Kahua Standards and Benchmarks
PK-12 essential standards and benchmarks for Hawaiian-focused education.
Grade 2 - English / LA
In addition to HFCS ‘Āina-based Learning Competencies (click to view), the PK-12 English Language Arts (E/LA) kahua is grounded in the belief that the purpose of reading and writing is constructing meaning. Reading allows the reader to construct meaning based on the writing by an author and writing allows the writer to construct meaning to convey to a reader.
- ELA.2.1Learn about my various moʻokūʻauhau (i.e. my ʻohana, my school, my home/school ʻāina).
- ELA.2.2Use ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi words to kilo, identify, name, and read environmental indicators (i.e. senses, intuition, prior knowledge) in order to make inferences and predictions.
- ELA.2.3Demonstrate loina when participating in cultural protocol (i.e. school-wide piko, oli mahalo, puka kula, kamaʻāina/malihini).
- ELA.2.4Frequently interact with my ʻāina at various times of day and year to develop a relationship with ʻāina.
- ELA.2.5Celebrate the accomplishments of historical and contemporary Hawaiian community leaders and emulate their actions (i.e. aliʻi, ʻōpūaliʻi/kapu aloha, kiaʻi).
- ELA.2.6Reflect on the quality of own work and behavior, and set goals based on rubrics and grade level expectations in order to produce high quality products and performances.
- ELA.2.7Choose to write for relevant, functional, and creative purposes at school and at home (invitations, texts, schedules).
- ELA.2.8Read books, other texts, and materials of own choice for enjoyment.
- ELA.2.9Knows own preferences of books, authors, and genres, types of writing, and technology media.
- ELA.2.10Initiate and respond appropriately in instructional discourse with teacher and student questions, and include coherent details, beginning, middle, and ending.
- ELA.2.11Use appropriate terminology (eg., main idea, theme, brainstorm, draft, revise, edit) when discussing literacy and culturally appropriate communication (mele, oli, place names, protocol ).
- ELA.2.12Show confidence and enthusiasm when presenting on a topic with appropriate verbal and non-verbal behaviors to authentic audiences.
- I.Reading Comprehension
- ELA.2.13Read a variety of mele / poetry, narrative, and informational texts across curriculum areas.
- ELA.2.14Make connections between text ideas and own life experiences to support and justify inferences, predictions, and connections in different genres.
- a.Identify historical events, scientific concepts, and steps in a technical procedure from informational text
- b.Ask and answer questions such as who, what, when, where, and why.
- c.Retell text ideas including problem, solution, facts, concepts and ideas while retelling a story.
- d.Identify and describe text structures (beginning, middle and ending; sequential order; problem and solution) and genre (fiction, non-fiction, poetry).
- e.Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story within or across genres.
- II.Writing
- ELA.2.15Participate in the writing process with brainstorming, drafting, conferring with teacher and peers, revising with attention to meaning and basic conventions of writing (organization, sentence structure, capitalization and punctuation) and publishing.
- ELA.2.16Write personal narratives, informational pieces, poems, opinions, and personal communication (letters, text messages) to address issues of importance to self and others using the writing process when appropriate across curriculum areas.
- ELA.2.17Refer to sources of information (ʻike kupuna, interviewees, and text) in writings and oral presentations (Aunty Momi said, “When you’re at the tide pool, never turn your back to the ocean.”). Use quotation marks and commas appropriately in writing.
- III.Language & Vocabulary
- ELA.2.18Engage in word study activities (E.g. word wall, word family) to acquire new vocabulary and to enhance specificity of writing.
- ELA.2.19Identify literary devices (alliteration, rhymes, repeated phrases) that supply meaning in a story, poem, or song.
- ELA.2.20Use conventional spelling of high frequency words (e.g., Dolch, Fry High Frequency Word Lists) with fluency while reading and writing.
- ELA.2.21Decode and encode unfamiliar words using phonetic analysis and other appropriate strategies in English and ʻOlelo Hawaii.


