First grade boy: 5 Things All First Graders Have In Common

Developmental Milestones for First Grade (6- and 7-Year-Olds)

Moving up from kindergarten means big changes. Not so much in physical skills, but in the way kids begin to think and interact with the world. There’s a lot of growth in social and thinking skills in first grade.

Check out these developmental milestones to get a sense of which skills are typical for first graders.

Physical milestones

Most kids gain stamina and coordination during first grade. They may start the year a little uncoordinated, because the big muscles in their arms and legs are better developed than the small muscles they use for smaller movements. What kids can do physically this year doesn’t change as much as how well they’re able to do it.

By the end of first grade, most kids will:

• Have improved hand-eye coordination for things like tying shoelaces
• Be able to dance in time with the music — and even add some cool moves like spinning in place without moving from one spot
• Have handwriting that’s getting neater and easier to read
• Run, hop, skip, and jump
• Throw and kick a ball, and catch it with both hands
• Copy shapes and letters
• Know how to use utensils the right way (even if they don’t always do it!)
• May begin playing a musical instrument
• Ride a bike without training wheels
• Be capable of doing chores like sweeping or making the bed
• Tie shoes and button and zip independently

Cognitive milestones

Kids’ thinking skills this year allow them to start exploring the world to find answers to their own questions. During first grade, most kids:

• Start developing the skills to reason and think logically
• Try to think about things before making decisions
• Learn from what they hear and read — not just from what they see and do
• Have trouble making choices because they want to do everything at once
• Can read several sight words (words they see frequently and can read without sounding out) and sound out other words
• Begin to have a better sense of time, understanding increments of time, days, weeks, months, and seasons
• Predict what comes next in a pattern, and recognize and create their own patterns
• Count to 100 by ones, twos, fives, and tens
• Write and recognize the numerals 0 to 100, and the words for numbers from one to twenty
• Do basic addition and subtraction up to 20

Language milestones

By the start of first grade, kids may use language in long and complicated sentences to talk about the past, present, and future. But this year, they may start combining spoken language with reading and writing. First graders typically:

• Start sounding out words
• Understand the relationship between letters and sounds
• Know, use, and understand thousands of words
• Stop reversing letters (by the end of first grade)
• Try to express feelings with words, but may resort to aggression when upset
• Use words to convince people of their viewpoint and to tell stories
• Tell jokes and riddles, and may understand simple puns
• Tell little lies about everyday things

First-grade social-emotional skills are an interesting mix of independence and an increased need for your attention and approval. By the time they turn 7, kids typically start to understand that friendships aren’t something they can control by themselves. That may make them a little anxious. Many kids also:

• Are more independent, but less secure (they may want a lot of attention and approval from adults)
• Form and break friendships easily, and can be critical of other kids
• Get their feelings hurt more easily and start being very aware of other people’s feelings
• Are eager to please and want to “be first” and win
• Understand right from wrong, but look for the loopholes in rules to get what they want
• Are more aware of how others see them
• Begin to understand what it means to feel embarrassed

There’s a lot of variation in how quickly kids develop skills throughout first grade. But if a child isn’t doing most of these things by the end of first grade, parents and teachers should talk about what they’re seeing, and what might help.

Parents and caregivers should also share their concerns with their child’s health care provider. If a child needs support in some skill areas, now is a good time to start.

Take a look forward at developmental milestones for second and third graders.

Key takeaways

• First graders often start using language for new things, like telling jokes or convincing others of their viewpoint.

• A first grader may seem more independent, but still needs emotional support and approval.

• If a child isn’t meeting most of the milestones, parents and caregivers should talk with their child’s teacher and health care provider.

Related topics

• Signs and symptoms

Inside the 1st grader’s brain

“That’s not fair!”

If your 6-year-old’s pleas for justice are driving you nuts, take note: Your child’s fixation on fairness is developmentally positive. The first grader’s swiftly developing brain is leaping from magical thinking to logical, rational mental processing; she’s eager to understand the principles behind rules and regulations.

First graders are incongruously attracted to both the penal code (laws, police, ethics, traffic signs, crime, jail) and to competitive winning — at all costs! They’ll panic if you jaywalk because they fear prison. But they’ll also lie, cheat, and argue to win.

What’s happening neurologically inside the first grader’s conflicted skull? The buzzing three-and-a-half foot child in front of you is experiencing major brain blasts as his cognitive circuits are getting programmed — for life! First graders have trillions of pathways that connect their neurons in the cerebral cortex. This tangle of wiring is getting pruned in a 6-year-old at an alarmingly intense rate. The rarest-used pathways are eliminated to streamline each individual’s thought process. Here’s some help to optimize your first grader’s quickly developing mind:

Aim high

The sensory lobes that recognize and analyze challenges are maturing at a rapid rate in the 6-year-old’s brain. In other words, the first grade brain has stunning plastic capability that should never be underestimated. Your first grader will do best with a sensitive, yet demanding teacher who insists on quality work. According to professor of psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine Daniel Siegel, teachers’ expectations of students’ abilities have a huge effect on student learning. In one study, teachers were mistakenly told that some of their students who had been previously identified as learning disabled were in fact gifted. After the teachers raised expectations, the students performed up to expectations.

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Reading help

Learning to read by “sounding out” letters in words is difficult for many first graders, even if their brain’s auditory development is excellent. One reason, notes Jeannine Herron, Ph.D., author of Making Speech Visible, is that memorizing the alphabet is misleading because letter titles — A, B, C, etc. — don’t sound precisely like the sounds they represent. For example, the letter “G” has a “J” sound, “H” is way off-base with its “AAACH” pronunciation, and all the vowels can be utilized with more than one sound. This difficulty delays thousands of struggling readers. To circumvent this, Herron recommends teaching first graders to “pay attention to what their mouth is doing” when they learn phonemes.

Talk it up

Your loquacious first grader will thrive if you talk and read with her as often as possible, since rapid brain growth in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation happens primarily before the age of 7. An Entropy article authored by Princeton researchers reports that 6-year-olds can comprehend 13,000 words because their cerebral cortex, with such strong circuitry, acquires language at the rate of 10 new words per day — which means a new word every 90 minutes! Six-year-old brains have developed interconnected “mental language maps” where they can quickly chart and categorize the meaning of words. To help their language skills develop, include them in adult conversations. This is also a prime time to introduce a second, or even third, language.

Safe space

First graders need to feel relaxed and emotionally secure for their brains to learn best. Research indicates that traumatic stress and fear releases toxic levels of the hormone cortisol, which can destroy neurons in the hippocampus, a region that supports factual and episodic memory. To protect a first grader’s confidence, parents and other important adults should give loving, encouraging feedback, as well as minimize reprimands and threats, and avoid shouting and spanking for discipline. Express sympathy if they’re terrorized by nightmares or ashamed of bed-wetting. Many children continue enuresis until age seven or longer.

Calm the storm

Patience, patience. Dramatic 6-year-olds can be exasperating, but imagine what they’re experiencing. In Your Child’s Growing Mind, by Jane M. Healy, Ph.D., she notes that, “Neuropsychologists talk about the ‘five-to-seven shift’ because so much change occurs in the brain during these years. One study found that a specific area involved with language and spatial awareness had changed 85 percent between ages 6 and 7 in one girl’s brain.”

Tuning into the first grade brain

A 2009 Journal of Neuroscience article reports that when 31 6-year-olds received instrumental musical training for 15 months, the result was impressive changes in brain anatomy. For example, the auditory and cortical motor systems actually grew larger. So expose your child to music, and if she demonstrates an interest, by all means, get her an instrument. Play structured melodic music for your child and sing songs.

Focusing research

A first grader’s attention span ranges from six to 20 minutes, depending partly on gender. A report published in NeuroImage claims, “we found robust male/female differences in the shapes of the trajectories with total cerebral volume peaking at age 10.5 in females and 14.5 in males.” This difference, says Leonard Sax. M.D., author of Boys Adrift, explains why 6-year-old boys can’t pay attention as long as 6-year-old girls. To bolster a boy’s concentration, encourage activities like meditation and board games, and limit TV and video watching. Studies indicate screens over-stimulate still-developing neurology, resulting in abbreviated attention. Why? Some researchers believe TV and video viewing wastefully releases high quantities of the neurotransmitter dopamine, a key regulator for focus.

Of brain and brawn

Try scheduling at least 30 minutes a day for your first grader to run and play outside. According to John Ratey MD, author of Spark, exercise elevates a chemical Ratey dubs “Miracle-Gro for the brain” because it builds the brain’s infrastructure. Aerobic sports programs like soccer, swimming, hockey and martial arts are outstanding brain-boosters. First graders thrive on physical challenges because their energetic, integrated sensory systems progress far quicker than adults. Abundant research reveals that students who exercise intensely perform better academically than those who do not.

Mute emotions

Don’t expect 6-year-olds to open up easily and “share their feelings.” When Harvard neuroscientists using MRI imaged activity in young children’s brains, they discovered that the cerebral cortex that does the talking is not yet connected to the amygdala, a subcortical, primitive area where emotion occurs.  That’s why it makes little sense to ask first-graders to tell you why they’re feeling sad. Quite often, they don’t know!

