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K–12 Standards

Area 6: Communication, Language and Emergent Literacy

Other Iowa Early Learning Standards sets

Understands, processes and comprehends language (receptive vocabulary)6.1

  •  

    Birth-12 months

    1. A

      Calms to voice of familiar adult6.1.A

    2. B

      Follows sounds with eyes6.1.B

    3. C

      Alerts to unexpected sound and changes in tone6.1.C

    4. D

      Smiles responsively6.1.D

    5. E

      Turns to locate sounds6.1.E

    6. F

      Responds to caregiver by turning, looking, reaching or vocalizing6.1.F

    7. G

      Recognizes their own name6.1.G

    8. H

      Responds to ‘no’6.1.H

    9. I

      Connects verbal communication to object6.1.I

    10. J

      Understands simple, familiar words and gestures6.1.J

  •  

    Approximately 12-24 months

    1. K

      Begins to demonstrate receptive language skills:6.1.K

      1. a

        Understands approximately 50+ words6.1.K.a

      2. b

        Points to familiar objects or body parts when asked6.1.K.b

      3. c

        Follows simple directions6.1.K.c

    2. L

      Understands early prepositions like “in” or “on”6.1.L

    3. M

      Pauses briefly or stops when told “no”6.1.M

  •  

    Approximately 24-36 months

    1. N

      Uses receptive language skills:6.1.N

      1. a

        Understands approximately 300+ words6.1.N.a

      2. b

        Follows 1-2 step directions6.1.N.b

      3. c

        Understands simple opposite concepts6.1.N.c

      4. d

        Understands simple who, what and where questions6.1.N.d

    2. O

      Connects spoken words to pictures and objects distinguishing between words that sound similar6.1.O

  •  

    Approximately 3-4 years

    1. P

      Demonstrates a rapid increase in receptive language skills: 6.1.P

      1. a

        Understands approximately 1,000- 3,000 words6.1.P.a

      2. b

        Follows 2-3 step directions6.1.P.b

    2. Q

      Demonstrates understanding of vocabulary related to:6.1.Q

      1. a

        Descriptive words6.1.Q.a

      2. b

        Spatial concepts6.1.Q.b

      3. c

        Quantity words6.1.Q.c

  •  

    Approximately 4-5 years

    1. R

      Demonstrates more complex receptive language skills:6.1.R

      1. a

        Understands approximately 4,200 words and expands to at least 10,000 by age of 56.1.R.a

      2. b

        Follows 3-4 step directions6.1.R.b

      3. c

        Understands most of what is said at home and school6.1.R.c

    2. S

      Understands comparatives (-er) and superlatives (-est)6.1.S

    3. T

      Follows directions to play a game6.1.T

Participates in communication exchanges with others (expressive vocabulary)6.2

  •  

    Birth-12 months

    1. A

      Reflexive vocalization:6.2.A

      1. a

        Reflexive cries6.2.A.a

      2. b

        Whimpers6.2.A.b

      3. c

        Burping/coughing6.2.A.c

    2. B

      Cries with discomfort6.2.B

    3. C

      Laughs aloud6.2.C

    4. D

      Uses vocalizations and gestures to gain attention from others:6.2.D

      1. a

        Cooing6.2.D.a

      2. b

        Vowel sounds6.2.D.b

      3. c

        Babbling6.2.D.c

      4. d

        Repetitive syllable strings6.2.D.d

      5. e

        Consonant-vowel combinations6.2.D.e

    5. E

      Experiment with loudness, pitch, and noises6.2.E

    6. F

      Responds to simple, familiar words, gestures and phrases 6.2.F

    7. G

      Says one or two words6.2.G

    8. H

      Engages in turn-taking during social and vocal play with adults and other children6.2.H

  •  

    Approximately 12-24 months

    1. I

      Establishes joint attention by looking at an object, at their caregiver and back at the object6.2.I

    2. J

      Varies syllable sequences and jargon leading to first words6.2.J

    3. K

      Points and gestures to communicate needs and emotions6.2.K

    4. L

      Responds to and initiates communication with another person6.2.L

    5. M

      Strings two words together and can form simple phrases6.2.M

    6. N

      Answers simple questions with simple words or wordlike formations6.2.N

  •  

    Approximately 24-36 months

    1. O

      Puts words together to form simple sentences 6.2.O

    2. P

      Participates in conversations:6.2.P

      1. a

        Speech is understood by strangers 50% of the time6.2.P.a

      2. b

        Has an expressive vocabulary of approximately 1,000 words6.2.P.b

      3. c

        Communicates with at least two back and forth exchanges6.2.P.c

    3. Q

      Communicates wants and needs6.2.Q

    4. R

      Uses ‘me, I, we’ correctly6.2.R

    5. S

      Uses action words in spoken language 6.2.S

    6. T

      Explains the purpose of objects or needs6.2.T

  •  

    Approximately 3-4 years

    1. U

      Engages in conversations using phrases and sentences of increasing length and complexity:6.2.U

