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English Language Arts Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) K-5


​2015-2016 Standards Do​cuments

2015-2016 Support Documents

ELA Developmental Progressions

Georgia Classrooms Live! - Videos for K-12 Instructional Practices for ELA

K-12 Georgia Standards Documents

The K-5 Standards define what students should understand and be able to do by the end of each grade. Fundamentally, students in grades K through 5 are focused on developing comprehension strategies that will enable them to manipulate grade-level texts of appropriate complexity, and communicate effectively both in writing and in speaking. Students will begin to anchor their inquiries and responses firmly to the text, whether literary or informational, using increasingly specific and relevant evidence to support their claims and inferences. Students’ analytical skills will extend to identifying main idea/theme, understanding character and plot development, and evaluating the impact of word choice. Additionally, students will identify structural elements in text such as scenes and chapters, distinguish narrative voice, understand the impact of aesthetic elements, and make logical connections. A key component of the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) is the expectation of appropriate grade level complexity in text choices. Complexity levels are assessed based upon a variety of indicators.

The K-5 standards are organized in the following Domains and Strands and include identical categories across grades. Use the blue box on the right to locate the full text of the standards for each grade level.

Reading Literary (RL)

• Key Ideas and Details:
     RL1, RL2, RL3

• Craft and Structure:
     RL4, RL5, RL6

• Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
     RL7, RL9

• Range of Reading/Text Complexity:
     RL10
Reading Informational (RI)

• Key Ideas and Details:
     RI1, RI2, RI3

• Craft and Structure:
     RI4, RI5, RI6

• Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
     RI7, RI8, RI9

• Range of Reading/Text Complexity:
     RL10
Reading Foundational Skills (RF)

• Print Concepts:
     RF1 (K and 1 only)

• Phonological Awareness:
     RF2 (K and 1 only)

• Phonics and Word Recognition:
     RF3

• Fluency:
     RF4
Writing (W)

• Text Types and Purposes:
     W1, W2, W3

• Production/Distribution:
     W4, W5, W6

• Research/Present Knowledge:
     W7, W8, W9

• Range of Writing:
     W10
Speaking and Listening (SL)

• Comprehension and Collaboration:
     SL1, SL2, SL3

• Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas:
     SL4, SL5, SL6
Language (L)

• Conventions of Standard English:
     L1, L2

• Knowledge of Language:
     L3

• Vocabulary Acquisition and Use:
     L4, L5, L6

Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards, to retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in previous grades, and to work steadily toward meeting the more general expectations described by the Standards. Although the Standards are divided into Foundational Skills, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language strands for conceptual clarity, the processes of communication are closely connected. For example the Writing Standards require that students write about what they read. Likewise, Speaking and Listening includes the necessity of presenting findings from research. The Standards use individual grade levels in kindergarten through grade 8 to provide useful specificity but allow schools and districts flexibility in course design. Teachers are free to provide students with whatever tools and knowledge their professional judgment and experience identify as most helpful for meeting the goals set out in the Standards. ​​​​

 Click on the to expand the list.

 Kindergarten

 Grade 1

 Grade 2

 Grade 3

 Grade 4

 Grade 5

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