Why Take a Look at these K-12 State Writing Standards?

If you found this page, you likely want some answers on how to teach writing. I guarantee that printing out these standards and reading them will be a fantastic use of your time. If you are looking for answers on how to teach writing, you must understand the big picture. Since the standards are K-12, you will get to see the big picture, year by year.

The directions that follow will make it easy and fast for you to download and print just the “writing standards.” Once you read them, you will understand where your students have been, where they are now, and what can wait for next year.

Be sure to check out the Pattern Based Writing program on the homepage. It’s the foundation that will improve your students’ writing across the curriculum.

For a Moment… Just Focus… on Teaching Writing

In most states, the writing standards are a part of the English Language Arts (ELA) Content Standards. The truth is, you may want to read all of the ELA Content Standards for your state and/or your grade. However, if you are using a basal reading program, you likely have your reading instruction all mapped out for you. Writing, on the other hand, is a different matter. When it comes to teaching writing, the teacher needs to bring something to the table. Teachers need to get their head around where they want to take their students and how they will get them there.

Save yourself (and your students) a lot of frustration; read at least one set of the K-12 state writing standards. If you like it and you learn a lot… read another. You will quickly figure out what you should teach YOUR students about writing! Once again, I have made it easy! Just read on (all are in free downloadable PDF files):

• California – The writing standards are part of the ELA content standards. The ELA standards are 92 pages; however, I have listed the page numbers for just the writing standards. The K-12 writing standards total just 31 pages. Print them out in the order listed and you will have a well-organized “K-12 Writing Standards” booklet.

• New York – The writing standards are part of the ELA content standards. The ELA standards are 92 pages; however, I have listed the page numbers for just the writing standards. The K-12 writing standards total just 28 pages. Print them out in the order listed and you will have a well-organized “K-12 Writing Standards” booklet.

• Arizona – Arizona’s writing standards are not listed in their ELA content standards. Arizona has separate PDF files for their writing standards. They are really nice! In fact, Arizona ranks #1 on Google for the search term “state writing standards.” Arizona’s K-12 writing standards provide an excellent model for teaching writing. They total 104 pages.

• Ohio – The writing standards are part of the ELA content standards. The ELA standards are 320 pages; however, I have listed the page numbers for just the writing standards. The K-12 writing standards total just 62 pages. Print them out in the order listed and you will have a well-organized “K-12 Writing Standards” booklet.

• Georgia – The writing standards are part of the ELA content standards. The ELA standards are 104 pages; however, I have listed the page numbers for just the writing standards. The K-12 writing standards total just 46 pages. Print them out in the order listed and you will have a well-organized “K-12 Writing Standards” booklet.

Once again, all of these are in PDF format, downloadable, and free. Printing out one or two sets of these K-12 writing standards will help you thoroughly understand the big picture in teaching writing.

California

Click Here for California English Language Arts Content Standards

Here is an outline of all of the California ELA Content standards (Writing standards in bold):

READING
• Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
• Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational Materials)
• Literary Response and Analysis

WRITING
• Writing Strategies
• Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)

WRITTEN AND ORAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS
• Written and Oral English Language Conventions

LISTENING AND SPEAKING
• Listening and Speaking Strategies
• Speaking Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)

Print these pages for the complete K-12 California state writing standards (31 pages total):

• Kindergarten pp. 3-4
• Grade 1 pp. 8-9
• Grade 2 pp. 13-14
• Grade 3 pp. 18-19
• Grade 4 pp. 23-25
• Grade 5 pp. 30-32
• Grade 6 pp. 37-39
• Grade 7 pp. 44-46
• Grade 8 pp. 51-53
• Grade 9-10 pp. 59-62
• Grade 11-12 pp. 69-72

New York

Click Here for New York English Language Arts Content Standards

Here is an outline of all of the New York ELA Content standards:

Reading
• Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
• Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
• Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
• Standard 4: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

Writing
• Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
• Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
• Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
• Standard 4: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

