Essential concepts and skills to work on in Kindergarten

know the names of all upper and lower case letters of the alphabet

know the sounds of all letters, including short and long vowel sounds (a,e, i, o, u)

blend sounds together to read words (decode)

sound out words to spell simple words (encode)

track words by pointing to each while reading left to right, and show return sweep (next line)

write simple sentences by sounding out words and illustrate a sentence

read grade level high frequency words (I, can, we, the, like, a, see, go, to, home, is, are, play, for, you, this, do, and, what, little, said, here, was, she, he, has, look, with, my, me, where)

retell a story read aloud - identify main idea, setting, characters, title, author, illustrator, cover

recognize, name, order, and write numbers 1 to 30

solve simple addition and subtraction problems

tell time to the nearest hour

name each coin and its value - penny, nickel, dime, and quarter

know the days of the week and months of the year and seasons

know the basic colors - red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, white, black, brown, pink, and gray

know basic shapes - triangle, circle, rectangle, square

identify and follow patterns (AB, ABA, ABC, AABB, ABBA)

know and use words to describe attributes and location (long, short, heavy, light, more, less, most, least, top, bottom, under, over, out, in, next to, around, close, far)

Essential concepts to work on in First Grade

add, change, or delete one sound in a word to make a new word (cat - hat, twin-win, star-start)

blend sounds to read words and segment sounds to write words

read and write words with consonant blends (ch, sh, th, wh, pl, pr, tr, sl, sm, sn, st, sw, gl, gr, dr, bl, br, cl, cr, fl, fr)

read and write words with vowel digraphs (ai, ea, ee, oa, au, ou, oo, ue)

read and write words with r-controlled vowels (ar-card, er-her, ir-bird, or-fork, ur- curl)

read and write grade level high frequency words (see attachment below for list of grade level high frequency words, gr. K-3)

answer simple questions of who, what, when, where, how on reading

retell the main idea and details of a story

identify story elements - setting, characters, problem, solution

recall beginning, middle, and end of a story

write complete sentences that include descriptive details and punctuation

capitalize first word of a sentence, word I, and names of people

recognize, name, order, and write numbers to 100

memorize addition and subtraction facts to 20

know place value - ones and tens

tell time to the nearest half hour

know one more than/less than, ten more than/less than

categorize objects by shape, size, attributes

organize data into bar graphs, tallies, picture graphs 

Essential concepts to work on in second grade

know common synonyms, antonyms, prefixes, and suffixes

read multi-syllable words and divide words into syllables

read grade level high frequency words (see attachment below for list)

identify main idea and supporting details for text read

understand cause and effect relationship

write a friendly letter with the date, greeting, body, and closing

revise writing to improve sequence of ideas and descriptive details

read and write numbers to 1,000 and understand place value to 1,000

add and subtract double digit numbers with and without regrouping

memorize addition and subtraction facts of two one digit numbers

tell and write time to the nearest five minutes- analog and digital clock

solve word problems involving adding and subtracting coins and bills

measure objects using appropriate tools - rulers, yardsticks, measuring tapes, meter sticks - and with appropriate units - inches, centimeters

memorize multiplication facts for 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10

understand fractions as parts of a whole - from 1/2 to 1/12

Essential concepts to work on in third grade

determine word meanings using antonyms, synonyms, homographs, prefixes, and suffixes

use sentence and word context to determine meaning of unknown words

read grade level high frequency words (see attachment below for list)

identitfy the main idea and supporting details of text

analyze characters - what they say, do and how it affects the story

use reference materials - dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, encyclopedia

write a single paragraph that includes topic sentence and details

revise writing to improve coherence and sequence of ideas

memorize multiplication facts 0 to 12

read and write numbers to 10,000, understand place value to 10,000

solve problems multiplying two digit numbers by one digit numbers

solve problems involving adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing money using decimals

add and subtract simple fractions; recognize equivalent fractions

identify characteristics of rhombus, parallelogram, quadrilateral

add and subtract numbers to 10,000

Essential concepts to work on in fourth grade

use antonyms, synonyms, word origins and idioms to determine the meaning of unknown words