A balance of brain food

Feed your child a balanced mixture of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, dairy and meat, and limit their intake of candy, cookies, fruit juice, and sugary, salty junk food. Children need a wide variety of essential nutrients for optimal brain growth. For example, egg yolk, fatty meat, and soybeans contain choline, the building block for the neurotransmitter acetylocholine, which is crucial in memory function. Learn about more healthy brain foods kids love.

More resources:

The Developing Brain: Birth to Age Eight, by Marilee Sprenger

Your Child’s Growing Mind: Brain Development and Learning From Birth to Adolescence, by Jane M. Healy, Ph.D

First grade is critical for reading skills, but some kids are way behind

AUSTIN, Texas — Most years, by the third week of first grade, Heather Miller is working with her class on writing the beginning, middle and end of simple words. This year, she had to backtrack — all the way to the letter “H.”

This story also appeared in USA Today

“Do we start at the bottom or do we start at the top?” Miller asked as she stood in front of her class at Doss Elementary.

“Top!” chorused a few voices.

“When I do an H, I do a straight line down, another straight line down and then I cross in the middle,” Miller said, demonstrating on a projector in a front corner of the classroom.

Her 25 students set to work on their own. Some got it right away. One student watched his tablemate before slowly copying down his own H’s. Another tested her own way of writing the letter: one line down, cross in the middle, then another line down. “Your paper is upside down, let’s turn it,” Miller said to a student who was trying to write letters while leaning sideways, almost out of her seat.

A student works on a writing assignment in Heather Miller’s classroom.

In classrooms across the country, the first months of school this fall have laid bare what many in education feared: Students are way behind in skills they should have mastered already.

Children in early elementary school have had their most formative first few years of education disrupted by the pandemic, years when they learn basic math and reading skills and important social-emotional skills, like how to get along with peers and follow routines in a classroom.

While experts say it’s likely these students will catch up in many skills, the stakes are especially high around literacy. Research shows if children are struggling to read at the end of first grade, they are likely to still be struggling as fourth graders. And in many states with third grade reading “gates” in place, students could be at risk of getting held back if they haven’t caught up within a few years.

40 percent — The number of first grade students “well below grade level” in reading in 2020, compared with 27 percent in 2019, according to Amplify Education Inc.

First grade in particular — “the reading year,” as Miller calls it — is pivotal for elementary students, when their literacy skills “really take off.” Kindergarten focuses on easing children from a variety of educational backgrounds — or none at all — into formal schooling. In contrast, first grade concentrates on moving students from pre-reading skills and simple math, like counting, to more complex skills, like reading and writing sentences and adding and subtracting numbers.

By the end of first grade in Texas, students are expected to be able to mentally add or subtract 10 from any given two-digit number, retell stories using key details and write narratives that sequence events. The benchmarks are similar to those used in the more than 40 states that, along with the District of Columbia, adopted the national Common Core standards a decade ago.

Teachers often see a range of literacy skills, and that could be more pronounced this year due to the pandemic

Teacher Heather Miller has seen a wide range of writing skills among her first grade students, with some students already writing complex sentences while others are still working on letter formation. Credit: Jackie Mader/ The Hechinger ReportHeather Miller has already seen improvement in writing, including among students who started the year without a strong grasp of forming letters. Credit: Jackie Mader/ The Hechinger ReportHeather Miller’s students frequently write in notebooks to show their progress in writing skills. Credit: Jackie Mader/ The Hechinger ReportHeather Miller’s students frequently write in notebooks to show their progress in writing skills. Credit: Jackie Mader/ The Hechinger Report

“They really grow as readers in first grade, and writers,” Miller said. “It’s where they build their confidence in their fluency.”

But about half of Miller’s class of first graders at Doss Elementary, a spacious, bright, newly built school in northwest Austin, spent kindergarten online. Some were among the tens of thousands of children who sat out kindergarten entirely last year.

More than a month into this school year, Miller found she was spending extensive time on social lessons she used to teach in kindergarten, like sharing and problem-solving.  She stopped class repeatedly to mediate disagreements. Finally, she resorted to an activity she used to use in kindergarten: role-playing social scenarios, like what to do if someone accidentally trips you.

“My kids are so spread out in their needs … there’s so much to teach, and somehow there’s not enough time.”

Heather Miller, first grade teacher

“So many kids are missing that piece from last year because they were, you know, virtual or on an iPad for most of the time, and they don’t know how to problem-solve with each other,” Miller said. “That’s just caused a lot of disruption during the school day.” 

Her students were also not as independent as they had been in previous years. Used to working on tablets or laptops for much of their day, many of these students were also behind in fine motor skills, struggling to use scissors and still working on correctly writing numbers.

Related: What parents need to know about the research on how kids learn to read

Instead of working on first grade standards, Miller was devoting time on this Friday morning in early September to forming upper- and lowercase letters, a kindergarten standard in Texas and the majority of other states. As students finished practicing the letter H, they moved on to the assignment at the bottom of the page: Draw a picture and write a word describing something that starts with an H.

“H-r-o-s” one student wrote next to a picture of a horse standing on green grass in front of a light blue sky. “H-e-a-r-s” another student wrote next to a picture of a strip of brown hair, floating in the white picture box. “You should draw a face there,” suggested his tablemate, pointing at the blank space under the hair.

Students work on a phonics activity during center time in Heather Miller’s classroom. Credit: Jackie Mader/ The Hechinger Report

Miller’s first graders are a case study in the scale, depth and unevenness of learning loss during the pandemic.  One report by Amplify Education Inc., which creates curriculum, assessment and intervention products, found children in first and second grade experienced dramatic drops in grade level reading scores compared with those in previous years.

In 2020, 40 percent of first grade students and 35 percent of second grade students  were scoring “well below grade level” on a reading assessment, compared with 27 percent and 29 percent the previous year. That means a school would need to offer “intensive intervention” to nearly 50 percent more students than before the pandemic.

Data analyzed by McKinsey & Company late last year concluded that children have lost at least one and a half months of reading. Other data show low-income, Black and Latinx students are falling further behind than their white peers, leading to worsening achievement gaps.

Experts say it’s now clear families who had time and resources to help their children with academics when schooling was disrupted had a tremendous advantage.

“Higher-income parents, higher-educated parents, are likely to have worked with their children to teach them to read and basic numbers, and some of those really basic early foundational skills that kids generally get in pre-K, kindergarten and first grade,” said Melissa Clearfield, a professor of psychology who focuses on young children and poverty at Whitman College.

“Families who were not able to, either because their parents were essential workers or children whose parents are significantly low-income or not educated, they’re going to be really far behind.”

A student puts a poetry journal away in Heather Miller’s first grade class. Miller noticed most students came in lacking independence and other social skills they typically develop in kindergarten, due to distance learning last year. Credit: Jackie Mader/ The Hechinger Report

What Miller has observed in the first few weeks of the school year is likely taking place in classrooms nationwide, experts say. In April, researchers with the nonprofit NWEA, which develops pre-K-12 assessments, predicted how the pandemic’s disruptions would manifest among the kindergarten class of 2021: a wider range of ability levels; large class sizes with more diverse ages because some parents held children back a grade; and students unfamiliar with in-person classroom routines.

“We predicted that there would be a lot of diversity in skills,” said Brooke Mabry, strategic content design coordinator for NWEA Professional Learning. That includes skills related to academics, social-emotional learning and executive functioning, she added.

The varying experiences children had with school last year also impacted fine motor skill development, independence, ability to navigate conflicts and the “unfinished learning” teachers are now observing, she added.

Related: Remote learning a bust? Some families consider having their child repeat kindergarten

While switching to remote learning was hard on many students, younger students were generally unable to log themselves on to a computer independently and focus on virtual lessons for extended periods of time. Teachers, who usually rely on small, in-person groups for  early literacy skills, instead had to teach letters, sounds and sight words via online platforms.

Miller had the unwieldy task of teaching kids both in person and online, spending her year pivoting between students in front of her and students on her computer screen, using her projector to display books to students at home and teaching reading skills via virtual groups.

Now, with students in front of her again, Miller was finding that those online lessons weren’t as useful as many had hoped.

Miller, 30, is a calm, confident teacher who is in her eighth year of teaching and her second at Doss. She usually has students with a wide range of ability levels at the beginning of the year, although Doss is relatively affluent. Nearly 62 percent of students at the school are white, and fewer than 20 percent are economically disadvantaged, compared with the district average of nearly 53 percent. In 2019, 95 percent of Doss’ students passed the state reading assessment.

Students play outside Doss Elementary in Austin, Texas. Credit: Jackie Mader/ The Hechinger Report

But this year, Miller saw larger gaps in reading skills than ever before. Usually, her first graders would start with reading levels ranging from mid-kindergarten to second grade. This year, the levels spanned early kindergarten up to fourth grade.

“My kids are so spread out in their needs,” Miller said. “I just feel like — and I’m sure every teacher feels like this — there’s so much to teach, and somehow there’s not enough time.”

She’s also seen higher literacy levels for kids who went to school in person last year. To her, it speaks to the immense benefits kids get from all aspects of in-person learning. “It just shows how important it is for these kids to be around their peers and just have normalcy,” she said.

Related: Summer school programs race to help students most in danger of falling behind

To catch kids up, Miller is relying on, among other things, one of the staples of the early elementary classroom: center time. For two hours a day, she works with small groups of students on the specific math and reading skills they are lacking.