Listening
• Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
• Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
• Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
• Standard 4: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

Speaking
• Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
• Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
• Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
• Standard 4: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

Print these pages for the complete K-12 New York state writing standards (28 pages total):

• p. 5 Core Performance Indicators Grade PreK-1
• p. 7 PreK Writing
• p. 12 Kindergarten
• p. 17 Grade 1 Writing
• p. 20 Core Performance Indicators Grade 2-4
• p. 23 Grade 2 Writing
• pp. 28-29 Grade 3 Writing
• pp. 34-35 Grade 4 Writing
• p. 38 Core Performance Indicators Grade 5-6
• pp. 41-42 Grade 5 Writing
• pp. 48-49 Grade 6 Writing
• p. 52 Core Performance Indicators Grade 7-8
• pp. 55-56 Grade 7 Writing
• pp. 61-62 Grade 8 Writing
• p. 65 Core Performance Indicators Grade 9-12
• pp. 68-69 Grade 9 Writing
• pp. 74-75 Grade 10 Writing
• pp. 80-81 Grade 11 Writing
• pp. 86 Grade 12 Writing

Arizona

Click Here for Arizona Writing Content Standards

The Arizona download page has three sections of downloads. I personally like the middle section “By Grade Level.” There are 13 PDFs (104 pages total).

Here is an outline of all of the Arizona Writing Content standards:

Writing Strand 1: Writing Process
• Concept 1: Prewriting
• Concept 2: Drafting
• Concept 3: Revising
• Concept 4: Editing
• Concept 5: Publishing

Writing Strand 2: Writing Elements
• Concept 1: Ideas and Content
• Concept 2: Organization
• Concept 3: Voice
• Concept 4: Word Choice
• Concept 5: Sentence Fluency
• Concept 6: Conventions

Writing Strand 3: Writing Applications
• Concept 1: Expressive
• Concept 2: Expository
• Concept 3: Functional
• Concept 4: Persuasive
• Concept 5: Literary Response
• Concept 6: Research

Ohio

Click Here for Ohio English Language Arts Content Standards

Here is an outline of all of the Ohio ELA Content standards (Writing standards in bold):

1. Phonemic Awareness, Word Recognition and Fluency Standard
2. Acquisition of Vocabulary Standard
3. Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies Standard
4. Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text Standard
5. Reading Applications: Literary Text Standard
6. Writing Process Standard
7. Writing Applications Standard
8. Writing Conventions Standard
9. Research Standard
10. Communication: Oral and Visual Standard

Print these pages for the complete K-12 Ohio state writing standards (62 pages total):

• pp. 40-51
• pp. 96-140
• p. 160
• p. 162
• p. 166
• p. 170
• p. 174

Georgia

Click Here for Georgia Writing Content Standards

Here is an outline of all of the Georgia ELA Content standards. These are the content areas for 3rd grade and above:
• Reading and Literature
• Reading Across the Curriculum
• Writing
• Conventions
• Listening/Speaking/Viewing

The K-2 content areas are a combination of the ones above and the ones below:
• Concepts of Print
• Phonological Awareness
• Phonics
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension
• Phonics/Work Identification

Print these pages for the complete K-12 Georgia state writing standards. Each grade level is in a separate file (46 pages total):

• Grade K pp. 4-5 of 5
• Grade 1 pp. 4-5 of 6
• Grade 2 pp. 3-5 of 6
• Grade 3 pp. 3-6 of 6
• Grade 4 pp. 3-6 of 8
• Grade 5 pp. 4-6 of 9
• Grade 6 pp. 4-7 of 9
• Grade 7 pp. 5-7 of 9
• Grade 8 pp. 5-8 of 9
• Grade 9 pp. 7-11 of 13
• Grade 10 pp. 7-10 of 12
• Grade 11 pp. 1-4 of 6
• Grade 12 pp. 1-4 of 6

Be sure to check out the Pattern Based Writing program on the homepage and discover guaranteed writing success!

