Standard 3: Following Conventions

General Information
Number: ELA.K.C.3
Title: Following Conventions
Type: Standard
Subject: English Language Arts (B.E.S.T.)
Grade: K
Strand: Communication

Related Benchmarks

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Related Access Points

This cluster includes the following access points.

Access Points

ELA.K.C.3.AP.1
1 Follow the rules of standard English grammar, punctuation, capitalization and spelling.
Capitalize the first word in a sentence, the pronoun I and use ending punctuation.
Form and use complete simple sentences.
Use interrogatives to ask questions.


Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.

Lesson Plans

People at My School Part 3:

Students will complete a journal entry describing the role of one school authority figure at school as someone who helps others and makes rules to keep students safe. Using notes from previous interviews to guide their writing, students will recall at least one piece of information about the school authority figure’s responsibilities at school to make rules. In this lesson, students will draw their entries and include written or dictated information about the school authority figure. 

Type: Lesson Plan

Be a Star Writer!:

Students will begin by discussing the difference between letters, words, and sentences followed by a reading of The Alphabet Tree by Leo Lionni. After partaking in a fun sentence strip activity, students will be asked to practice their star writing skills by writing a sentence about a time that they were happy.

Type: Lesson Plan

I Don't Want to Take a Bath: Story Elements with Harry the Dirty Dog:

In this lesson, students will read the beloved children’s book, Harry the Dirty Dog. They will use this book to explore the elements of a story including a focus on the main character. Students will create a “Lost Dog” poster for Harry that includes his description, picture, and what to do if he is found.

Type: Lesson Plan

Bear Necessities - Lesson 3 of 3:

Students will review and share what they have learned about brown bears and polar bears by comparing and contrasting these animals with a Venn Diagram and creating a bear project accompanied by a favorite fact.

Type: Lesson Plan

Bear Necessities - Lesson 1 of 3:

In this lesson, students will learn about the topic of brown bears by asking questions and gaining information from a non-fiction, informational text. Students will listen for key details in the text and recall information that will be demonstrated through drawing and writing.

Type: Lesson Plan

Sequential Story Tellers:

In this lesson, students will become story sequencers as they participate in whole group, partner, and independent activities. Students will recall important events from the story The Little Red Hen and help generate a class story to demonstrate their understanding of beginning, middle, and end before completing their summative assessment. At the end of the lesson students will become authors of their own narrative when they write a sequential story of a special event. They will use suggestions and revisions from their peers and teacher to create a final draft of their narrative that will be shared with the class.

Type: Lesson Plan

Going Camping:

In this lesson, students will learn about camping by reading stories about familiar characters that have gone camping, including Little Critter, Fred and Ted, and Curious George. Students will learn about how to make a camping list and compare and contrast the experiences of the characters in the stories using a Venn Diagram. They will create an opinion explaining what they think are the most important items to take camping.

Type: Lesson Plan

Beach Sort:

In this lesson, students will have hands-on experience with categorization skills, by sorting objects commonly taken on a beach trip. Students will practice describing objects, sorting objects into categories, and verbalizing category concepts. Students will also practice discussing opinions about objects by writing a Beach Sorting Book.

Type: Lesson Plan

Who Says Please and Thank You?:

In this lesson, students will recall information from a read aloud text and discuss what it means to demonstrate good manners. Activities include contributing to a good manners chart, composing a sentence using a sentence frame demonstrating understanding of the conventions of standard English and practicing spelling words in creative ways. At the end of the lesson, students will create a Good Manners page for a class book, sharing a time when they have shown good manners.

Type: Lesson Plan

My Caterpillar Loves to Eat!:

In this lesson, students will listen to the teacher read aloud the well-loved book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Students will collaboratively practice retelling the story with a partner and record the food that the caterpillar ate on a class chart. Using their imagination, students will create a sentence and accompanying illustration of what their caterpillar would eat using the high frequency word ‘and’. Teachers are provided with a rubric to assess how the students are using punctuationusing punctuation, capitalization, finger spacing, and phonetic spelling.

