How Lit Ladder maps to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, Kindergarten through Grade 8. Mapping is at the strand level, not the individual code: claiming RL.3.2 is covered because a unit mentions theme is the kind of checkmark that means nothing. A strand is claimed here when a learner can open real lessons in it and practice today.
The curriculum is not finished. 86 of the 106 declared units are authored and wired, and the strands that have no units yet are listed below as not covered, in the same table as everything else. A standards page that cannot show a gap is marketing, not evidence - so the headline number counts covered cells, not listed ones.
grade-by-strand cells covered
CCSS ELA strands with teaching content
skills a learner can open today
Key ideas and details, craft and structure, integration of knowledge, and range of reading in stories, drama and poetry.
Grades with content: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8
Main idea and supporting details, text structure and features, author's purpose, evidence, and reading across sources.
Grades with content: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8
Print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, and fluency. Kindergarten through grade 5 only.
Grades with content: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4
Opinion, informative and narrative writing, production and distribution, and research to build knowledge.
Grades with content: Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8
Comprehension and collaboration, and presentation of knowledge and ideas.
Not covered. Discussion and presentation need a classroom or a grown-up in the room, and a screen cannot assess them. The read-aloud on every early item supports listening comprehension, which is part of this strand, but supporting it is not the same as teaching or assessing it, and we will not claim otherwise.
Conventions of standard English, knowledge of language, and vocabulary acquisition and use.
Grades with content: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8
Each chip is one grade's requirement for one strand. A solid chip means there are lessons behind it; a dashed one means there are not, yet.
| Grade | Skills | Strands |
|---|---|---|
|
Kindergarten Kindergarten English |
60 |
RL ✓
RI ✓
RF ✓
W
SL
L ✓
still to author: W, SL
|
|
Grade 1 1st Grade English |
126 |
RL ✓
RI ✓
RF ✓
W ✓
SL
L ✓
still to author: SL
|
|
Grade 2 2nd Grade English |
235 |
RL ✓
RI ✓
RF ✓
W ✓
SL
L ✓
still to author: SL
|
|
Grade 3 3rd Grade English |
309 |
RL ✓
RI ✓
RF ✓
W ✓
SL
L ✓
still to author: SL
|
|
Grade 4 4th Grade English |
300 |
RL ✓
RI ✓
RF ✓
W ✓
SL
L ✓
still to author: SL
|
|
Grade 5 5th Grade English |
273 |
RL ✓
RI ✓
RF
W ✓
SL
L ✓
still to author: RF, SL
|
|
Grade 6 6th Grade English |
212 |
RL ✓
RI ✓
W ✓
SL
L ✓
still to author: SL
|
|
Grade 7 7th Grade English |
198 |
RL ✓
RI ✓
W ✓
SL
L ✓
still to author: SL
|
|
Grade 8 8th Grade English |
198 |
RL ✓
RI ✓
W ✓
SL
L ✓
still to author: SL
|
Massachusetts lists two current English frameworks. The map above is the 2017 English Language Arts and Literacy Framework. This one is the other: the English Language Development Standards, which are WIDA's, and which are the standard for multilingual learners. It is a different shape - a grid of standard × grade cluster × Key Language Use (Narrate, Inform, Explain, Argue) × mode.
Interpretive expectations covered — reading, listening and viewing, which is what this product can measure.
Expressive expectations. Every one asks a learner to speak or write at length, and this product grades neither. Half the grid, reported rather than omitted.
Wired units this standard has no cell for. Real teaching that WIDA is not built to describe.
Narrating, informing, explaining and arguing with stories, poems and informational text.
| Expectation | Covered by | Topics |
|---|---|---|
K · Narrate |
Sentence & Capitalization Basics, Word Relationships: Synonyms, Antonyms & Categories, Story Basics: Character, Setting & Events | 21 |
K · Inform |
Sentence & Capitalization Basics, Word Relationships: Synonyms, Antonyms & Categories, Nonfiction Basics: Topic & Key Details, Kindergarten Reading Workshop | 28 |
1 · Narrate |
Retelling, Sequence & Summary, Nouns & Verbs | 15 |
1 · Inform |
Text Features & Graphics, Nouns & Verbs, Writing Strong Sentences, Grade 1 Reading Workshop | 31 |
2-3 · Narrate |
Prefixes & Suffixes, Homophones, Homographs & Word Traps, Context Clues (Grades 2-3), Figurative Language & Idioms, Story Structure: Problem, Plot & Solution, Theme, Lesson & Central Message, Point of View, Narrator & Perspective, Poetry & Drama, Adjectives, Adverbs & Pronouns, Sentence Types, Fragments & Run-Ons, Verb Tenses & Subject-Verb Agreement, Commas, Quotation Marks & Apostrophes, Capitalization & Titles, Spelling Patterns & Rules | 118 |
2-3 · Inform |
Prefixes & Suffixes, Homophones, Homographs & Word Traps, Context Clues (Grades 2-3), Figurative Language & Idioms, Main Idea & Supporting Details, Text Structure in Nonfiction, Author's Purpose & Point of View, Adjectives, Adverbs & Pronouns, Sentence Types, Fragments & Run-Ons, Verb Tenses & Subject-Verb Agreement, Commas, Quotation Marks & Apostrophes, Capitalization & Titles, Spelling Patterns & Rules, Paragraphs & Topic Sentences, Opinion & Argument Writing, Informative & Explanatory Writing, Narrative Writing, Revising & Editing, Research & Reference Skills, Grade 2 Reading Workshop, Grade 3 Reading Workshop | 174 |
4-5 · Narrate |
Greek & Latin Roots, Context Clues & Word Nuance (Grades 4-6), Academic Vocabulary, Comparing & Contrasting Texts, Conjunctions, Prepositions & Complex Sentences | 41 |
4-5 · Inform |
Greek & Latin Roots, Context Clues & Word Nuance (Grades 4-6), Academic Vocabulary, Inference, Evidence & Summarizing, Integrating Multiple Sources, Conjunctions, Prepositions & Complex Sentences, Grade 4 Reading Workshop, Grade 5 Reading Workshop | 65 |
4-5 · Argue |
not yet | - |
6-8 · Narrate |
not yet | - |
6-8 · Inform |
Grade 6 Reading Workshop, Grade 7 Reading & Language, Grade 8 Reading & Language | 26 |
6-8 · Argue |
not yet | - |
9-12 · Narrate |
not yet | - |
9-12 · Inform |
not yet | - |
9-12 · Argue |
not yet | - |
Reading and reasoning about sources, events and civic questions.
