Kindergarten · English Language Arts · Parent guide
Short answer. SL.K.5 means your child adds drawings to what he describes, like sketching the beach trip while telling you about the waves. What that looks like at 5.
Quick answer
SL.K.5 says a kindergartener can add a drawing or another visual, like a diagram or a photo he picked, to something he is describing, so the listener gets more detail. If he tells the class about his new puppy, he might hold up a picture he drew showing the brown spots and the tiny tail. The drawing is not decoration; it is doing part of the explaining.
Why parents see this skill
At 5, a kid's ideas are bigger than his vocabulary, and drawing is the bridge. Pairing pictures with words also plants the idea that different tools carry information, which is the seed of using diagrams, labels, and charts across every subject later on.
For reference
Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.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.
Sunday night, have your child draw one thing that happened over the weekend, then present it to the family for one minute: this is us at the pool, that is my cousin doing a cannonball. Ask one question that sends him back to add a detail to the drawing. Paper and crayons, 10 minutes.
Ask him to draw how to make his favorite sandwich, layer by layer, then explain it while you actually build it exactly as drawn. If the jelly ends up on the outside because the drawing said so, even better. He learns fast that visuals have to carry real information.
Pretend a stuffed animal is missing and make a lost poster together. He draws the toy with enough detail that a stranger could spot it, then describes it to you while you play the confused neighbor asking questions. Which ear has the patch? Great, add that to the poster.
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 SL.K skill in order and how the codes fit together.
Open resourceFilter free pages by literacy, phonics, handwriting, and comprehension skills.
Open resourceSimple reading and vocabulary ideas for home and classroom routines.
Open resourceMy son's drawings are just scribbles. Does he fail this standard?
No. SL.K.5 grades the connection between the visual and the description, not artistic skill. A scribble he can walk you through, this circle is the pool and this line is the big slide, meets the spirit of the standard. Fine motor skills develop on wildly different timelines at 5, and teachers know it.
The standard says as desired. So is it even required?
That phrase makes SL.K.5 one of the gentlest standards in kindergarten. Teachers create chances to add drawings to descriptions and encourage it, rather than demanding it every time. Where it shows up in class is things like draw and tell activities and journal pages with a picture box on top. If your child likes to draw, this one usually takes care of itself.
Keep the sequence
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