First Grade Skills Checklist
I saw the need for parents to know how they could help their child be
successful in First Grade. This checklist lists areas in which you can
help
your child.
Reading
When listening to your child read, make sure they:
*Speak slowly and clearly when reading aloud
*Pause for punctuation, in between words & sentences
*Change their voices to reflect punctuation (exclamation mark,
questions
mark, etc.)
When trying to figure out an unfamiliar word, make sure your child:
*Uses picture clues found on the page
*Uses the rest of the words in the sentence to see if the unfamiliar word
makes sense
*Uses letter sounds (Phonics)
*Makes words smaller by reading chunks (parts) and then putting the
chunks
together to figure out the word
Phonics
Make sure your child can:
*Sound out unfamiliar words using letter sounds, letter blends, chunks,
words inside words
*Distinguish between long and short vowels
HINT: general rule: words with one vowel, the vowel is usually short (ex:
kit)
words with 2 vowels, the first vowel is usually long, the second is
(usually) silent (ex: kite)
Handwriting
Make sure your child:
*Puts spaces between words
*Uses upper case/lower case letters when appropriate
*Writes neatly and legibly
*Holds a pencil correctly
*Forms letters correctly using Zaner-Blozer letters
Language
Make sure your child can:
*Finish a thought (When I see a puppy I feel...)
*Write a complete sentence using correct punctuation
*Know that a sentence is a group of words that makes sense and is a
complete
thought
*End a sentence with an ending mark (period, exclamation mark or
question
mark)
*Begin a sentence with an upper case letter
*Recognize nouns in a sentence: knowing a noun is a person, place, or
thing
****Have your child keep a journal and write in it every day***
Math
Make sure your child:
*Knows how to count by 1's to 100
*Knows how to count by 2's to 100
*Knows how to count by 5's to 100
*Knows how to count by 10's to 100
*Recognizes numerals to 100
*Knows time by hour, half-hour
*Can use a calculator to perform simple operations: addition &
subtraction
*Knows the days of the week
*Knows the months of the year
*Recognizes solid shapes: cube, cylinder, sphere, cone and rectangular
prism
*Can measure to 3 feet using inches, feet, centimeters and decimeters
*Can measure an object using standard or non-standard units (ex.:
paper clip)
*Knows the value of quarter, dime, nickel and penny
*Can count a pocketful of change correctly (starting with coin of the
highest value)
*Can add numbers to:
November: to 10
January: to 12
March: to 18
*Can read a graph we made in class
*Can read a glyph they made
*Can "read" a Math problem
*Can read & write a Math problem horizontally as well as vertically
Social Studies
Your child should be able to:
*Add information to our discussion
*Become informed about the unit we are studying (library books,
internet,
etc.)
*Know famous people we study: Christopher Columbus, Johnny
Appleseed (John
Chapman), Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, George
Washington
*Know that a family is a group of people who love each other
*Know that each of us is special
*Know how families change
*Know that families have rules
*Know that families do things together
*Know some things about families in other lands: how they are the
same and
how they are different from us
*Know fire safety:
What to do if your clothes catch fire
What to do in case of fire
What number to call for an emergency
Plan and use an escape route for your family
*Know the 5 senses
*Know the "Pledge of Allegiance" to United States flag
Science
Your child should be able to:
*Add information to our discussion
*Become informed about what we are studying (library books, internet,
etc.)
Basic Information
Your child should:
*Know their street address
*Know their phone number including area code
*Know the basic 8 colors: red, green, blue, yellow, purple, orange,
brown,
black
*Recognize numerals to 100
*Recognize shapes: triangle, square, rectangle and circle
