Grade by Grade Guide to Learning
From kindergarten to fifth grade, here's a grade-by-grade look at what your child will learn each year. Learn more about reading, math, developmental milestones and other important issues pertaining to your child's grade.
Kindergarten:
In addition to being a big year for social learning, kindergarten is a year to get used to the routine of school, to learn to follow rules and to build basic math, reading and writing skills.
- 4 Ways to Get Your Child Ready for Kindergarten
- What Do Kids Learn in Kindergarten?
- What You Can Expect in: Kindergarten
- Ages and Stages: 5 Social Skills That Are Important for Kindergarten
- Ages and Stages: 5 Cognitive Skills That Are Important for Kindergarten
- Ages and Stages: 5 Physical Skills That Are Important for Kindergarten
First Grade:
For many kids, 1st grade is a year to feel "big." First grade teachers use that bigness as a way to challenge students to learn bigger things this year. Reading takes off, math becomes more complex and science and social studies explore beyond kids' inner circles.
- What Do Kids Learn in 1st Grade?
- What You Can Expect in: 1st Grade
- Ways to Improve Reading Fluency
- A 1st Grade Summer Reading List
Second Grade:
In 2nd grade your child's attention span is increasing, which means he's able to learn more difficult concepts in one setting and apply them to other situations. He'll learn advanced addition and subtraction and work hard to become a fluent reader.
- What Do Kids Learn in 2nd Grade?
- What You Can Expect in: 2nd Grade
- 5 Leveled Reading Programs You Should Know About
- What is a Fluent Reader?
- A 2nd Grade Summer Reading List
Third Grade:
3rd grade is a year of great academic growth. Your child will move more from being a concrete thinker to becoming more open to the abstract, will learn multiplication and will begin writing in organized paragraphs.
- What Your Child Will Learn in 3rd Grade
- What You Can Expect in: 3rd Grade
- Struggling Learner? 4 School-Based Intervention Programs You Should Know About
- A 3rd Grade Summer Reading List
Fourth Grade:
Just as the formation of cliques begins to increase and complicate your child's social life, the academic work becomes more challenging, too. Your child will work on long-term projects, being using the scientific process and explore more complex branches of mathematics.
- What Do Kids Learn in 4th Grade?
- What You Can Expect in: 4th Grade
- How to Help Your Child Cope with Cliques
- The Importance of Emotional Intelligence and Empathy in Kids
- 4th Grade Summer Reading List
Fifth Grade:
5th grade is a year for putting all the academic pieces together, your child will be expected to take more responsibility for organization and long-term planning. He'll begin to learn algebraic math, write book reports and explore citizenship in depth.