compare and contrast information on the same topic from different texts

follow written instructions in a basic technical manual

understand cause and effect and fact and opinion in text

understand figurative language (simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification)

use correct regular and irregular verbs, adverbs, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions

write a multiple paragraph essay with an introduction and conclusion

revise writing to improve focus and development of ideas by adding, deleting, combining and rearranging sentences

read and write numbers to millions, place value to millions

show on a number line the position of fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals to two places

understand negative numbers

understand an equation is determining a second number when the first number is given (y = 3x + 5)

add, subtract, multiply, and divide multiple digit numbers

plot points on a graph, understand the x and y axis on a linear graph

represent all possible outcomes for a simple probability situation

evaluate mathematical expressions using parentheses

Essential concepts to work on in fifth grade

know antonyms, synonyms, homographs and multiple meaning words

understand function and effect of literary devices (symbolism, metaphor, imagery)

identify main problem or conflict of a story and how it was resolved

draw inferences, conclusions, and generalizations and use evidence from the text to support these

contrast motives, appearances, and actions of characters in a story and how these affect the plot or theme

use quotation marks around the exact words of the speaker and titles of poems, songs, and short stories

write multiple paragraph essays that include an introduction,   supporting paragraphs, transitions to link paragraphs, and a summarizing conclusion paragraph 

revise writing to improve focus and clarity by adding, deleting, combining, and rearranging sentences and words

add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals, add with negative numbers, subtract positive numbers from negative numbers

add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with like and unlike denominators and write answer in simplest form

find decimal and percent equivalents for a fraction (i.e. 1/2=.5=50%) and compute the percent of a whole number

determine prime factors of all numbers through 50 and write the numbers as the product of their prime factors by using exponents to show multiples of a factor

identify and represent on a number line decimals, fractions, mixed numbers, and positive and negative numbers

use a letter to represent an unknown number, write and evaluate simple algebraic expressions in one variable by substitution

solve problems involving linear functions, write equation, graph resulting ordered pairs on a grid

identify and graph ordered pairs in four quadrants of a coordinate plane

know sum of angles in a triangle is 180 degrees and of a quadrilateral is 360 degrees and use this to solve problems

measure, identify, and draw angles, perpendicular and parallel lines, rectangles, circles, and triangles using a ruler, compass, and protractor

understand volume and compute volume of a rectangular solid

identify ordered pairs of data from a graph and interpret a graph

Essential concepts to work on in sixth grade

identify and interpret figurative language and multiple meaning words

use words, sentences, and paragraph clues to determine the meaning of unknown words in expository text

connect and clarify main ideas and summarize what is read

identify unsupported inferences, fallacious reasoning, persuasion, and propaganda in text

follow multiple step instructions for preparing applications

define how tone or meaning is expressed in poetry through word choice, figurative language, sentence structure, line length, punctuation, rhythm, repetition, and rhyme

analyze the effect of qualities of characters on the plot and resolution of conflict in a text

use simple, compound, and complex sentences to express complete thoughts in writing

write in different forms including formal and informal letter, poem, report, narrative

revise writing to improve organization and consistency of ideas within and between paragraphs

develop topic with supportive details and precise verbs, nouns, and adjectives to paint a visual image in the mind of the reader

use proportions to solve problems, cross multiply to solve these

add, subtract, multiply, and divide positive and negative numbers

compute given percentages of quantities and solve problems involving discounts at sales, interest earned, and tips

compare and order positive and negative fractions, decimals, and mixed numbers and place on number line

determine least common multiple and greatest common divisor of whole numbers, use to solve problems with fractions

write and solve one-step linear equations with one variable

know that rate is measure of one quantity per unit value of another quantity

use properties of complementary and supplementary angles and sum of angles of a triangle to find unknown angles

know the formula for the circumference and area of a circle

represent all possible outcomes for compound events and represent probabilities as ratios, proportions, decimals between 0 and 1 and percentages between 0 and 100