On a recent October morning, Miller divided her class into five groups to rotate through various activities around her room. She gave her students a few minutes to finish a writing assignment as she pulled out several sets of small books at various reading levels; colorful plastic, hollow phones so her students could hear themselves read; and for a group of struggling readers, a matching game featuring cards showing various letters and pictures.

A student uses a whisper phone and a green rubber finger to follow along as he reads during center time. Credit: Jackie Mader/ The Hechinger Report

“I feel like I’m teaching four grades,” Miller said as she arranged the materials on her desk.

Several minutes later, seated at a table in the back of the room with five of her grade-level readers, Miller handed them each a phone, a small book and a green witch’s finger to help them point at the words in the book. “Today we’re going to talk about our reading tools,” Miller said, holding up a blue plastic phone. “These are called whisper phones. You whisper so you can hear yourself sound out the words,” she said. “Do these go on our heads?”

“No!” the students said, giggling.

“You know what these are for?” she said, holding up a rubber finger.

“Um, they’re for reading,” one student said. “’Cause I had them in kindergarten.”

“Very good. Are these for picking your nose?” Miller asked.

“No!” the students said, laughing.

She placed a book in front of each child and walked them through a series of exercises, including looking at the cover and predicting what the book would be about.

Then, they opened their books and began to read in a whisper. Miller turned from one side of the table to the other, listening as students read to themselves, pointing at each word with their green rubber fingers. She helped them sound out challenging words, like “away.” One by one, the students finished the book. A few read it several times in the minutes allotted.

Students practice reading using whisper phones during center time in their first grade classroom. Credit: Jackie Mader/ The Hechinger Report

Miller’s next group, all of whom were reading far below grade level, required a different activity. Rather than handing out a book, Miller pulled out a letter-matching game at the table, using materials she had from her days as a kindergarten teacher. She placed two small laminated cards on the table, one showing the letter D and a picture of a dog, and one with the letter B and a picture of a ball.

“We’re going to do your letters today,” Miller said to the group. “What letter is this?” she asked, pointing to the B.

“Ball!” one student responded.

“What letter?” Miller asked again. There was a pause.

“B!” another student responded.

“What sound does it make?”

“Buh,” a third student said.

The students ran through the activity, looking at pictures of items starting with B and D like a doll, ball, dog and dolphin, and sorting them into piles based on the starting letter.

A student reads a book during center time in Heather Miller’s classroom. Credit: Jackie Mader/ The Hechinger Report

Experts like Clearfield say finding new or different strategies to help students learn grade-level content after the last 18 months will be critical, even if that means pulling out activities typically used by lower grade levels, as Miller did with her lowest reading group.

It also may mean recruiting help from outside the classroom. Miller said Doss already had a strong team of interventionists to rely on, and several of her students receive extra reading help during the day.

Miller has also found it helpful to work with her fellow first grade teachers to solve a shared academic challenge. This fall, the first grade teachers all discovered that many of their students were behind in reading sight words. They began meeting regularly to share tips and strategies to combat this.

Despite the obvious need to catch kids up, Miller has been mindful of not coming on too strong with remediation efforts. “I don’t want to push them so hard where they get burned out,” she said on an October evening. “They’ve been through so much.”

Related:  We know how to help young children cope with the trauma of the last year— but will we do it?

Mabry, of NWEA, said while catching students up is important, society needs to view the recovery process as a multiyear effort. “In previous years, when looking at unfinished learning and finding ways to get students to accelerated growth, we never expected that we would get students who need support to meet those accelerated goals in one year. We would never approach it that way,” Mabry said. “Now, we’re so frantic. I think we’re frantic because we feel it’s this larger population.”

Teacher Heather Miller has used activities from her former kindergarten classroom to teach students who are behind in reading skills. Credit: Jackie Mader/ The Hechinger Report

It’s a daunting task, but experts say there is hope.

“Kids will catch up eventually,” said Clearfield from Whitman College. But to get there, society may need to re-evaluate expectations, she added. “If most children in our community are behind by, like, a year or two, then our expectations for what is typical, it’s going to have to match where they are,” Clearfield said. “Otherwise, we are going to be constantly frustrated … we’re going to have expectations that don’t match their skills or abilities.”

By mid-autumn, Miller was heartened by what she was seeing in her classroom. Students were becoming more confident and independent. Their writing was stronger. There were fewer conflicts.

One morning, Miller stood by her desk as students effortlessly transitioned from one activity to the next during center time. They quietly buzzed around, cleaning up activities and putting their notebooks away in cubbies as she prepared to work with a new group of students at her desk.

“It kind of gives me hope that we’ll be OK,” she said. “Even after last year, we’ll be OK.”

This story about reading skills was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter.  

The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.

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45 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering First Grade

The transition from kindergarten to first grade is a big step for any child. Your child will now be a part of a “big school,” meaning they are surrounded by more students, can eat in a cafeteria, and play outside during recess. They will also adjust to a longer school day, receive more homework, and learn to get around without much help. These changes in routine will cause your child to start feeling independent.

Your child has applied what they have learned in preschool to kindergarten and has now gathered more information in kindergarten to apply in first grade. It is important that children have learned certain facts and information in kindergarten so they can apply those skills next year to help them grow. By the end of kindergarten, their knowledge of reading, writing, numbers, and problem-solving have grown, along with being introduced to other subjects like social studies and science.

Here is an example checklist of what your child needs to know before starting first grade.

Reading and Reading Comprehension Skills

1. Recognize upper and lower case letters
2. Know, identify, and increase sight word vocabulary (sight words are words that often are spelled differently than how they sound and children must recognize them by sight. Common sight words are: “their”, “if”, “of”, “each”)
3. Know the alphabet and basic features of letters and words
4. Memorize and correctly spell around 130-150 words
5. Decoding or sounding new words out (being able to use letter sounds and patterns to recognize and pronounce written words)
6. Rhyming more words (ex: frog and clog)
7. Tell the difference between facts and fiction 
8. Recall the sequence of events in a story (first, second, third, ending, etc.) 

Writing Skills

9. Write upper and lower case letters
10. Write their name
11. Use letters and shapes to detect different objects
12. Create simple words and sentences
13. Write in complete sentences

Fine Motor Skills

15. Hold a pencil, crayon, or marker correctly 
16. Hold scissors correctly

Mathematic Skills

17. Recognize that addition means putting two groups of numbers together (5+4) and that subtraction means taking away from one group (5-4) 
18. Add and subtract numbers 1 through 10
19. Use objects to show how to break up numbers less than or equal to 10 in different ways (ex: 6 apples = two groups of 3 apples, or 6 apples = a group of 4 apples and a group of 2 apples. )
20. Use objects or draw pictures to help show addition and subtraction
21. Count simple money
22. Know numbers from 1-30
23. Recognize different patterns (ex: blue square, red square, blue square; should know what comes next)
24. Recognize more shapes and master previous knowledge of shapes (square, circle, sphere, star, rhombus)
25. Know the tools to measure time and temperature

Social Studies Skills

Social Studies is a subject that is gradually introduced to children in kindergarten. They will learn about past history and events that took place in America. Your child should be able to:

27. Understand what history is and know some stories, events, and people in history
28. Know important people in United States history (George Washington)
29. Understand broad categories of time (past, present, and future)
30. Know basic cultures and their traditions 
31. Know people and events honored in commemorative holidays
32. Recognize American symbols (the flag, the eagle, the Statue of Liberty)
33. Understand that there are other instruments used to locate places (maps, globes)

Science Skills

Science is another subject that is introduced to children in kindergarten. Science teaches about the universe and the natural world through experiments. There are many different areas of science that are introduced upon grade level. Your child should be able to:

34. Do easy, hands-on experiments
35. Know the four seasons and their different climates
36. Know the importance of the sun and what it provides the Earth with
37. Know the difference between living and non-living things (a plant vs. a teddy bear)
38. Recognize how we impact the Earth in terms of recycling and pollution 

 Social Skills and Abilities 

39. Participate in group activities
40. Share and communicate appropriately with other students
41. Respect their peers
42. Raise their hand before being called on
43. Seek help with assignments when needed
44. Show eagerness and willingness to learn
45. Sit for a longer period of time than in kindergarten (15-20 minutes.

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Read the Rest of the Series!

Have multiple children in multiple grades? Read the rest of the series!

• 21 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Kindergarten
• 45 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering First Grade
• 45 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Second Grade
• 43 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Third Grade
• 48 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Fourth Grade
• 49 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Fifth Grade

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Sources:

• “1st Grade Skills Checklist. ” LeapFrog. Web. 29 Aug. 2017.
• “Preparing for 1st Grade.” Scholastic. Web. 29 Aug. 2017.
• “Model Curriculum English Language Arts Units,” New Jersey State Government, http://www.state.nj.us/education/modelcurriculum/ela/1.pdf
• Model Curriculum Grade 1 Mathematics Units, New Jersey State Government, http://www.state.nj.us/education/modelcurriculum/math/1.pdf

We wrote a guide answering the most common questions we’ve gotten from 100s of of parents of first graders. Download it for free today!

