1st grade Reading/Writing and Math
What should my child know and be able to do at the end of first grade?
Importance of Math and Communication Skills
No subjects in school are more important to a student’s future success than reading, writing,
and mathematics.
Without these skills, students will have a more difficult time learning in the next grade.
They must know how to use reading, writing, and math in all their school subjects, including art, music,
science, social studies, health, and physical education.
Our district has identified the most important for success in the next grade.
This pamphlet describes what we want your child to learn in reading, writing, and math by the
end of the year.
It may give you some ideas about specific skills you would like to help your child practice.
As you will see, our expectations are high.
There may be content, such as geometry, that you would not have expected so early in your child’s education.
There may also be terms which are unfamiliar to you.
If there are parts you are unsure of, please ask your child’s teacher for more information.
One of our goals as a school district is to have as many children as possible reach these
expectations – or learn even more – by the end of each school year.
Communication Skills – Reading/Writing
By the end of first grade, a student should:
Develop word knowledge and reading strategies (skills to help understand what is read)
~ Know the names and sounds of all letters, as well as common consonant and vowel blends.
~ Read between 300-500 sight words and easily sound out words.
~ Read grade-level books out loud with appropriate phrasing and speed.
Understand the meaning of what is read
~ Retell events or stories with some detail and in the correct order.
~ Recognize the beginning, middle, and end of a story.
~ Know about the characters; identify time and place where the story takes place.
~ Understand the difference between stories and reading for information.
~ Recognize the title and table of contents.
~ Connect reading to personal experience.
Build habits of a thoughtful reader
~ Explore a variety of books, including informational and story books.
~ Share favorite reading materials with others.
~ Write and draw about what is read.
Write clearly and effectively
~ Write for a variety of purposes, such as explanations, friendly letters, personal experiences, and poems.
~ Use some transition words in stories, such as first, next, then.
~ Spell some words correctly; will invent spelling of others.
~ Use capital letters at the beginning of a sentence.
~ Place a period or question mark at the end of a sentence.
~ Make spaces between words; form legible letters.
~ Write complete sentences.
Use processes and habits of a thoughtful writer
~ Recognize that writing is usually for an audience.
~ Draft writing with others or alone.
~ Practice beginning computer skills.
~ Check for spelling and punctuation.
~ Share writing with others to revise, to share ideas, and/or for enjoyment.
Mathematics Concepts and Skills
By the end of first grade, a student should know the following:
Number Sense and Computation
~ Count up to 100 objects.
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~ Put whole numbers in order and know which are larger and which are smaller (up to and including 20).
~ Write numerals up to 50.
~ Show understanding of number concepts by breaking apart numbers up to and including 7 (6+1, 5+2, 4+3).
Measurement
~ Measure length, area, and volume/capacity.
Bean Flick
~ Mentally estimate length and area.
~ Count the value of an assortment of pennies, nickels, and dimes (totaling 30 cents or less).
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Geometric Sense
~ Compare and describe shapes (triangle, square, rectangle, and circle) by telling at least one way they are alike and one way they are different.
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~ Recognize the attributes of color, shape, size, and height (or depth) of objects; sort objects by any three of these attributes.
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~ Name common two-dimensional shapes (hexagon, oval, rhombus).
~ Use common language, such as under, over next to, to describe the location of objects.