The standards describe a connected body of linguistic understandings and competencies and are a comprehensive foundation that all students should learn. They describe the knowledge and skills that students should acquire from Kindergarten through high school.

Standard 1: READING: Word Recognition, Fluency, and Vocabulary Development
Word Recognition involves the understanding of the basic features of words: word parts, patterns, relationships, and origins. Students use phonics, context clues, and a growing knowledge of English and other languages to determine the meaning of words and become fluent readers.

Standard 2: READING: Comprehension
Comprehension involves understanding grade-level-appropriate material. Students develop strategies such as asking questions; making predictions; and identifying and analyzing structure, organization, perspective, and purpose. After Grade 5, the focus is on informational texts.

Standard 3: READING: Literary Response and Analysis
Response to grade-level-appropriate literature includes identifying story elements such as character, theme, plot, and setting, and making connections and comparisons across texts. Literary response enhances students’ understanding of history, culture, and the social sciences.

Standard 4: WRITING: Process
The writing process includes prewriting, drafting, editing, and revising. Students progress through these stages to write clear, coherent, and focused paragraphs and essays.

Standard 5: WRITING: Applications
Through the exploration of different types of writing and the characteristics of each, students become proficient at narrative (stories), expository (informational), descriptive (sensory), persuasive (emotional appeal), argumentative (logical defense), and technical writing. Writing demonstrates an awareness of the audience (intended reader) and purpose for writing.

Standard 6: WRITING: English Language Conventions
Conventions include the grade-level-appropriate mechanics of writing, such as penmanship, spelling, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, and manuscript form.

Standard 7: LISTENING AND SPEAKING: Skills, Strategies, and Applications
Response to oral communication includes careful listening and evaluation of content. Speaking skills, such as phrasing, pitch, and tone are developed in conjunction with such strategies as narration, exposition, description, and persuasion and are applied to students’ delivery of oral presentations.

A Note About New English/Language Arts Standards
Indiana has been recognized as having among the very best academic standards in the nation. To ensure that the state standards remain world-class, they are reviewed and updated every six years, in conjunction with the state's textbook review cycle. These standards were recommended by Indiana's Education Roundtable and adopted by the State Board of Education in June 2006.

Note regarding standards indicator numbering: In an attempt to retain curriculum mapping done since the introduction of the standards in 2000, standards indicators have not been renumbered. Any indicator added in 2006 has been given an unique number and inserted in a position to maintain logical groupings. As a result, these numbers may not be in consecutive order.