1

Topics:

Problem Solving,

Number Writing,

First Grade,

New School Year,

Elementary School

18 Best Books for First-Graders 2021

18 Best Books for First-Graders 2021 | The Strategist

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com/strategist/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/cjztyfsfa00gzajy6dnzc6kpn@published” data-word-count=”95″>In first grade, most children are starting to learn to read on their own. But because their abilities and interest in reading at this age can vary like crazy, Leigh Fox, a children’s librarian with the Brooklyn Public Library, “highly encourages” parents and caregivers to continue to read aloud to their first-graders, even as they learn to flip through pages themselves. When reading aloud, Fox suggests incorporating a “variety of stories and formats,” including longer chapter books, nonfiction, graphic novels, and picture books, “to best excite them about reading and make it a positive experience.”

When it comes to books the 6- and 7-year-olds in your life read on their own, Carly Lemire, head of youth services at Blackstone Library in Branford, Connecticut, recommends using the “five-finger test,” rather than grade level, to more accurately choose titles that help instill confidence in young readers. Conducting the five-finger test is simple, she explains: “Open a book to any page and have your child read that page. If there are five or more words that they have difficulty with, then that book is a little too hard for them,” in which case you should either pick something a little easier or read it aloud to them until they are ready to read it themselves.

In terms of subject matter, our experts generally agreed that the best books for any first-grader are the ones they love the most — no matter how silly the story may seem. “Any book that a kid likes to read is one that is going to help make them a lifelong reader,” explains Maggie Levine, a children’s librarian with the Boston Public Library. And no matter how well-stocked their school library might be, it’s never too soon to expand their horizons even further by choosing books that depict children of many different ethnicities and cultures, says Kazz Alexander Pinkard, executive director of Hit the Books, an after-school nonprofit in Harlem. “I think that that level of exposure is really important,” he says.

To help narrow the field, however, we talked to Fox, Lemire, Levine, Pinkard, and five other librarians and educators about their favorite books for kids in first grade. Read on for their picks, which include books to read together, easy-reader books, early chapter books, and even some of the most popular titles as determined by actual 6- and 7-year-olds.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

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Four of the people we talked to — Lemire; Faith Ward, a middle-school librarian at Baltimore’s Gilman School; Rouhama Garelick, the director of Walder Education; and Emily Levitt, VP of education at Sylvan Learning — specifically recommend Willems’s picture book about a grumpy pigeon as one to read aloud to a first-grader. Levitt loves how the pigeon’s behavior mirrors that of many kids at this age, and how the bus-driver character breaks the fourth wall to involve the reader. “I love it for this age because the concept is zany and the story is hilarious. Both parent and child will relate to Pigeon’s pleas to drive the bus. It has all the necessary ingredients for a winning first grade children’s book.” Although only half of our experts chose this specific title, nearly all of them recommended reading something written by Mo Willems aloud, raising this to the top of our read-aloud list. Lindsy Serrano, a librarian at St. Francis School in Kentucky, credits Willems’s use of catchy graphics paired with minimal text in different sizes “to display different emotional levels.”

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty

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Andrea Beaty’s picture book about a burgeoning scientist is the third in her series of best-selling STEM-themed children’s books and, like the Willems title above, also came recommended by four of our experts as a wonderful read-aloud book for any first-grader. “Ada questions everything and experiments constantly,” says Levitt, who told us she appreciates the book’s “up-close view of the scientific method and excellent representation of children of color engaged in STEM.” Lemire; Brooklyn Public Library librarian Yesha Naik; and Mollie Welsh Kruger, a professor at the Bank Street College of Education who teaches a course in children’s literature, all suggested Ada Twist as well. If that’s not enough to convince you, Netflix recently released an animated series inspired by Ada Twist, making the character a celebrity in many kids’ eyes.

Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

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Also recommended by four of our experts — Naik, Ward, Lemire, and Serrano — is this story about a boy who loves mermaids. Naik loves the book’s “fluid, colorful illustrations,” and Serrano says she uses it during story time because of the way it “defies male expectations and stereotypes.”

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Dog Man: The Supa Epic Collection: From the Creator of Captain Underpants (Dog Man #1-6 Box Set)

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For 6- and 7-year-olds who are fascinated by anything for older kids, the Dog Man series by Pilkey — the author of the wildly popular Captain Underpants franchise — is a great set of books to grow into, according to Lemire, Serrano, Fox, and Lisa Goldstein, another librarian with the Brooklyn Public Library. They all say first-graders love Dog Man because of its big-kid feel and subversive humor. Even though these books are probably a bit too hard for most first-graders to read on their own, graphic novels like these are really popular at this age, according to Serrano, and are generally a fun way to excite young readers. Goldstein agrees, calling the Dog Man books “an exciting boundary-pusher for younger kids.”

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The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak

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Another book first-graders find hilarious is The Book With No Pictures, which was written by The Office star turned kids’ author B. J. Novak and came recommended by Levitt and Serrano. Devoid of illustrations and designed to be read aloud or in groups, this book is popular because it’s full of onomatopoeia and alliteration, forcing the person reading it to say silly things. Levitt likes that it teaches vocabulary while encouraging children to use their imaginations. Serrano says that when she reads it at story time, “kids are rolling on the floor laughing.”

We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

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This book, by award-winning author-illustrator Ryan T. Higgins, came recommended by Welsh Kruger and Lemire. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates is also one of the four 2019 winners of the Irma Black Award, an honor determined by an annual vote cast by first- and second-grade children from around the world. Welsh Kruger says that in the past few years, humorous books like this and Novak’s have had “a bit of a winning streak, because kids at that age particularly like humor.”

The Day the Crayons Quit

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The Day the Crayons Came Home

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com/strategist/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/ckwwjcsl700933g6il7bw73cf@published” data-word-count=”86″>For first-grade readers, Pinkard always recommends The Day the Crayons Quit and its sequel The Day the Crayons Came Home because they have wonderful, diverse characters that reflect different personalities. “I love the idea of the crayons and the rainbow reflecting the differences between people and attitudes and roles in society,” he says. In addition, the text switches between multiple fonts, which has real-world applications: The more often kids see the same words written in cursive and print, the better they’ll become at reading with fluency.

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio

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Levine told us that she loves the illustrator Christian Robinson, and that this picture book and DiPucchio’s sequel entitled Antoinette — both of which feature Robinson’s artwork — are her favorite books to give as gifts. Serrano also recommends Gaston, which tells the story of a French bulldog and a poodle switched at birth, because it has sparked interesting conversations among her kindergarteners about what makes a family.

Walter Does His Best: A Frenchie Adventure in Kindness and Muddy Paws

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Pinkard is a huge fan of Walter, a book about a mischievous dog who runs amuck in New York City. “I love all books about New York City, and I think Walter is a perfect book for students to learn vocabulary, but also to learn about the city sounds and how to describe them,” he says. These city onomatopoeia like “screech, honk, and splash” are fun to read aloud and help children sound things out. According to Pinkard, remote schooling during the pandemic has created gaps in early reading development for things like phonemic awareness among kindergarteners and first-graders. One way to help kids catch up is by focusing on books like Walter that depict elements of life they can relate to, while helping them with the phonics and word recognition necessary for them to move forward.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

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Both Ward and Lemire recommend Maurice Sendak’s classic title as one you should still make space for on your kid’s bookshelf. Ward likes that it shows how children and parents sometimes disagree and how, using his imagination, protagonist Max finds a way to escape when angry. But, in the end, when that anger has passed, he just wants to be back home.

‘Hair Love,’ by Matthew A. Cherry

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“I see many of our young boys and girls running to books like Hair Love because they feel like it depicts them,” says Pinkard. The book, which was made into an Oscar-winning movie, tells the story of a Black father who has to learn how to give his daughter an extra-special hairstyle for a big day. “One of our students, who is in second grade this year, literally jumped up when she saw this book and said, ‘I love this book, it’s about me and my dad.’”

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The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family

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com/strategist/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/ckwwih3td006o3g6ix7tjg8x7@published” data-word-count=”56″>Pinkard also recommends the award-winning picture book The Proudest Blue as a great read-aloud book to help first-graders and their families learn more about Muslim heritage and culture. The vibrantly illustrated book by Olympic medalist and social-justice activist Ibtihaj Muhammad follows two sisters on their first day of school — and one’s first day of hijab.

“Frog and Toad Are Friends” by Arnold Lobel

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Fox, Lemire, Levine, and Welsh Kruger all recommend Frog and Toad Are Friends for children starting to read alone. Welsh Kruger told us that this book, and the whole Frog and Toad series, were part of a study that she and a colleague conducted on the best books for early readers. “We were trying to see what makes early readers worthwhile; in the end, this book seems to have hit the nail on the head.” Levine calls the Frog and Toad series an “absolute classic” and says that she loves how the gentle adventures play out across several short stories, which helps encourage beginner readers who might feel overwhelmed by longer chapter books.

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We Are in a Book! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems

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Another early-reader series that stars a memorable duo is Mo Willems’s Elephant and Piggie books. Fox, Lemire, Serrano, and Levine told us that these books, which have no more than ten words per page, are easy and incredibly popular titles for new readers. Lemire says she can’t keep them on the shelves, and Fox says kids love the “fun-filled antics between the beloved Gerald and Piggie.” Serrano specifically recommended this book from the series because it’s designed to introduce all kinds of good reading habits to kids, including predicting outcomes and the concept of reading a book more than once — therefore encouraging reading for pleasure. Like Frog and Toad, these familiar, funny characters and their recurring adventures make learning new words less scary to first-graders, according to our experts.