Looking at the “English–Language Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools” one can see why it can be a challenge to figure out exactly what you want your students to accomplish this year.

Notice the writing content standard “Writing Strategies 1.0” is word for word the same in Grade 1 as in Grade 4. In grade 5 there is a subtle switch to using the word “essays”

Grade 1 Writing Strategies 1.0
Students write clear and coherent sentences and paragraphs that develop a central idea. Their writing shows they consider the audience and purpose. Students progress through the stages of the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing successive versions).

Grade 4 Writing Strategies 1.0
Students write clear, coherent sentences and paragraphs that develop a central idea. Their writing shows they consider the audience and purpose. Students progress through the stages of the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing successive versions).

Grade 5 Writing Strategies 1.0
Students write clear, coherent, and focused essays. The writing exhibits the students’ awareness of the audience and purpose. Essays contain formal introductions, supporting evidence, and conclusions. Students progress through the stages of the writing process as needed.

Elementary School Writing Standards Grady by Grade

When you read most state writing standards it’s often hard to tell exactly what the differences are from one year to the next. True, that when you compare 1st grade to 5th grade you can easily see the differences, but from one year to the next… you have to read carefully.

Each year a few words are changed, a few concepts are made more complex, and a few concepts are added.

The reason the changes are so subtle is that our brains don’t handle “brand new information” very well. The majority of a school year is review, along with integrating the new information with the old. (The above example illustrates this point.)

Summary of Elementary School Writing Expectations Grade by Grade

These summaries should provide a good overview of how students progress in their writing year by year.

GRADE 1 WRITING EXPECTATIONS
Students write main ideas with supporting details. Students may not have the skills needed to write a closing sentence for their paragraphs. Students experiment with prewriting organizers but there is not a great connection between their prewriting and their writing. Students are able to focus their writing to a prompt and their stories do have a beginning middle, and end. Students use correct simple sentence structure and from time to time you may see new and interesting words in their word choice. Many of their sentences will have the same basic structure. Day by day spelling and punctuation improves. Students need help with editing. They are not very successful at self-editing.

GRADE 2 WRITING EXPECTATIONS
Students have added a concluding sentence to the main idea and supporting details creating proper paragraph structure with a beginning, middle, and ending. Students understand prewriting and are able to connect their prewriting to their writing. Their narratives (stories) have a clear beginning, middle, and ending. There is some variety to their sentences, not all sentences start the same. Students are developing skill in applying verbs and adjectives. Spelling and punctuation are of growing importance. Students are using many of the verb tenses correctly. They are capitalizing most proper nouns correctly and using a variety of punctuation. Students can do basic editing. They understand the concept of “trying to make it better.” They also understand the stages of the writing process. Students know how to use a dictionary, but it’s going to take them a while to check all those words they are not sure about.

GRADE 3 WRITING EXPECTATIONS
Students’ paragraphs contain more effective details. Details are more specific and provide reasons and facts. Students are getting better at “proving their main idea.” Students use declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences correctly. A lot of their writing is based on personal experience or creative stories. They are not adept at researching. Their narratives (stories) contain some skill in applying story elements including character and conflict/resolution. However, the stories are simple and may not address all the story elements. Students use varied sentence structure and interesting vocabulary. This means a unique voice is starting to develop. Spelling and grammar are now “mistakes” because they have heard the rules before. (Consciously incompetent) Students are skilled at the writing process. They understand that it takes using a dictionary and a thesaurus to make their writing its best. Students also learn cursive this year.

GRADE 4 WRITING EXPECTATIONS
Students paragraphs are now becoming purpose specific. Inform, persuade etc. Students are writing multi-paragraph compositions. These are not called essays as there is no requirement for a proper introduction, conclusion, or thesis statement. Students are learning to gather data through research and organize their research before writing. Their narratives (stories) incorporate all the story elements. Students are not writing just for themselves anymore. They write for their audience. Friendly letters sound friendly and reports sound like reports. Students continue to grow in their writing and they now get most of the verb tenses correct. Students use quotation marks… in fact they may use them too often. Students are skilled at using resources to edit their work. Students not only correct spelling but get rid of ideas that don’t work. Students polish up paragraphs and structure.