      1. a

        Speech is understood by strangers 75% of the time6.2.U.a

      2. b

        Has an expressive vocabulary of approximately 1,500 words6.2.U.b

      3. c

        Communicates using 3-4 word sentences 6.2.U.c

      4. d

        Uses 2-3 back and forth exchanges6.2.U.d

    2. V

      Uses words ‘a’ or ‘the’6.2.V

    3. W

      Understands and uses simple location and preposition words 6.2.W

    4. X

      Increasingly uses past tense, word endings and possessives6.2.X

    5. Y

      Tells a story from a book or TV show6.2.Y

  •  

    Approximately 4-5 years

    1. Z

      Demonstrates knowledge of the rules of conversations:6.2.Z

      1. a

        Speech is understood by strangers 90-100% of the time6.2.Z.a

      2. b

        Has an expressive vocabulary of more than 2,000 words6.2.Z.b

      3. c

        Takes turns while speaking and listening6.2.Z.c

      4. d

        Engages with at least three back and forth exchanges6.2.Z.d

      5. e

        Produces longer and more complex sentences which are grammatically correct6.2.Z.e

    2. AA

      Can tell a story that stays on topic6.2.AA

    3. BB

      Participates in group discussions making comments and asking questions related to the topic6.2.BB

Engages in emergent reading experiences6.3

  •  

    Birth-12 months

    1. A

      Attends to songs, tones, rhythms, voices and music6.3.A

    2. B

      Explores or shows interest in books:6.3.B

      1. a

        Picks up6.3.B.a

      2. b

        Mouths6.3.B.b

      3. c

        Carries6.3.B.c

      4. d

        Flips pages6.3.B.d

    3. C

      Looks at pictures of familiar people, animals or objects while an adult points at and/ or names the person, animal or object6.3.C

    4. D

      Looks at the book or the reader when stories are read6.3.D

  •  

    Approximately 12-24 months

    1. E

      Recognizes favorite book(s)6.3.E

    2. F

      Gazes at or points to pictures and turns pages in books6.3.F

    3. G

      Uses sounds, signs or words to identify actions or objects in a book6.3.G

    4. H

      Points at, gestures, says name of or talks about animals, people or objects in photos, pictures or drawings6.3.H

    5. I

      Begins to point at pictures in a book, making sounds or saying words and interacting with an adult reading a book6.3.I

  •  

    Approximately 24-36 months

    1. J

      Asks for or brings favorite books to adults to read6.3.J

    2. K

      Pretends to read books by turning pages and talking about or using signs to describe what is happening in the book6.3.K

    3. L

      Points to, labels and/or talks about objects, events or people within books6.3.L

    4. M

      Answers simple questions related to pictures of books 6.3.M

    5. N

      Talks about books, acts out events from stories and uses some vocabulary encountered during book reading6.3.N

  •  

    Approximately 3-4 years

    1. O

      Expresses an interest in books and attempts to read familiar books 6.3.O

    2. P

      Displays book handling knowledge by turning the book right side up and turning one page at a time6.3.P

    3. Q

      Shows beginning comprehension of a story:6.3.Q

      1. a

        Talks about or acts out a few key events with support6.3.Q.a

      2. b

        Answers basic questions about likes, dislikes, main characters or events 6.3.Q.b

      3. c

        Makes predictions about what might happen next with modeling and support6.3.Q.c

    4. R

      With support, may be able to tell two key events from a story or may act out a story with pictures or props6.3.R

  •  

    Approximately 4-5 years

    1. S

      Shows increasing comprehension of a story6.3.S

    2. T

      Retells familiar stories with key events using some simple sequencing terms:6.3.T

      1. a

        First6.3.T.a

      2. b

        Then6.3.T.b

      3. c

        Next6.3.T.c

    3. U

      With support, provides basic answers to specific questions about details of a story:6.3.U

      1. a

        Who6.3.U.a

      2. b

        What6.3.U.b

      3. c

        When6.3.U.c

      4. d

        Where6.3.U.d

    4. V

      With support, answers inferential questions about stories and makes predictions or how/why something is happening in a particular moment6.3.V

Develops phonological sensitivity and awareness6.4

  •  

    Birth-12 months

    1. A

      Coos and vocalizes vowel sounds6.4.A

    2. B

      Mimics speech patterns, babbles and coos when hearing caregivers sing or speak6.4.B

    3. C

      Begins to differentiate between speech and nonspeech sounds6.4.C

  •  

    Approximately 12-24 months

    1. D

      Babbles long strings of sounds6.4.D

    2. E

      Responds to or engages in songs, rhyming games or finger plays with a familiar adult6.4.E

    3. F

      Mimics animal sounds and environmental noises6.4.F

    4. G

      Starts to recognize that a flow of speech is made of individual words6.4.G

  •  

    Approximately 24-36 months

    1. H

      Enjoys and repeats songs, rhymes or finger plays6.4.H

    2. I

      Listens with intent and identifies sounds in their surroundings6.4.I

    3. J

      Fills in repetitive words in books after repeated readings6.4.J

  •  

    Approximately 3-4 years

    1. K

      Plays with rhyme and alliteration6.4.K

    2. L

      Detects when words rhyme and start with same initial sound6.4.L

    3. M

      Imitates and/or mimics rhymes and beginning sounds6.4.M

    4. N

      Produces nonsense words and/or rhymes6.4.N

    5. O

      Begins to clap out syllables in simple words6.4.O

  •  

    Approximately 4-5 years

    1. P

      Says most sounds correctly when speaking except for a few (l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, th)6.4.P

    2. Q

      Produces the sound of some known letters6.4.Q

    3. R

      Blends and/or segments word parts or syllables to identify a word, object or picture6.4.R

    4. S

      Identifies the beginning sounds in words6.4.S

    5. T

      Identifies words that begin with the same sound6.4.T

    6. U

      Identifies words that rhyme from a group of 3-4 words6.4.U

Develops print knowledge and emergent writing skills6.5

  •  

    Birth-12 months

    1. A

      Grasps and/or manipulates a variety of objects in the environment6.5.A

    2. B

      Observes adult writing behaviors6.5.B

  •  

    Approximately 12-24 months

    1. C

      Randomly scribbles6.5.C

    2. D

      Imitates other’s writing or drawing by making their own marks on paper6.5.D

  •  

    Approximately 24-36 months

    1. E

      Develops increasingly controlled scribbles using a variety of writing tools:6.5.E

      1. a

        Lines6.5.E.a

      2. b

        Curves6.5.E.b

      3. c

        Repeated patterns6.5.E.c

    2. F

      Imitates and attempts to write6.5.F

    3. G

      Begins to understand writing and drawing can be a way of communicating6.5.G

  •  

    Approximately 3-4 years

    1. H

      Uses scribbles, shapes, pictures, letter-like forms and/or letters in writing6.5.H

    2. I

      Understands writing serves a purpose and can describe the intended meaning of their own drawings and writing6.5.I

    3. J

      Recognizes environmental print with adult support: 6.5.J

      1. a

        Letters are a symbol6.5.J.a

      2. b

        Letters can be named6.5.J.b

      3. c

        Letters make up words and words make up sentences6.5.J.c

    4. K

      Points to and names some letters, especially those in own name6.5.K

  •  

    Approximately 4-5 years

    1. L

      Starts to write in left to right and top to bottom direction6.5.L

    2. M

      Writes in letter strings, especially using the letters in their own name6.5.M

    3. N

      Uses invented spelling with:6.5.N

      1. a

        Beginning sound(s)6.5.N.a

      2. b

        Ending sound(s)6.5.N.b

      3. c

        Logical sound substitution(s)6.5.N.c

    4. O

      Uses a combination of drawing, dictating or emergent writing to convey meaning through writing6.5.O

    5. P

      Shows an awareness of print:6.5.P

      1. a

        Locates print on the page6.5.P.a

      2. b

        Understands sentences are made of words and words are made of individual letters6.5.P.b

      3. c

        Follows print from left to right6.5.P.c

    6. Q

      Recognizes at least half upper and half lower case letters including letters in own name and letters seen frequently in the environment6.5.Q

Frequently asked questions

What grade levels do these standards cover?
PRE-K
Where can I read the official document?
IOWA EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS 4th Edition June 2026

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