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Article: Ready or Not: First Grade

Is your child ready for first grade? This simple question can send otherwise rational adults into a tailspin. Yes, every child is special and unique and develops at their own pace, but there are certain skills and knowledge sets that most educators and developmental experts agree are essential for social and academic growth, development, and achievement in school. As you look through the following checklist of essential developmental skills children need exposure to and knowledge of before they enter first grade, please keep in mind that young children need continued opportunities  to attain any new skill; a “one-shot” approach to teaching is not sufficient for building a strong base of attitudes, aptitudes and abilities.

Learning for Life

Social Development: Life Skills

 Shows confidence in self and demonstrates a sense of self-worth
 Follows rules and routines at home and in kindergarten
 Uses materials purposefully and respectfully
 Comfortably adapts to changes
 Shows eagerness and curiosity as a learner
 Sustains attention to a single task over a period of time
 Works, plays and shares with others
 Interacts easily with familiar adults
 Participates in group activities
 Respects others, their feelings and their rights
 Uses words to resolve conflicts
 Seeks adult help when needed

Language & Literacy

Reading Basics

 Shows independent interest in reading-related activities
 Listens with interest to stories read aloud
 Retells a simple story
 Recognizes the association between spoken and written words
 Recognizes all the letters of the alphabet in order
 Distinguishes between and prints capital and lowercase letters
 Associates letters and sounds
 Distinguishes likenesses and differences of letter sounds in spoken words
 Recognizes rhymes and rhyming patterns

Reading & Comprehension Skills

 Makes predictions about a story or passage based on the title and/or pictures
 Identifies words and constructs meaning from pictures clues in the text
 Identifies basic sight words
 Distinguishes fact from fiction
 Begins to understand basic characteristics of fables, stories, and legends
 Identifies story elements of setting, plot, character, and conflict (where, when, what, who and why)
 Uses personal perspective in responding to stories, such as relating to characters or situations
 Begins to understand simple punctuation marks (period, question mark, etc.)

Writing Skills

 Reads and writes his/her own name
 Tells a story using pictures
 Uses letters or shapes to depict words or ideas
 Writes familiar words
 Copies or writes words to convey messages
 Participates in group dictated stories
 Builds simple words and sentences
 Demonstrates left-to-right progression, and top-to-bottom progression
 Handles writing tools correctly

Language Development: Listening & Speaking Skills

 Understands and follows simple directions
 Listens to others for short periods of time without interrupting
 Recognizes rhyme and rhyming patterns
 Recites nursery rhymes, finger plays and songs
 Participates in discussions and conversations
 Asks questions
 Speaks clearly to convey messages and requests
 Distinguishes between asking and telling
 Distinguishes between formal and informal language (with peers, at home vs. at school)
 Uses complete sentences
 Composes oral stories
 Retells a simple story with basic elements of beginning, middle and end

Mathematics

Numbers, Operations & Problem Solving

 Associates verbal names, written names and standard numerals with whole numbers less than 100
 Names numerals 0 through 31
 Writes numerals 0 through 20
 Uses counting skills to add to 10
 Understands the effects of addition and subtraction
 Understands the concept of numbers and quantity
 Understands relationships between quantities
 Identifies pairs
 Classifies and compares objects and symbols
 Recognizes, duplicates, and extends patterns and relationships of objects and symbols
 Collects data and make records using lists or graphical representations
 Shows interest in solving mathematical problems
 Solves problems by guessing and checking using manipulatives

Geometry & Measurement

 Becomes familiar with common instruments for measuring time and temperature
 Estimates and measures real quantities using non-standard units (blocks or paperclips)
 Understands and uses comparative words (long and short, heavy and light, etc.)
 Identifies, labels, and creates a variety of shapes

Math in Action: Telling Time, Money

 Shows an understanding of the calendar and time
 Knows the days of the week and months of the year
 Knows the value of a penny, nickel, dime and quarter

Social Studies

 Understands the concept of history as real stories of other times, events, places and people
 Understands broad categories of time (past, present and future)
 Knows different methods of communication from long ago to present day (oral, pictographs, etc.)
 Understands the concept of historical contributions by historical figures
 Has a basic awareness of other cultures and cultural traditions
 Knows significant individuals in United States history
 Knows people and events honored in commemorative holidays
 Recognizes American symbols (the eagle, Liberty Bell, the flag, etc.)
 Recognizes that people use maps, globes and other models to identify and locate places

Science

 Forms conclusions based on comparisons, sense observations and exploration
 Knows that the Sun supplies heat and light energy to the Earth
 Recognizes basic patterns in weather
 Recognizes how people impact the Earth, including concepts of conservation, recycling and reducing pollution
 Understands that all living things have basic needs
 Distinguishes between living and non-living things
 Recognizes how living things change as they grow and mature
 Compares and describes the structural characteristics of plants and animals
 Distinguishes between types of environments and their inhabitants (hot, cold, wet, dry, etc.)

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