CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.2

ELAKindergartenKey Ideas and Details

The Standard

With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text

What This Standard Means

Students need to name what an informational text is mostly about and tell a few facts or details that match that topic. They will need teacher support, picture clues, repeated reading, and simple talk stems like, “This book is mostly about...” and “One detail is...”

Mastery looks like a child saying the topic in a short phrase, such as “penguins,” then retelling two or three true details from the text. Students often get stuck by naming one fun detail as the topic, retelling every page, or giving facts they already knew instead of facts from the text.

Ways to Teach It

  • Read a short nonfiction picture book, then have students sort picture cards into “about the topic” and “not about the topic.”
  • Ask, “What was this book mostly about, and what are two things the author taught us about it?”
  • After reading, give each student three picture choices and ask them to circle the main topic and tell one detail.
  • Use a school lunch menu or weather chart, then ask students what it is mostly about and what details it gives.

Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.2

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Related Standards

Standard text verified against corestandards.org on July 10, 2026.

Page updated July 10, 2026.

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