Type: Lesson Plan

An Unlikey Friend or Foe:

In this lesson, students will listen to The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle and The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and will analyze the main character's actions and reactions to their adventures by comparing and contrasting using a Venn diagram. Students will also be given an opportunity to think and write about times that they have been grumpy or peaceful using grade-appropriate conventions of writing and phonetic spelling.

Type: Lesson Plan

What’s So Great About Kevin Henkes?:

In this lesson, students will serve as researchers of the beloved author, Kevin Henkes. After reading three of Henkes’s most popular books, students will complete a chart of story elements, record their opinion about each book, and create an opinion writing piece to inform others of their favorite Kevin Henkes book and why they like it best.

Type: Lesson Plan

Identifying Explicit Information in Fiction:

In this lesson, students will practice identifying explicit information in fiction. In the teacher modeling and guided practice activities, the featured text is Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. The passage for independent practice is provided with the resource.

Type: Lesson Plan

Let's Get Moving!:

Students will move like their favorite animal and identify what the movement is called reviewing verbs. Then they will create a chart about ways that animals move and interact with a read aloud as they search for more movement ideas. Students will end the lesson by completing an opinion sentence about their favorite animal movement and why it is their favorite.

Type: Lesson Plan

Plot: Identifying the Problem in a Story:

This is the second lesson in a kindergarten unit on plot. Students will identify and describe the problem in a story. The teacher will use My Red Balloon by Eve Bunting in the teacher modeling phase, and Olivia...and the Missing Toy by Ian Falconer in the guided and independent practice activities. Other lessons in this unit have been attached as related CPALMS resources.

Type: Lesson Plan

Plot: Identifying the Solution in a Story:

In this lesson students will identify and describe the solution in a story. The teacher modeling phase uses the story My Red Balloon by Eve Bunting, and the guided and independent practice activities use the story Olivia...and the Missing Toy by Ian Falconer. This lesson is part of a unit on plot; other lessons in the unit have been attached as related CPALMS resources.

Type: Lesson Plan

Original Student Tutorials

Detecting Capitals:

Learn to detect words that need capitals with Detectives Sadie, Sam, and Scout in this interactive tutorial. Help fix their secret messages by capitalizing the first word in a sentence, names, the pronoun I, days of the week, and months of the year.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Captain Capitalization's Treasure Hunt:

Capitalize holidays, product names, and names of places around the world as you hunt for treasure in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Punctuation Play:

Learn to use a period, a question mark, and an exclamation mark at the end of sentences in this interactive soccer-themed tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Capitalization Invasion:

Learn how to capitalize the first word in a sentence with this interactive tutorial. You will also be able to capitalize the pronoun “I” when used in a sentence.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

The Preposition Factory:

Learn how to identify special words called prepositions that help you describe where a person or object is located. By the end of this interactive tutorial, you should also be able to use these special words to complete simple sentences.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Student Center Activities

Comprehension: Build a Sentence:

In this activity, students will make sentences using selected words.

Type: Student Center Activity

Comprehension: Sentence-Picture Match:

In this activity, students will match sentences to the pictures they describe.

Type: Student Center Activity

Comprehension: Silly Sentence Mix-Up:

In this activity, students will arrange groups of words to make sentences. Then they will illustrate the sentences they created.

Type: Student Center Activity

Student Resources

Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this topic.

Original Student Tutorials

Detecting Capitals:

Learn to detect words that need capitals with Detectives Sadie, Sam, and Scout in this interactive tutorial. Help fix their secret messages by capitalizing the first word in a sentence, names, the pronoun I, days of the week, and months of the year.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Captain Capitalization's Treasure Hunt:

Capitalize holidays, product names, and names of places around the world as you hunt for treasure in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Punctuation Play:

Learn to use a period, a question mark, and an exclamation mark at the end of sentences in this interactive soccer-themed tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Capitalization Invasion:

Learn how to capitalize the first word in a sentence with this interactive tutorial. You will also be able to capitalize the pronoun “I” when used in a sentence.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

The Preposition Factory:

Learn how to identify special words called prepositions that help you describe where a person or object is located. By the end of this interactive tutorial, you should also be able to use these special words to complete simple sentences.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Parent Resources

Vetted resources caregivers can use to help students learn the concepts and skills in this topic.