Oral language, vocabulary, reading habits and, in the early grades, phonics, spelling, fluency and handwriting: the building blocks of reading and writing.
1.1 Foundational skills: oral language — listening, talking and group discussion
1.1A Listen actively, pose pertinent questions that clarify information, and respond to questions in multi-word answers
1.1B Follow, restate and give spoken instructions made of a short, linked series of actions
1.1C Share information and ideas on the topic being discussed, speaking clearly at a suitable pace with proper language conventions
1.1D Collaborate by following agreed discussion rules, including hearing others out, speaking once recognized, and making fitting contributions
1.1E Build social communication, such as introducing oneself and others, telling a classmate about experiences, and expressing needs and feelings
1.2 Foundational skills: beginning reading and writing — sounds in words, print concepts, phonics and word parts for decoding and spelling
1.2A Show phonological awareness: produce strings of rhymes; notice spoken alliteration (shared first sounds); tell long and short vowels apart in one-syllable words; hear how a word changes when a phoneme is added, swapped or dropped; blend phonemes into one-syllable words, blends included; manipulate phonemes in base words; segment one-syllable words with three to five phonemes, blends included
1.2B Show and apply phonics: decode words alone and in context with common letter-sound matches; decode beginning and ending blends, digraphs and trigraphs; decode closed, open, VCe, vowel-team (vowel digraphs, diphthongs) and r-controlled syllables; use base words to decode compound words and contractions; decode endings -ed, -s and -es; read 100 or more research-backed high-frequency words
1.2C Show and apply spelling knowledge: spell words with closed, open, VCe, vowel-team and r-controlled syllables; spell words with beginning and ending consonant blends, digraphs and trigraphs; spell words that follow sound-spelling patterns; and spell high-frequency words drawn from a research-based list
1.2D Show print awareness by noting what each part of a book tells the reader
1.2E Alphabetize words by initial or second letters and look them up in a dictionary
1.2F Develop handwriting by printing legible words, sentences and answers with suitable gaps between words
1.3 Foundational skills: vocabulary — use newly learned words expressively
1.3A Find words using a resource like a picture dictionary or a digital tool
1.3B Use illustrations and readable or heard texts to learn or clarify what words mean
1.3C Determine meanings of words carrying -s, -ed or -ing affixes
1.3D Identify and use words for locations, positions, directions, actions, sequences and categories
1.4 Foundational skills: fluency — read texts at grade level smoothly and with understanding, using suitable rate, accuracy and prosody
1.4A Read grade-level text with suitable rate, accuracy and prosody
1.5 Foundational skills: self-sustained reading — choose texts and engage with them independently for growing stretches of time
1.5A Choose texts and engage with them independently for growing stretches of time
Comprehension Skills
Using reading strategies to understand, summarize and make sense of what students read and hear.
1.6 Comprehension: use metacognitive strategies to build and deepen understanding of increasingly complex texts
1.6A Decide why to read texts that are assigned or self-chosen, with adult assistance
1.6B Pose questions about text at every stage of reading (before, during, after) to build understanding and gather information, with adult assistance
1.6C Make predictions, then correct or confirm them using text features, genre traits and structures, with adult assistance
1.6D Visualize ideas with adult assistance to strengthen understanding
1.6E Link a text to one's own experiences, to ideas in other texts, and to society, with adult assistance
1.6F Make inferences and back them with evidence, with adult assistance
1.6G Weigh details to decide which matter most, with adult assistance
1.6H Combine information to build new understanding, with adult assistance
1.6I Monitor comprehension and adjust when understanding breaks down, for example by re-reading, drawing on background knowledge, checking visuals or asking questions
Response Skills
Responding to texts in speaking and writing, with evidence and personal connections.
1.7 Response: react to an increasingly challenging range of texts and sources read, heard or viewed
1.7A Describe how various sources connect to oneself personally
1.7B Write short comments about literary or informational texts
1.7C Back up a fitting response with evidence from the text
1.7D Retell texts while keeping their meaning intact
1.7E Interact meaningfully with sources, for instance by illustrating or writing
1.7F Respond using newly learned vocabulary where fitting
Multiple Genres
Reading and analyzing fiction, poetry, drama, informational texts and media, and what makes each genre work.
