Maryland ELA RF.K.3.b
The Standard
- RF.K.3
- Know and apply phonics and word analysis skills in decoding and encoding words. Demonstrate knowledge of the alphabetic principle. Form/print all upper and lowercase letters correctly, using a common path of movement. Associate the long and short sounds with common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels. Know and apply phonics skills in order to decode and encode one-syllable words. Read common high-frequency words by sight. Decode and encode words that are minimal pairs. Decode words with the most common inflectional suffixes.
Form/print all upper and lowercase letters correctly, using a common path of movement.
Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts (2025)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students print every capital and lowercase letter. They start each letter in the taught place and move their pencil in the taught direction.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can print both forms of a letter when you say its name, without tracing. The letters are recognizable, and the student uses the taught stroke path.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may start at the bottom or retrace a stroke backward, even when the finished letter looks right. They may reverse b and d or write a capital when asked for a lowercase letter.
How to Assess It
- Say M, b, G, and d. Have students print both forms of each on a whiteboard while you watch their starting points, stroke direction, and finished shapes.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give students sand trays and letter cards with start dots; have them trace each capital and lowercase letter with a finger.
Show two ways to form a lowercase b, one starting at the top and one at the bottom; ask which follows the class path.
Play letter-card bingo: call a letter, then have students print both forms on a whiteboard before covering its square.
Have students make cubby labels for classmates, printing an uppercase first letter and lowercase remaining letters with a stroke guide.
Free download
Printable RF.K.3.b Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to RF.K.3.b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson