By the end of kindergarten, your child should be able to do the following tasks in each area.

Listening

• Follow 1–2 simple directions in a row.
• Listen to and understand stories.
• Follow a simple conversation

Speaking

• Speak clearly enough so that most people understand what they say.
• Answer simple yes/no questions.
• Answer questions like, “What did you have for lunch today?”
• Retell a story or talk about something they did.
• Take turns talking and keep a conversation going.
• Show interest in and start conversations.

Reading

• Know how a book works. For example, we read from left to right and top to bottom in English.
• Understand that sounds make up words.
• Pick out words that rhyme, like cat and
• Tell you the first sound in words, like mmmm for milk.
• Says the sounds for some letters, like buh for B.
• Identify upper- and lowercase letters.
• Recognize some words by sight.
• “Read” a few picture books from memory.
• Pretend to read by talking about pictures in a book.

Writing

• Print their first name.
• Draw a picture that tells a story. Write about the picture. Your child may write a letter or word to stand for a whole sentence or idea.
• Write upper- and lowercase letters. They may not be clear or neat.
• Write or type letters in no set order, like Mu zEos lx.

By the end of first grade, your child should be able to do the following tasks in each area.

Listening

• Remember what they hear.
• Follow two- to three-step directions in a row.

Speaking

• Speak clearly so that anyone can understand them.
• Answer harder yes/no questions.
• Tell and retell stories that make sense.
• Share their ideas using complete sentences.
• Use most parts of speech, or grammar, correctly.
• Ask and answer who, what, when, where, and why questions.
• Stay on topic and take turns in conversation.
• Give directions.
• Start conversations.

Reading

• Say words that rhyme.
• Name all sounds in short words.
• Put sounds together to make words.
• Match spoken words with written words.
• Point to letters, words, and sentences.
• Sound out words when reading.
• Read 100 common words by sight.
• Read grade-level books.
• Understand what they read.

Writing

• Write about their ideas.
• Print clearly.
• Spell words that they use a lot.
• Begin each sentence with capital letters. End sentences with periods or question marks.
• Write stories, journal entries, or notes.

By the end of second grade, your child should be able to do the following tasks in each area.

Listening

• Follow 3–4 directions in a row.
• Understand direction words, like here, there, over, next to, before, or later.
• Answers questions about a second grade-level story.

Speaking

• Speak clearly.
• Answer harder yes/no questions.
• Ask and answer who, what, when, where, and why questions.
• Use more complex sentences.
• Explain words and ideas.
• Give directions with 3–4 steps.
• Use words to inform, persuade, and entertain.
• Stay on topic, take turns, and keep eye contact during conversations.
• Start and end conversations.

Reading

• Know how letters make sounds in words, called phonics.
• Recognize many words by sight.
• Use clues when reading to figure out words. For example, looking at pictures or titles to help read a word.
• Reread parts of a story and fix mistakes.
• Find information to answer questions.
• Explain important points of a story, like the main idea, characters, and plot.
• Use personal experiences to guess what might happen next in a story.
• Read and retell a story in the correct order.
• Read grade-level stories and poetry silently and out loud smoothly.
• Read on their own.

Writing

• Write clearly.
• Use different sentences to write essays, poetry, or short stories.
• Use basic punctuation and capitalization.
• Organize writing with a beginning, middle, and an end.
• Spell words correctly that they use a lot.
• Stop spelling by sound and start spelling correctly. For example, they may move from “grl” to girl.”

By the end of third grade, your child should be able to do the following tasks in each area.

Listening

• Pay attention in groups.
• Understand grade-level information.

Speaking

• Speak clearly. Know when to talk with a soft or loud voice.
• Ask and answer questions.
• Be a part of conversations and group discussions.
• Use words related to school subjects. For example, math, science, or history words.
• Stay on topic, use eye contact, and take turns in conversation.
• Summarize a story.
• Explain what they learned in school.

Reading

• Understand phonics, or how sounds and words go together.
• Use word analysis skills. This means knowing root words, prefixes, and suffixes. For example, they can add the prefix “bi” to the root word “cycle” for “bicycle.” Or, they can add the suffix “ist” to the root word “cycle” for “cyclist.”
• Use clues from a story to help understand what they read.
• Predict and explain what will happen next in stories. Compare stories and tell how stories are different.
• Ask and answer questions about what they read.
• Use what they know to learn about new topics.
• Read grade-level books with few mistakes.
• Reread and correct errors.

Writing

• Plan, organize, revise, and edit.
• Write stories, letters, and short reports.
• Use details in writing. Spell simple words correctly. Correct most spelling without help. Use a dictionary to correct spelling.

By the end of fourth grade, your child should be able to do the following tasks in each area.

Listening

• Listen to and understand information.
• Form opinions based on what they hear.
• Listen for specific reasons, such as to learn, enjoy, or convince.

Speaking

• Use words correctly in conversation.
• Use language for many reasons, like asking questions, arguing, and joking.
• Understand some figurative language. This is language that uses words in new or different ways. For example, “This classroom is a zoo!”
• Take part in group discussions.
• Give correct directions to others.
• Summarize ideas in their own words.
• Organize information so it is clear.
• Give clear speeches.

Reading

• Read for specific reasons.
• Read grade-level books smoothly and with few mistakes.
• Use what they know to understand new material.
• Follow written directions.
• Take brief notes.
• Link what they learn in one subject to other subjects.
• Learn meanings of new words by looking at word origins, synonyms, and other meanings.
• Use reference materials, like a dictionary.
• Talk about the author’s reason for writing a story and about the writing style.
• Read and understand different types of writing, like fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
• Make inferences from texts. This means that they guess what a writer means when it is not stated clearly. They use clues in the story and what they know from their life to guess.
• Talk about what they read in their own words, called paraphrasing.

Writing

• Write stories and explanations. Write many paragraphs about the same topic.
• Develop a plan for writing that includes a beginning, a middle, and an end.
• Organize writing around a main idea.
• Edit final copies for grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

By the end of fifth grade, your child should be able to do the following tasks in each area.

Listening

• Listen and draw conclusions in different classes.

Speaking

• Make planned speeches. They should know their audience and include information for that group.
• Deliver a speech. They should keep eye contact and use gestures and a loud voice.
• Take part in class discussions.
• Summarize main points.
• Report about information from group activities.

Reading

• Read grade-level books smoothly and with few mistakes.
• Learn meanings of new words by looking at word origins, synonyms, and other meanings.
• Decide what information is important when reading.
• Read different types of text, like fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
• Describe how a character and a plot develop.
• Talk about poetry and what poems might mean.
• Study an author’s language and style.
• Use reference materials to support opinions.

Writing

• Write for a variety of reasons.
• Use many different words when writing.
• Vary sentence structure.
• Revise writing to make it clearer.
• Edit final copies.