| Expectation | Covered by | Topics |
|---|---|---|
K · Inform |
not yet | - |
1 · Inform |
not yet | - |
1 · Argue |
not yet | - |
2-3 · Explain |
Reading in Social Studies: American History (2-4), Reading in Social Studies: Civics & Government, Reading in Social Studies: Geography & Maps | 22 |
2-3 · Argue |
Reading in Social Studies: American History (2-4), Reading in Social Studies: Civics & Government, Reading in Social Studies: Geography & Maps | 22 |
4-5 · Explain |
Reading in Social Studies: American History (5-6), Reading in Social Studies: Economics & Culture | 17 |
4-5 · Argue |
Reading in Social Studies: American History (5-6), Reading in Social Studies: Economics & Culture | 17 |
6-8 · Explain |
not yet | - |
6-8 · Argue |
not yet | - |
9-12 · Explain |
not yet | - |
9-12 · Argue |
not yet | - |
Reading and reasoning about phenomena, evidence and explanation.
| Expectation | Covered by | Topics |
|---|---|---|
K · Inform |
not yet | - |
K · Explain |
not yet | - |
1 · Inform |
not yet | - |
1 · Explain |
not yet | - |
2-3 · Explain |
Reading in Science: Life Science (Grades 2-4), Reading in Science: Earth & Space (Grades 2-4), Reading in Science: Physical Science & Engineering | 23 |
2-3 · Argue |
Reading in Science: Life Science (Grades 2-4), Reading in Science: Earth & Space (Grades 2-4), Reading in Science: Physical Science & Engineering | 23 |
4-5 · Explain |
Reading in Science: Life Science (Grades 5-6), Reading in Science: Earth & Space (Grades 5-6) | 16 |
4-5 · Argue |
Reading in Science: Life Science (Grades 5-6), Reading in Science: Earth & Space (Grades 5-6) | 16 |
6-8 · Explain |
not yet | - |
6-8 · Argue |
not yet | - |
9-12 · Explain |
not yet | - |
9-12 · Argue |
not yet | - |
Phonological & Phonemic Awareness — WIDA describes language development and carries no decoding strand. Phonemic awareness and phonics sit in the 2017 ELA framework's Reading Foundational Skills instead, where this course does claim them.
Phonics: Letters, Sounds & Short Vowels — WIDA describes language development and carries no decoding strand. Phonemic awareness and phonics sit in the 2017 ELA framework's Reading Foundational Skills instead, where this course does claim them.
High-Frequency Words & Sight Vocabulary — WIDA describes language development and carries no decoding strand. Phonemic awareness and phonics sit in the 2017 ELA framework's Reading Foundational Skills instead, where this course does claim them.
Print Concepts & Early Comprehension — WIDA describes language development and carries no decoding strand. Phonemic awareness and phonics sit in the 2017 ELA framework's Reading Foundational Skills instead, where this course does claim them.
Phonics: Consonant Blends & Digraphs — WIDA describes language development and carries no decoding strand. Phonemic awareness and phonics sit in the 2017 ELA framework's Reading Foundational Skills instead, where this course does claim them.
Phonics: Silent-e & Long Vowels — WIDA describes language development and carries no decoding strand. Phonemic awareness and phonics sit in the 2017 ELA framework's Reading Foundational Skills instead, where this course does claim them.
Phonics: Vowel Teams & Diphthongs — WIDA describes language development and carries no decoding strand. Phonemic awareness and phonics sit in the 2017 ELA framework's Reading Foundational Skills instead, where this course does claim them.
Phonics: R-Controlled Vowels & Soft C, G — WIDA describes language development and carries no decoding strand. Phonemic awareness and phonics sit in the 2017 ELA framework's Reading Foundational Skills instead, where this course does claim them.
Syllable Types & Syllable Division — WIDA describes language development and carries no decoding strand. Phonemic awareness and phonics sit in the 2017 ELA framework's Reading Foundational Skills instead, where this course does claim them.
Endings, Plurals & Contractions — WIDA describes language development and carries no decoding strand. Phonemic awareness and phonics sit in the 2017 ELA framework's Reading Foundational Skills instead, where this course does claim them.
Reading Fluency & Prosody — Fluency is read aloud and heard. This product does not listen to a child read, so there is no expectation here to claim.
A grade-by-strand cell is filled when units in that strand are authored, verified and wired into that grade's course. A unit is inert until it is listed in the course registry, so nothing can be counted here that a student cannot reach. Every unit behind these numbers has also passed the content harness: 300 generated items per skill across three difficulty bands, four distinct options every time, deterministic on replay, no answer visible in the question, and - for reading passages - a readability check against the grade level the passage claims.
Standards frameworks describe what should be taught. They do not certify anyone, and neither does this page. It is an inventory you can check, not an endorsement.