South Dakota ELA K.RF.3.a

ELAKindergartenReading Foundational Skills

The Standard

K.RF.3: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding and encoding words.

Identify all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students name all 26 letters in both uppercase and lowercase print. They recognize letters out of order, not just while singing the alphabet.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student names each letter in a shuffled stack of uppercase and lowercase cards. They know G and g have the same name, even though they look different.
Common Misconceptions: Students may mix up b and d or mistake uppercase I for lowercase l. Some think G and g are different letters because their shapes differ.
How to Assess It: Show each student all 52 letter forms in mixed order and ask them to name each one. Mark any letters they miss or hesitate over.

Lesson moves

Give students magnetic letters to pair five uppercase tiles with their lowercase partners, then name each pair.
Show A/a and G/g, then ask, “What changes between the two forms, and what stays the same?”
Play letter bingo: call a letter name and have students cover its uppercase or lowercase form on a mixed-letter card.
Use a classroom calendar to find three uppercase and three lowercase letters, then name each one.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to K.RF.3.a, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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