1.8 Multiple genres: literary elements — recognize and analyze story elements within and across ever more complex traditional, contemporary, classic and diverse literary texts
1.8A Discuss topics and identify theme with evidence from the text, with adult assistance
1.8B Describe the main character or characters and the reasons behind their actions
1.8C Describe plot elements, including the central events, the problem and its resolution, in texts that are read aloud and read independently
1.8D Describe the setting
1.9 Multiple genres: genre traits — recognize and analyze features, structures and purposes inside and between ever more complex traditional, contemporary, classic and diverse texts
1.9A Show knowledge of what sets familiar kids' literature apart, for example nursery rhymes, folktales, fairy tales and fables
1.9B Talk about alliteration, repetition, rhythm and rhyme in a variety of poems
1.9C Talk about drama elements, for example characters and setting
1.9D Recognize informational text traits, including central idea with evidence (adult help), features and simple graphics for finding information, and patterns like chronology and description (adult help)
1.9E Recognize traits of persuasive text, with adult help, and state what the author wants readers to think or do
1.9F Recognize features of multimodal and digital texts
Author's Purpose and Craft
How authors choose words, structure and techniques to inform, persuade and entertain.
1.10 Author's purpose and craft: analyze authors' choices and how they shape meaning, then apply craft deliberately in one's own products and performances
1.10A Discuss why an author wrote a text
1.10B Discuss how text structure supports the author's purpose
1.10C Discuss how an author uses print and graphic features for specific purposes, with adult assistance
1.10D Discuss how an author uses wording that helps readers picture things
1.10E Listen to and experience texts told in first and third person
Composition and Writing
Writing process, genres of writing, and the conventions of grammar, usage, punctuation and spelling.
1.11 Composition: writing process — use the process recursively to compose multiple legible texts with suitable conventions
1.11A Plan an opening draft by coming up with ideas, for example through drawing and brainstorming
1.11B Develop oral, pictorial or written drafts by organizing with structure and building an idea with specific, relevant details
1.11C Revise drafts by adding details through pictures or words
1.11D Edit drafts: complete sentences whose subjects and verbs agree; past and present tense; nouns (singular, plural, common, proper); adjectives and articles; adverbs of time; prepositions; subjective, objective and possessive pronouns; capitals for sentence starts and the pronoun I; periods, exclamation points and question marks; and, with adult help, grade-level spelling and high-frequency words
1.11E Publish and share writing
1.12 Composition: genres — use genre traits and craft to compose multiple meaningful texts
1.12A Dictate or compose literary works, including personal narratives and poetry
1.12B Dictate or compose informational works, including procedural texts
1.12C Dictate or compose correspondence, for example thank-you notes or letters
Inquiry and Research
Asking questions, finding and evaluating sources, and presenting what was learned.
1.13 Inquiry and research: engage in brief and extended recursive inquiry for varied purposes
1.13A Come up with questions for both formal and informal inquiry, with an adult's help
1.13B Create and carry out a research plan, with an adult's help
1.13C Locate relevant sources and the information within them that answers the questions, with adult assistance
1.13D Show understanding of the information collected, with adult assistance
1.13E Present results in a suitable delivery mode: written, oral or multimodal
There are 60 1st Grade TEKS ELAR Standards on this page, in 7 strands: Foundational Language Skills, Comprehension Skills, Response Skills, Multiple Genres, Author's Purpose and Craft, Composition and Writing, and Inquiry and Research.
How do I write an assessment for a 1st Grade TEKS ELAR standard?
Pick a standard on this page and choose Make a quiz. AssessmentWiz opens the generator with the standard's code and text filled in, so every question targets that standard.
What does a code like 1.1A mean?
TEKS ELAR codes read grade, knowledge and skills statement, student expectation. In 1.1A, the first number is the grade (K for kindergarten), the next number is the knowledge and skills statement, and the letter is the student expectation under it.