Super Fly Guy

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According to Jacob Cohen, a teacher in Brooklyn, the Fly Guy book series is crazy popular among first-graders (and some second-graders too) these days. “They’re very competitive about collecting the whole set,” he says. This easy reader series is full of funny drawings and slapstick scenarios, and it’s perfect for independent reading time.

Actual Size by Steve Jenkins

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Levine, Welsh Kruger, Fox, and Lemire recommended this title by Steve Jenkins, an author they say is known for his nonfiction children’s books. Fox says Actual Size is the perfect mix of attention-grabbing story and STEM concepts “such as size comparison and animal behavior.” Levine adds that “Jenkins’s books make animals and bodies accessible to kids.” Welsh Kruger recommends this book for animal lovers in particular because of its “beautiful, ripped-paper collage” illustrations.

Under Water, Under Earth

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com/strategist/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/ckwwl6mhc001b3g6izs1lk8c4@published” data-word-count=”58″>Cohen says this giant illustrated encyclopedia about all things under the ocean (and underground) is among the books that first-graders are constantly drawn to. The book is reversible, so from one side you can explore double-page spreads about submarines and deep-sea life. Turn it around, and you’ll get pages upon pages about volcanoes, burrowing animals, and man-made tunnels.

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The Best Books for First-Graders, According to Educators

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32 Best Book Series for 1st Graders

First grade is a HUGE year of growth academically….especially with regards to reading. You may see a child start the year in easy readers but move to read beginning chapter books by the end of the year.

One way to increase time reading is for kids to LOVE the books that they’re reading. And a good book series will hit the spot. Because if they like the first book, it’s generally true that they’ll like all the books in the series.

Of course, every child is progressing differently, at their own pace.

Below, I’ve listed the best book series for 1st graders in order of difficulty from easiest to more challenging.

*Want more first grade book ideas? See all the easy reader books.

*And, for my beginning chapter book recommendations, go here.

These beginning chapter books are illustrated nd engaging, just what a 1st grade student needs to get hooked on reading.

PRINTABLE LIST


Frog Meets Dog by Janee Trasler
While this is not a phonics book but possibly controlled text, it’s simple and cute. You’ll find it reminiscent of Dick and Jane with very short word sentences like, “Frogs jump. Can dog jump too?“


Let’s Go For a Drive by Mo Willems
Gerald has the great idea of going for a drive! But first (and second and third), Piggie thinks of what they need to bring along. Silly fun about two best friends with big personalities.


Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, illustrated by Pat Schories
The Biscuit books are classic early readers that give 1st grade kids successful reading experiences. Biscuit is a cute, playful puppy who lives with his little girl and her family.


LEGO City: All Aboard(Level 1 Reader) by Sonia Sander
These are a favorite for any LEGO enthusiast! This book about trains is just one of many in this recommended easy level 1 reader series.


Do You Like My Bike? (Hello, Hedgehog!) by Norm Feuti
Not only is this early reader written in comic panels but the dialogue is in bubbles in colors unique to the character speaking making this a supportive first graphic novel experience. Hedgehog can’t wait to show his friend Harry his new bike. Darling stories of friendship and bike riding. Highly recommended for first grade.


The Great Bunk Bed Battle (An Acorn Book) by Tina Kugler
When fox siblings Fritz and Franny go to bed, they don’t actually go to sleep. They compare which bunk bed is best and imagine adventures through a forest with a castle, a moat and a boat, a submarine, and a volcano on their beds. Simple text in speech bubbles and a relatable topic makes this a sure-fire hit with new readers.


Sparkly New Friends (Unicorn and Yeti) by Heather Ayris Burnell, illustrated by Hazel Quintanilla
Unicorn helps Yeti be grateful and confident about who he is and where he lives. Then Yeti helps Unicorn try new things like a snowball fight. Short stories of friendship between two mythical creatures, what could be better!?


Fox + Chick #2: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier
Fox and Chick remind me of an updated Frog and Toad or George and Martha. The humorous stories revolve around two friends who have different personalities and don’t always communicate well but remain the best of friends. Growing readers will love these two friends whose low-key adventures are illustrated in comic panels with dialogue bubbles.


The Lost Kitten (Katie Fry, Private Eye) by Katherine Cox, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton
It’s a good thing that Katie Fry solves mysteries because she needs to use her detective skills to help a lost kitty (whom she names Sherlock) find his home. A darling, entertaining, and diverse book series for early readers.


Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
Fly and the boy meet each other in this first book of a super hilarious series. Fly becomes the boy’s pet and friend. In this story, the boy enters his fly in an amazing pet contest, dazzling the judges, and winning the show. This illustrated series is EXCELLENT!


Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant, illustrations by Susie Stevenson
Henry is lonely so his parents allow him to get a dog. He picks a puppy named Mudge who becomes his best friend. Kids love reading the short, heartwarming mini-stories in each chapter that always have helpful picture clues.


Hi, Jack! (A Jack Book) by Mac Barnett & Greg Pizzoli
I LOVE this amazing early reader story because it’s easy, fun, and MAKES SENSE. That’s why I’m so thrilled to tell you that this book hits all the right spots for growing readers. Your kids will read all about mischievous Jack who lives with Lady and all the trouble he gets into…over and over again.


Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel (series)
Giggle and share in the daily life of two best but very different friends. Enchanting and a first-grade illustrated favorite series!


Barkus by Patricia Maclachlan, illustrated by Marc Boutavant
Nicky’s uncle gives Nicky his dog  Barkush when he leaves on a trip. They have many adventures in the different stories that will make everyone want a dog like Barkus.


Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot by Dav Pilkey, illustrated by Dan Santat
Get ready for an addictive, action-packed, engaging sci-fi series for young readers with awesome illustrations. After reading this book, 1st graders will wish they had their own giant robot friend to help them conquer evil in the universe.


Owl Diaries Eva’s Treetop Festival by Rebecca Elliott
Eva writes in diary form all about getting the Bloomtastic Festival put together and how she eventually learns to ask friends for help.

Narwhal Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton (series)
Narwhal is exuberant to meet Jellyfish, his new imaginary friend who is imagining Narwhal at the same time. You’ll love their combined adventures — forming a pod, having parties, eating waffles, and imagining. This is an illustrated feel-good friendship adventure told in graphic (cartoon) format that 1st-grade kids absolutely love.


Surf’s Up (Moby Shinobi and Toby Too!) by Luke Flowers
A beach adventure with Moby, a ninja, and his dog! They discover that no matter what they do such as building a sandcastle, if they work together, they’ll have more success. Rhyming, easy-to-read text, adorable characters, and fun adventures make this a new must-read series for early readers.

All Paws on Deck (Haggis and Tank Unleashed #1) by Jessica Young
In a word: HILARIOUS! These two dog friends with opposite personalities sail on a fun and silly pirate adventure. You will fall in love with Tank and Haggis. (2-4 sentences per page and lots of colorful illustrations.)


Meet Yasmin! by Saadia Faruqui, illustrated by Hatem Aly
Yasmin is an exuberant girl who is interested in everything from exploring to building to fashion. Her books are four short stories from Yasmin’s life, all in chapters with lively, full-color illustrations. Her Pakistani American culture is embedded throughout the story such as the foods Yasmin’s family eats like naan or how she calls her father Baba. I LOVE the diversity, the gutsy main-character, and the beautiful design of the entire book.


The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Amazingly enough, this princess is able to fight monsters and have a fun birthday party — even though it keeps getting interrupted. These books celebrate girl power with a heroine who can do it all.

Our Principal is a Frog by Stephanie Calmenson, illustration Aaron Blecha 
The beloved school principal is accidentally turned into a frog by a bumbling magician. But since he’s a dedicated principal, he finds a way to keep running the school — even as an amphibian. A delightful illustrated easy chapter book series.


Bink & Gollie Best Friends Forever by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illustrated by Tony Fucile
The funny Bink and Gollie (mis)adventures in friendship and life are filled with wonderful color illustrations. This popular series is a favorite with many girls.

 
Caterpillar to Butterfly by Laura Marsh
I love the informational but simple text matching each beautiful photograph. These books are bright, colorful, and factual — just perfect for any beginning reader.


King and Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers
King is Kayal’s beloved dog. He’s not just her best friend but in this story, he also helps her find her missing lost tooth. Kids will enjoy this mysterious illustrated chapter book series for beginning readers.

Wallace and Grace and the Lost Puppy by Heather Alexander, illustrated by Laura Zarrin
Owl friends, Wallace and Grace, are on a scavenger hunt when they find a lost puppy named Jasper. The friends (who also run a detective agency) put together Jasper’s clues, ask for help from other forest friends, and eventually, return Jasper safely home. Easy to read and charming, this story is just right for first-grade readers who are just starting chapter books.


Rise of the Earth Dragon (Dragon Masters) by Tracey West, illustrated by Graham Howells
In the times of castles and kingdoms, Drake learns he is a dragon master (and that dragons are real!) He trains with the other kids to master his dragon, an earth dragon in this adventurous fantasy chapter book that will interest almost any child with conflict, adventure, and excitement.


