1st Grade · English Language Arts · Parent guide
Short answer. RL.1.4 means your child can point out words in stories and poems that show feelings or reach the senses, like gloomy or crunchy. A plain guide for parents.
Quick answer
This one sounds fancy but it is friendly. Your first grader should notice the words in stories and poems that carry feeling or hit the senses: words like gloomy, shivered, sparkling, thump, or sour. When she can point at "the wind howled" and say it sounds scary, that is RL.1.4 in action. It is the beginning of noticing that authors pick words on purpose.
Why parents see this skill
Noticing charged words is the seed of two big skills: figuring out tone and mood in later grades, and choosing strong words in her own writing. It also builds vocabulary the sticky way, tied to feelings and senses instead of flashcard definitions.
For reference
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.Official Common Core source
See it, then try it
You do not need a lesson plan. Look for these signs in ordinary play, reading, and conversation, then choose one short activity.
Keep an empty jar and some paper scraps near where you read. Whenever a story word makes her feel something or picture something, she writes it on a scrap and drops it in. Once a week, dump the jar and read your collection out loud in silly voices.
Pick one feeling word from tonight's book, like "whispered" or "roared," and take turns saying a plain sentence that way. "Please pass the ketchup," roared Dad. Two minutes of giggles, and the word's meaning locks in.
Open any picture book and hunt for one word per sense: something you could see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. You will not always find all five, and that is fine. The hunt itself is the practice.
Choose what helps today
Start with the domain guide for context, use the learning library when a concept needs explaining, or print a page when your child is ready to practice.
See every RL.1 skill in order and how the codes fit together.
Open resourceFilter free pages by literacy, phonics, handwriting, and comprehension skills.
Open resourceShort, repeatable reading activities for common early words.
Open resourceSimple reading and vocabulary ideas for home and classroom routines.
Open resourceMy daughter reads fine but skips right past these words. Should I worry?
No, fluent readers often speed past texture words because they are chasing the plot. Slow one page down, read a sense-heavy line twice, and ask what she pictures. This is a taste you develop together, not a deficit to fix, and poems are the fastest way in because every word is doing work.
How is RL.1.4 different from just learning vocabulary?
Vocabulary asks what a word means. This standard asks what a word does, how "the door creaked open" makes you feel versus "the door opened." Teachers usually check it by reading a poem or story aloud and asking kids to point out words that show feelings or senses, then explain why those words were chosen.
Keep the sequence
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