GRADE 5 WRITING EXPECTATIONS
All of their prior knowledge is now being put to use in complete essays. Both the term essay and thesis statement are part of their vocabulary and their writing is expected to have effective introductions and conclusions. Last year students learned how to gather information and now it is expected to have an “academic” appearance to it. Students will use transitions that effectively link paragraphs together in a clear line of thought. Their narratives (stories) contain an attention getting narrative hook, conflict along with those pesky complications, yet all is resolved in the end. Fifth graders use complex sentences and write with a purpose. Can you convince someone at the North Pole to buy snow? Well… let’s give it a try! Students are skilled at using a lot of the punctuation that their own parents may have forgotten. When students edit, along with grammar and punctuation, they are interested in editing the quality of ideas and the flow of ideas.

What the Standards Get Right

The fifth grade writing requirement is right on target. 5th graders are expected to write about as well as their parents. Obviously, not as well as all parents, but note the TV show, “Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?” There is a reason that 5th grade was chosen.

The standards also seem to say, “Don’t let children write grammar the wrong way. We don’t want them to practice bad habits. The standards add a little complexity in grammar and mechanics each year, and it is expected to be done correctly.”

What the Standards Get Wrong

The standards are lacking in how they address proper multi-paragraph writing. 1st graders are expected to write stories with a beginning, middle, and ending, yet the word multi-paragraph is not used until 4th grade.

If students can fill a good part of a page, you have to teach them proper paragraph form with a simple introduction, and a simple conclusion. From what I have seen, year after year of practicing the wrong way makes it more difficult to break the habits in the upper grades.

Many teachers teach “simple introductions, simple conclusions and proper paragraph form” long before the state standards explicitly require it. Why? Because the children are ready for it.

The “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” Guarantee

From the homepage: “I guarantee that this program will bring about better results, faster than any writing program available for all grades 2-6, as well as when used remedially in grades 7 and above. I guarantee that all teachers, homeschooling parents, and even concerned parents will be able to implement this program and get the same results that I have gotten.”

Please take a look at the homepage and see if the “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” program is right for you and your students.

State writing standards can be a little difficult to digest. Here is a combined list of elementary and middle school state writing standards that provide a very good overview of what is important in both elementary and middle school writing.

“Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” will provide a rock solid foundation for addressing each and every one of these important state writing standards.

These standards have been simplified and rephrased in a way that should make them a bit easier to understand. Even one serious read through should provide some very important guidance in planning your writing instruction!

• Write stories that have a beginning, middle, and end and contain details creating and supporting the setting, character development, and plot.

• Write an interpretation or explanation of an informational text using evidence from the text that supports the interpretation or explanation.

• Write formal business letters to professional audiences such as businesses, newspapers, or government leaders.

• Write multi-paragraph essays and reports that contain easy to follow organization, topic development, effective use of detail, and a variety of sentence structures.

• Student writing develops a central idea. Their writing demonstrates knowledge of their audience and their purpose.

• Students successfully utilize all the stages of the writing process which include prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing successive versions.

• Students successfully write multiple-paragraph compositions that have an introductory paragraph, establish and support a main idea, contain supporting paragraphs that develop the main idea, and conclude with a paragraph that summarizes what was written.

• Use appropriate structures for communicating information such as compare and contrast, cause and effect, asking and answering a question, and chronological order.

• Students write expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive compositions of between 500 and 1000 words.

• Students create narrative compositions that establish and develop a plot or situation. They describe the setting and present an ending.

• Students create multiple-paragraph expository compositions that establish a topic and develop it with important ideas and events. They provide details and transitions linking paragraphs and ideas. The composition contains a concluding paragraph which summarizes important ideas and details.

• Students write narratives that include sensory details and concrete language which develop the plot and characters.