Four Basic Subjects
There are four basic subjects that students must have a grasp on in order to graduate to the next class level. They are Math, Language Arts, Science, and History. I also teach Bible, but it’s grades have no effect on whether my child moves up to the next grade or not. Here are the guidelines you can use to decide if your first grader is ready to move on to second grade.
Math
- Add and subtract up to the number 25.
- Complete word problems that require you to add and subtract up to 25.
- Understand what estimate means and be able to estimate simple numbers.
- Identify quarters, nickels, dimes, and pennies and begin to be able to add them in combinations up to $.25.
- Understand whole, half, one third, and one fourth by shading in circles, squares, and rectangles.
- Have a grasp on shapes and then begin to understand three dimensional shapes such as cones, cubes, and spheres.
- Able to tell time by hour and half hour.
- Understand a ruler and be able to identify inches.
- Able to read a measuring cup by 1/2 and 1 cup.
- Able to read a calendar (days, weeks, and months).
- Able to tell which months go with which seasons.
- Understand and recognize patterns such as sphere, cube, sphere, cone, sphere, cube, sphere, cone.
- Understand tally charts, bar graphs, and other simple charts and graphs.
- Write numbers to 100.
- Count by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s.
- Grasp greater than, less than, and equal to.
Language Arts
- Learn phonics blends such as br, sl, and ch.
- Recognize and be able to write sight words. At least 5-10 per week.
- Able to read 1st grade readers with ease.
- Able to comprehend a story. Be able to repeat the story after they have heard it.
- Able to label a story as to which comes first, second, and third.
- Learn the vocabulary of new words.
- Identify words that have more than one meaning, but have the same spelling.
- Identify the main idea of a story.
- Begin punctuation and capitalization.
- Able to create journal entries.
- Able to write their own short story.
- Able to practice neat handwriting.
Science
- Understand the steps of investigation.
- Understand some scientific terminology such as hypothesis and observation.
- Identify the three principals of matter (solid, liquid, gas).
- Understand the concept of motion.
- Identify living and nonliving thing.
- Recite the five senses and discuss each in detail.
- Research animal behaviors.
- Have a grasp on the animal life cycle.
- Have a grasp on a plants life cycle.
- Compare and contrast rocks.
- Compare and contrast land (mountains, volcanoes, valleys, etc.)
- Understand weather and it’s effect on the earth (people, animals, and plants).
- Understand the seasons and the weather that each usually produces. Consider teaching about hurricane season as well.
- Understand machines and how they makes life easier. Compare this to a time when there were no machines.
- Have a good grasp on recycling and why it is important.
Social Studies
- Recognize the United States on a map.
- Recognize their state on a map.
- Understand the role of a President.
- Fully grasp the concept of a community and each person’s role in it.
- Able to tell what makes a good citizen of a community.
- Discuss other cultures and compare them to your own.
- Discuss the concept of a family and create a family tree.
- Able to understand and point out places in your community on a map.
- Able to use a compass and point out all 4 directions.
- Begin to go over Oceans and continents. This does not have to be mastered yet.
- Understand needs and wants.
- Understand goods and services.
- Understand what money is and why it is so important.
- Able to recycle and tell why it is important.
- Understand pollution and what you can do to minimize it.