Notebook of Doom by Troy Cummings
Alexander discovers his new town is FILLED WITH MONSTERS! And, he’s right in the middle of everything especially after he finds an old notebook of drawings and facts about monsters. Fun with an edge of scary. These easy chapter books are hard to put down.

Fly Guy Presents Sharks by Tedd Arnold
Visit the aquarium with Buzz and Fly Guy to learn about sharks in this terrific easy non-fiction reader. I LOVE how Arnold combines cartoons with photographs!

 

The Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne
A MUST-READ series for all kids! These combine mystery, history, magic, and adventure as siblings Jack and Annie adventure through time. If you love The Magic Tree House series, you’ll also like these books.


The Toad: The Disgusting Critters Series by Elise Gravel
Visually captivating with interesting, just-right, easy text that is informative and sometimes hilarious. I’m a big fan of this kid-friendly nonfiction book series! (Also read: The Worm, The Fly, and The Rat)


Charlie & Mouse by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Emily Hughes
Just a few sentences per page, this is a collection of stories about two brothers and their childhood adventures. Relatable and endearing with a touch of humor.

You Might Also Like:

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Best Easy Chapter Books for Developing Readers

Best NONFICTION Books for 5- and 6-Year-Olds

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First-grader – a new stage in the life of your child and your family.

Adaptation to school

The first year of schooling is not only one of the most difficult stages in a child’s life, but also a kind of trial period for parents.

There is still time to properly prepare for school, to make learning a joy. It doesn’t matter if it’s only a few months or a year away. It is important now to find “weak points” in your child and make them “strong”. Psychologists of the “Semeynaya” clinic will help you with this.

The beginning of schooling falls on the crisis of 7 years.

Sometimes this age is called the period of “change of milk teeth”, “stretching of growth”. Parents note that the child does not become naughty, rather, he becomes incomprehensible and all this coincides with the beginning of schooling.

The child loses his naivety, spontaneity, innocence, and his behavior, by contrast, seems unnatural to those who knew him before. To some extent this is true. Having lost some forms of behavior, the child has not yet mastered new ones. A previously carefree kid has unusual duties, at school he is not free to manage his time, he must obey the rules of discipline, which do not always seem reasonable to him. Why is it necessary to sit still for the whole lesson? Why can’t you make noise, shout, run? After the dynamic, emotional games of a preschooler, a new life seems tedious and not always interesting. School discipline requires a lot of stress, it is difficult for a first-grader to control his feelings and desires.

The nature of activities is also changing dramatically.

Previously, most of the time was children’s games, excited and captured the very process of the game. In studies, the result and its assessment are increasingly coming to the fore. Therefore, a crisis arises in the value orientations of the child, followed by the first surprises and disappointments. And not only for children, but for parents too.

A very common question that is asked by parents of future first-graders at a psychologist’s appointment: how to ensure that the child’s adaptation at school is painless and fast? This issue is very significant, since it is adaptability to school conditions that is the main factor influencing the success of mastering knowledge among first-graders.

The most important thing is not to blindly hope that the child’s adaptation at school will successfully pass by itself.

This process can and should be helped. No matter how trite it may sound, parental love, affection, care will help. The child needs them more than ever. Parents should be sincerely interested in school life so that the child has a positive attitude towards school.

The child needs a sense of his own success. Therefore, at first, encouragement is especially important for a child.

Encouragement should be specific: we do not praise the child by himself, but some feature of his behavior, the result of his activity. It also happens that sometimes you don’t know what to praise a child for. In this case, you need to find something that he is good at, even if it’s just a hook from the recipes.

School life is not only joyful moments.

Sometimes the child is sad, angry, offended by the school, teacher, classmates. It is important to give him the opportunity to express his negative feelings. The first grader needs our understanding. If we listen carefully, accepting that school can indeed be uninteresting or difficult, we will help the child to free himself from bad thoughts and feelings.

Adaptation to school is a multifaceted process. Its components are physiological adaptation and socio-psychological (to teachers and their requirements, to classmates). There are many special programs aimed at helping to adapt to schooling, correction and development of mental functions, tailored to the interests and psychological and age characteristics of your child.

At a psychologist’s consultation you will learn:

• how the self-awareness of a first-grader’s personality changes and a reassessment of values ​​occurs;
• how to use the child’s abilities to solve problems;
• how to properly develop learning motivation;
• how to teach a child to be independent;
• what to do so that possible failures do not lead to the formation of an inferiority complex and do not negatively affect the development of the child’s self-esteem;
• what are the additional incentives for learning;
• and much more that is necessary for successful adaptation at school.

Come for a consultation, because it is the joint efforts of parents and specialists that can reduce the risk of maladjustment and learning difficulties.

Dear parents! Help your child take his first step into a new life, do not leave him alone with his feelings and problems. Let the 1st grade be the most joyful, brightest and most memorable period in your life for you and your child!

Making an appointment with a child psychologist

Be sure to consult a qualified specialist in the field of child psychology at the Semeynaya clinic.

To clarify the prices for a child psychologist’s appointment or other questions, follow the link below

What a future first-grader should be able to do and how to prepare him for school for school. When to start it and how to do it so as not to spoil your beloved child’s childhood and teach everything necessary for successful study? Together with Anna Davidovich, a specialist in the field of child neuropsychology and an expert of the LogicLike development platform, we understand the issues that concern almost all parents of future first-graders.



Is it possible to make school preparation an exciting activity that motivates, encourages and, most importantly, ensures the comprehensive intellectual development of the child? With LogicLike, developing courses and games will become his new hobby. The service is already included in the special children’s subscription NETARIF Junior.

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When should I send my child to school – at six or seven years old?

It is not so much the age that is important, but the emotional and social readiness of the baby to change the usual way of life. He will have to find himself in completely new conditions, and this is a serious test for the psyche, stress. But the child adapts easier and faster if:

• independent;
• responsible;
• organized;
• assiduous;
• attentive;
• polite.

The child must be able to recognize the authority of adults, build a dialogue with the teacher and find contact with peers. Therefore, it is so important to attend a kindergarten, circles or development centers, because only in a team the communication skill is improved. But besides this, the child must be sufficiently developed intellectually.

If you see that your baby is socialized to the required extent and can do a lot, you can send him to school up to seven years. If it seems to you that he is not ready yet, it is better to wait so that the new conditions do not become too difficult a test for the child.

Anna Davidovich

Specialist in the field of child neuropsychology and expert of the LogicLike development platform

If we are dealing with a typical school curriculum, it is better to send a child to school at the age of seven. The fact that a child has already mastered writing, reading and counting does not mean that he is ready for schooling. In addition to these school skills, the so-called regulatory systems of the psyche are important, which reach maturity by the age of seven or eight. For example, the ability to collect a portfolio, “hear” the teacher, focus on the lesson, plan one’s own activity in preparation for school, and, most importantly, be motivated to gain knowledge. It is worth considering the psycho-physiological maturity, for example, the ability of the hand to the load associated with writing.

What should a future first grader know and be able to do?

By the age of 6–7, the child should already:

• Remember his first and last name, birthday, age, know the names of mom and dad, their professions, address and other basic information. You also need to know several poems by heart, be able to memorize pictures and guess them.
• Count to at least ten, solve simple problems and riddles, recognize geometric shapes.
• Identify common features of objects and their differences, be able to work with scissors and a ruler, draw clear lines and paint without going beyond the outline.
• Be able to distinguish letters from sounds, vowels from consonants, find them in different parts of a word, select words for any letter and divide them into syllables.
• Read short sentences and understand their meaning, memorize and retell short stories, and independently compose stories from pictures and express opinions on a given topic.
• Possess a coherent, phonetically and grammatically correct speech, select and pronounce words, highlight sounds, correctly build sentences, express one’s thoughts clearly and clearly.

Should a preschool child be able to read, write and count?

Theoretically, no, because elementary school was created specifically to teach children these basic skills. But actually, yes. Previously, it was really possible to send a child to the first grade with a zero level of knowledge. However, modern realities dictate other rules.

Today, many parents begin to develop their babies in all directions almost from the cradle. As a result, some children in the first grade already write, count and read fluently, sometimes even in English. Without a certain knowledge base, your child may feel uncomfortable around them.

The pace of learning has also accelerated greatly in recent years. It will be difficult for an unprepared first-grader to keep up with him.

How is school readiness assessed?

On the one hand, there are no official requirements and a list of questions for admission to the school. According to the law, state educational institutions are prohibited from accepting children on a competitive basis. All applicants must be enrolled.

But on the other hand, the readiness of children is still checked at an interview in the graduation group of a kindergarten or directly upon admission to school. The results of such secret testing are important if you are going to send your child to a gymnasium / lyceum or to any educational institution outside the place of residence, especially if places are limited.

The interview also influences which grade the child will be assigned to. Usually they are divided according to the level of development of children into strong and weak. In the first, the requirements are higher, but the children are also more motivated. Academic success depends on this, and for many parents it is important that the child finds himself in a strong environment. The law is not written for private schools at all: they may have their own, rather high requirements for the skills of incoming children. If you want to send your child to an “advanced” educational institution, you need to prepare very seriously.

