Teachers need to use their time wisely when teaching writing. Here is a great resource for making sure you are teaching what you are supposed to be teaching in the grade that you are supposed to be teaching it. Below are five sets of K-12 state writing standards. (If you are teaching writing… don’t click the back button. You won’t want to miss this!)
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!
