunch." These small words glue ideas together in a sentence.

Students write complete sentences of different types: statements, questions, commands, and exclamations. Given a prompt, they can also stretch a short sentence into a longer one.

When writing, students use capital letters at the start of sentences and for names, add periods and question marks where they belong, and spell common words correctly.

Students learn which words in a sentence need a capital letter, starting with people's names and dates like Monday or January.

Students learn to end every sentence with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. It's the basic signal that a sentence is finished.

Students learn when to place a comma between items in a list and between the day and year in a date. Think "June 5, 2025" or "red, blue, and green."

Students spell common short-word patterns correctly (like "cat" or "hop") and learn the tricky words that don't follow the rules, like "said" or "come."

When students don't know how to spell a word, they sound it out and write what they hear. It's an early spelling skill that builds the habit of getting words on the page.

Students figure out what an unfamiliar word means by using clues from the sentence around it, asking an adult, or looking it up.

Students use the other words in a sentence to figure out what an unfamiliar word means. If a sentence says "the dog was famished and ate all his food," students use the hunger clue to work out what "famished" means.

Students learn that common word parts like "un-" or "-ful" change what a word means. Spotting those parts helps them figure out an unfamiliar word without asking for help.

Students learn that adding -s, -ed, or -ing to a base word like "look" changes how it works in a sentence. Recognizing those endings helps students read and understand more words on their own.

Students learn that words can be connected or shaded in meaning. With a teacher's help, they sort words by category, act out their meanings, and figure out the difference between words that seem similar (like "happy" and "overjoyed").

Students group words by what they have in common, like putting "red," "blue," and "green" together because they are all colors. Sorting words this way helps students understand what makes a group of things alike.

Students sort words into groups and describe what makes each thing distinct. A duck is a bird that swims; a tiger is a large cat with stripes.

Students connect vocabulary words to real life by thinking of examples they already know. Asked about a word like "cozy," they might picture a blanket or a favorite chair at home.

Students sort words that are close in meaning but not quite the same, like the difference between "peek" and "stare," or "big" and "gigantic." They show they understand by picking the right word, explaining it, or acting it out.

Students practice using new words they've picked up from books and class conversations. They also use connecting words like "because" to explain why things happen or how ideas relate.