Anna Davidovich

Pediatric neuropsychologist and LoengicLike developmental platform expert

Start by reducing the value of all introductory activities for yourself, as an adult. The child “reads” all our signals, including our body language, he feels our tension and anxiety. If you simplify the value of what is happening for yourself, then it will not be so disturbing for the child. In no case should you say: “It is very important that you answer well”, “If you do not answer, you will not be taken to school”, “Everything now depends on you”, etc. Such formulations can cause severe anxiety, up to panic, when the child cannot “squeeze out” anything at all.

Here are some more recommendations:

• Be sure to “play out” the interview situation with your child, in a light, relaxed, comic way.
• Let the child be sure to be the one who is interviewing. Make it clear that it’s okay to make a mistake.
• Also, make mistakes yourself while acting out scenes, demonstrate a positive behavioral strategy when the child points out a mistake to you: “Thank you, now I will remember it for sure.”
• Run with your child on suggested questions while walking or playing together, in between times.
• Don’t memorize the answers, just periodically return to the questions that cause difficulty.
• These simple tips will help your child remember information better and reproduce it when needed.

Regardless of the result of the interview, praise the child, encourage him to play, go to the park, take a walk together. The message is: “You are so good for going there! Super! Let’s have some fun together now.”

How to improve a child’s knowledge before school?

Most parents do not have enough time and opportunities to deal with their daughter or son in person. Or children do not perceive mom / dad as a teacher, fool around, do not listen. The most common way out in this case is additional classes to prepare for school. As a rule, courses are paid, they last up to six months and include different disciplines. This is convenient if the budget allows and the child needs comprehensive development. If you want all the attention of the teacher to be paid only to your baby, choose individual lessons with the teacher, however, this pleasure will be more expensive than collective learning.

Another option is online classes with the help of educational services. For example, there are programs with which a child will learn to solve non-standard logical problems, train memory and ingenuity. Even if parents themselves have to sit next to their child, the learning process will be much more fun and easier. And certainly without irritation and tears. You can start such preparation in advance or quickly improve your knowledge before the first of September.

Related material

Do you remember school slang: nostalgic quiz

What is the best way to consolidate acquired skills?

Everything a child learns should be backed up with practice. And not in some specially created, artificial conditions, but in everyday actions, in everyday life. Counting – while going to the store, memory – while cleaning, charging or mastering new walking routes, speech – during conversations, games and reading books. In other words, bring them to life. Observe if the child is able to compare, generalize, build cause-and-effect relationships not only in a smartphone or computer, but also in actions with real objects and situations.

And for first-graders and other younger students, we recommend the NETARIF Junior subscription. This is a complete solution that will provide a children’s smartphone with communication, a LogicLike educational service, entertainment and an annual subscription to school textbooks for any class of their choice.

Connect NETARIF Junior.

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First grader in the learning space or how to help a first grader adapt to school

a first-grader to school, he finds himself in completely different conditions of life than those that he had before. As a rule, this time is filled with vivid experiences of all family members, these are anxieties, hopes, and anticipation of something new.

A child’s transition to school begins a qualitatively new stage in a child’s life. Much changes in the life of a first grader, his attitude towards peers, adults, himself and his activities.

Experts define the process of adaptation as the child’s getting used to new living conditions, i.e. the first-grader must “get used to the role of the student.” School education poses a number of rather difficult tasks for a child, he must, first of all, master educational skills and abilities, accept the rules and norms of behavior at school, become part of a peer group, adapt to a new regime and unusual conditions for obtaining knowledge. In the life of a child, this period is very significant, it is difficult to overestimate it, because the success of further educational activities, comfortable well-being at school and his relationships with surrounding adults and peers will largely depend on how the entry into a new life situation goes.

Traditionally, the process of habituation is divided into two components: physical and psychological adaptation.

The child’s body reacts to changing conditions of life by mobilizing all its forces, often children spend most of the body’s resources, weakening it. This is what doctors explain the fact that at the beginning of training, first-graders often get sick.

The most pressing problem of children’s adaptation to learning at school has become with the introduction of new education standards. In the new educational standards, the health of students was for the first time defined as one of the most important results of education, and the preservation and strengthening of their health as a priority for the educational institution.

As practice shows, many parents often underestimate the complexity of the period of physiological adaptation of first-graders. Meanwhile, according to doctors, it is the physical ill-being that manifests itself most often. So, some children at the beginning of training have a significant decrease in body weight, some of the first graders are diagnosed with vegetovascular dystonia (a sign of fatigue or overwork of the body) for the first time. At this time, some children often complain of malaise: drowsiness, fatigue, headaches, abdominal pain, and others. In behavior, the inability to control their behavior and emotional state can become markers of the difficulties of adaptation and overwork of the organism of children. As a result, first-graders may show tearfulness, hysteria, excessive activity, or vice versa, apathy towards what is happening, sleep disturbance. Especially in the first months of training, parents need to carefully monitor the emotional and physical state of the child, and at the first signs of fatigue or overwork, adjust the extracurricular workload, monitor compliance with the child’s sleep and rest schedule.

The process of adaptation of the individual to interaction with a new team refers to socio-psychological adaptation, the success of which is no less important than the physiological adaptation of the organism to new conditions of existence. When a child enters school, a completely new social role appears, which was not previously in his life, he becomes a student. Related to this is the reassessment of values ​​that occurs at this moment in a child’s life, what used to be of decisive importance for him becomes secondary, and what is related to school acquires special significance.

The teacher plays a leading role in the social and psychological adaptation of first-graders. The main goal of the teacher at this moment is to create a psychologically safe space, with a friendly atmosphere of communication and interaction in the classroom, where each student can express his point of view, clarify what is incomprehensible to himself. It is also important to teach children to hear and accept the opinion of classmates, to adequately evaluate the results of their activities. The creation of a psychologically safe space helps to relieve anxiety and tension among students, which are observed in most first-graders in the first year of schooling.

Parents can also help their child to get through the stage of adaptation to school life. The main help of parents consists, first of all, in the support necessary for the child, working out the rules of behavior in the classroom, organizing the surrounding space, where, with the unobtrusive control of an adult, maximum independence of actions is possible. An adult can help the child with the organization of the daily routine, arranging the workplace, a place to play, preparing clothes, a portfolio for tomorrow, doing homework, it is important to do this with the child, but not instead of him.

The sincere interest of parents in the child’s educational affairs, support in the desire to become successful, a serious attitude to the first achievements and possible difficulties, all this helps the first grader to make sure that his new activity is really important and significant not only for him, but also for others and requires the most serious attitude towards her.

Getting to know and discussing with the child the rules and norms by which he will live in the coming years will help to quickly adapt to the school routine. And explaining the need to fulfill them and the possible consequences of failure to do so will help build relationships with teachers and peers.

A student who has just started learning will not be hindered by the understanding that everyone has the right to make mistakes, he must know that not everything always works out the first time, then when faced with the first difficulties, he will not lose interest in learning and self-confidence .

It is very important for adults who are close to a first-grader to be attentive to the difficulties that arise in the process of mastering learning skills, especially if they are repeated and difficult to overcome. It is they who can be a signal that the child is not in good health, or the necessary processes and functions are not sufficiently developed. The child cannot cope with such difficulties on his own, and he will need the help of adults (parents, teachers, doctors). For example, if a first-grader has problems of a speech therapy nature, it is necessary to cope with them before school or in the first year of study, so that in the future the child will not be among the underachieving students because of them.

It is extremely important for parents to be attentive and notice the smallest changes that occur to the child during the first year of education. If suddenly, something begins to cause concern in a child’s life, it is advisable to seek the advice of a specialist, this will help to identify and eliminate in time many difficulties that hinder successful learning.

At school, a new adult appears in a child’s life, more significant for him than his parents – this is a teacher. It is very important for parents, for the peace and psychological comfort of the child, to maintain the authority of the teacher, the significance of his opinion in his eyes, and not compete with the teacher. Like no one else, first-graders need adult support in their desire to succeed. Even if not everything turns out as well as you would like, in each work you must definitely find something for which you could praise him. Deserved praise and support not only contributes to the interest and motivation for learning, but also strengthens the child’s self-confidence. After all, it is known that in order for a harmonious and self-confident person to grow out of a child, it is necessary to praise him. It is important to remain a loving parent for your child, to support, not to criticize beyond measure for mistakes and marks. From constant reproaches and remarks, a child can lose not only interest in learning, but also faith in himself and his strength.

It can be argued that the process of adaptation to learning at school was successful if the first grader developed behavior adequate to the situation, established the desired contacts with the surrounding children and adults, and also formed the skills necessary for successful learning.

Teachers-psychologists
of the department of psychological and pedagogical assistance
Volkova T. A. Eremina O. V.

what a future first-grader should know and be able to

First grade is an exciting time not only for a new student, but also for his parents. Everyone wants to see their child happy and successful. But the prospect that the baby will be hard at school is scary. To help the child get used to school, parents try to teach him everything in advance. In fact, it is not necessary to know everything in the world even before entering school.

Irina Stepanova, head of the educational and methodological department of the school “Ponyatno. Ru” tells about what a future first-grader should be able to do and how to prepare him for school.

