Kindergarten Reading/Writing and Math
What should my child know and be able to do at the end of kindergarten?
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 kindergarten, a student should:
Develop word knowledge and reading strategies (skills to help understand what is read)
~ Show awareness of books and print.
~ Hear and recognize sounds in words.
~ Recognize most upper case (capital) and lower case letters.
~ Read and understand simple signs, very common words, and captions.
Understand the meaning of what is read
~ Retell stories read to him/her and identify the beginning, middle and end.
~ Discuss characters from books or stories.
~ Connect events and characters in stories to personal experience.
Build habits of a thoughtful reader
~ Explore a variety of books
~ Write and draw about stories and books read to him/her
Write clearly and effectively (These skills will prepare the kindergartner for actual writing)
~ Express ideas on a single topic
~ Add details to a story with some help
~ Begin to form letters
~ Connect meaning to own invented symbols
~ Understand some concepts of print, for example, top-to-bottom, left-to-right, spaces between words.
~ May write his/her own name and a few simple words.
Use processes and habits of a thoughtful writer
~ Attempt writing
~ Draw stories; express feelings in art work
~ Dictate stories to another writer.
~ Retell own stories.
~ Share stories/writing with others
Mathematics Concepts and Skills
By the end of kindergarten, a student should know the following:
Number Sense and Computation
~ Count up to 20 objects.
~ Read numerals up to 20.
~ Write numerals up to 12.
~ Show understanding of number concepts by breaking apart numbers up to and including 5 (4+1, 2+3).
Use this web site, with parent guidance, to help teach the concepts above
Measurement
~ Compare objects by size.
~ Measure length using non-standard units not ordinarily used for measurement, for example, toothpicks or Popsicle sticks.
Use this web site, with parent guidance, to help teach the concepts above
Geometric Sense
~ Know names for basic shapes, for example, circle, square, triangle, rectangle.
~ Describe the location of such objects using words such as under, over, next to.
learn this skill
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Probability and Statistics
~ Show information about oneself, for example, height, on a graph of the class.
~ Make comparisons of collected data in response to teacher’s questions, for example, which is more? Which is less?
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Algebraic Sense – (Patterns and Functions)
~ Copy and extend a simple repeating pattern, such as ABB, ABB, and represent it in a different way.
learn this skill