“The child does not owe anything”

In terms of general skills that must be mastered by the time they enter school, pre-school education has its own standard. In it, the skills of the future student are described in very general terms: to be inquisitive, to have an idea about the world around.

Comment by the head of the educational and methodological department of the school:

The first thing parents need to understand is that the child does not owe anything. Especially school. If we are talking about preparation, then it would be good if the child had elementary ideas about the basic disciplines. But even if he goes to first grade without them, it’s not scary: he will learn everything there. This is what a school is for.

“Schools do not have the right to make any demands on children”

By law, schools cannot conduct tests in the first grade. Any child between the ages of 6.5 and 8 can go to first grade. But some schools still conduct introductory tests. Basically, these are lyceums and gymnasiums, which initially seek to recruit only strong and prepared students into classes. But this position of the school is a wake-up call for parents. Educational institutions in pursuit of high ratings sometimes require too much from children, and not everyone is able to withstand the growing pressure. The comfort and psychological peace of the child is more important than ratings and grades, so it may be worth paying attention to other schools.

Most schools do not impose special requirements, checking only the general level of preparation and development of the child. Typically, such tests are conducted in the format of a conversation with a future teacher and consist of simple questions and tasks. The task of such an “interview” is to get to know the child, to create an idea about the future student.

“The main factor in school readiness is that the child wants to go there”

How can parents understand that their child is already ready for school?

1. He wants to learn and is ready to take on the role of a student. In the absence of such motivation, everything else does not matter.
2. He is ready physically. He has to sit for 40 minutes in class. If he is not able to sit quietly in one position for so long, then he will not be able to concentrate on the teacher’s story or complete the assignment.
3. He is ready socially – he knows how to interact with an outside adult, with peers. It is difficult to imagine life at school if the child does not have these skills.

“If the child does not want to, it is better to leave him alone”

A simple question: who will be more successful – a child who easily works with numbers up to 10 or who counts up to 1000? At first glance, it seems that the second. But this is not necessarily the case.

In counting skills, it is important not to be able to name numbers, but to understand the composition of these numbers, basic ideas about how they are obtained, what they consist of, what they mean. If a child is well versed in the composition of the number, he will grasp more general things faster than someone who simply knows how to list numbers.

The same goes for reading. It is good if the child knows and understands letters, knows how to read them. But this training should be as gentle and environmentally friendly as possible. If the kid himself is interested and pleased to learn to read and this process is not accompanied by tears and grief, then this skill will help at school. He will become independent faster, be able to read and complete tasks and move through the program at an accelerated pace.

But if reading is accompanied by scandals, seating the child and memorizing letters, there is a risk of developing an aversion to the process itself. In the future, this may result in a dislike for reading and a rejection of literature in general. Therefore, if a preschooler does not want to learn to read before the first grade, it is better to leave him alone and give him time to grow up. He will easily acquire this skill in school.

“Such skills are formed by themselves in the process of preschool growth”

The skill of social interaction is much more important for the future student. The ability to ask for help from an adult, to behave correctly in the classroom and in a team, to be polite and independent.

Comment by the head of the educational and methodological department of the school:

As a rule, by the age of 7 in children who attend kindergarten, these skills are formed naturally. They are constantly in conditions where it is necessary to communicate with adults, find a common language with peers, dress independently, put toys in their place.

If a child does not go to kindergarten, but spends all his time with his mother and grandmother, he needs to expand social ties. And, of course, it all depends on the parents. You can go to circles, get to know other children on the playground, initiate communication with adults who come to visit, communicate with children of friends.

“It is difficult to build a system on your own”

If a child still wants and is ready to start studying even before going to first grade, then there are no prohibitions here. In kindergarten, a year before school, educators are already beginning to introduce children to the basics of counting and reading.

Toddlers who do not go to kindergarten are told about it by their parents themselves. But building a learning system on your own is quite difficult. And if you teach it wrong, then it will be more difficult to retrain later. Therefore, it is better to choose a ready-made product. For example, you can enroll your child in preparatory classes or study online. Moreover, online classes can take place not only in real time with a teacher – parents can study with the child themselves, using, for example, video lessons and ready-made materials.

Parents decide which option to choose. You can try to take one trial lesson in each format and see how the child likes to study more and in which case he perceives information better.

“Parents should be ready for school”

A parent’s readiness for school is no less important than a child’s readiness. Unfortunately, not everyone had a successful school life experience. And if a parent is afraid of school, then the child also feels and adopts it.

To prevent this from happening, adults will also have to work on their feelings. First of all, we need to look inside ourselves, to understand what we expect from the school.

Comment by the head of the educational and methodological department of the school:

Do not give sky-high promises, in the spirit of “it is very interesting at school, you will find a lot of friends there” – after all, everything can turn out quite differently, and the child will face deceived hopes. But don’t scare me with special difficulties – discuss everything at a normal, adult level.

It is better to formulate the following position: “We all have to go through a new stage together. It’s very exciting. It’s normal that you and I are worried and waiting for this.” It’s good when the family remembers interesting stories from school time.

In general, it is necessary to form a positive image of the school, but not to do it too demonstratively and untruthfully. We all know that school is difficult, and it’s not always fun gatherings with friends.

Checklist: Self-test questions

Even before going to school, a child develops a certain array of knowledge about the world around him. Having this knowledge can greatly simplify the life of a child in elementary school. We have prepared a checklist with basic questions for self-examination.

Me and my family

1. What is your name? (you need to fully name the last name, first name and patronymic)
2. How old are you? When’s your birthday?
3. Where do you live? Country, city, street, house and apartment number?
4. What are the names of your mother and father? Last name, first name and patronymic?
5. Do you have a brother or sister? What is his/her name? How old is he/she? Who is older?
6. Are you a boy or a girl?

Nature

1. What colors do you know?
2. What is the weather like?
3. What plants/berries/fruits/vegetables do you know?
4. What animals do you know? What animals are wild? What kind of home?
5. Which animals are carnivores and which are herbivores? Why are they called that?
6. What birds/fish/insects do you know? How do birds, fish and insects differ from each other?

Time and space

1. What seasons do you know? In what order do they go? How do they differ from each other?
2. How many months do you know? In what order do they go?
3. Name all the days of the week in order.
4. What does a day consist of? (morning, afternoon, evening and night)

Safety regulations

1. How to cross the road correctly? Name the main signs, explain traffic lights, etc.
2. What to do if there is no traffic light nearby?
3. Can I leave with a stranger?

Logic and thinking

1. Find the differences in the pictures.
2. Find an extra item in the row. Why is he redundant?
3. What figures do you know? How do they differ from each other?
4. Where is the top? Where is the bottom? Where is the right? Where is the left?
5. Continue drawing point by point.

Reading and speaking

1. Retell the story you heard. Answer questions about him.
2. Make up a story from the pictures.
3. What is a question? Exclamation? Statement?

Mathematics

1. What number is this?
2. How many items are there? (e.g. three apples)
3. Compare these two items: which one is higher? which one is wider?

***

School is the beginning of a new stage in the life of not only a child, but of his entire family. The attitude of the child to school and to the learning process as a whole is formed at the very beginning. The task of parents is to create comfortable conditions for the baby that will preserve the desire to learn and learn new things. You can prepare for school in a convenient format in the online school Clearly.ru: study with teachers or watch an interactive video course with charismatic presenters and colorful illustrations.

Irina Stepanova

Head of the educational and methodological department of the Ponyatno.Ru school
Developer of more than 20 programs in the field of preschool education
Pedagogical experience of 20 years

What to do if a first-grader does not want to study

The whole truth about how to choose a backpack for a first-grader.

1. Articles
2. What to do if a first grader does not want to study

Every child has a moment when it’s time to go to school. First grade is a small step into adulthood. Many parents are faced with the fact that the child likes to go to school only for the first or second month, and then he does not want to do homework without a third-party “kick”, he is not interested. This behavior needs to be dealt with.

Why a first grader does not want to study and how to deal with it

It is customary for us to force a child to study, but this is fundamentally wrong. Children usually enjoy this process. They love to learn new things, to be curious. Therefore, in the reluctance to learn, there are deeper reasons than a simple “I don’t want to”. These include:

1. Backlog in the school curriculum. From the first days of study, not all children fully appreciate the seriousness of the school curriculum. They have already got it in their heads that there is no need to strain in the kindergarten, therefore, on a moral level, they are not ready to absorb knowledge in large quantities. In this case, parents must definitely do homework with their children. In addition, the first grader must have the correct daily routine:
   • rest after school up to 2 hours;
   • start doing homework from interesting subjects to difficult ones, and leave the easiest one for last;
   • go out into the fresh air in the evening;
   • go to bed before 21;
   • if the amount of homework is large, then take breaks;
   • Avoid watching TV or playing computer games before bed.

   Don’t do homework for your child. Parents only need to direct his thoughts in the right direction. In no case should a child be reproached for poor progress, compared with others, scolded for mistakes, he must know that he has the right to them. Praise is welcome on any worthwhile occasion.

2. Not interested in studying. It happens that a first-grader understands everything, each lesson is given to him easily, but there is no interest. This is mainly due to the fact that there is no motivation. The usual parental phrases “if you don’t study, you will work as a cleaner” do not affect the minds of children in any way. For them, the future profession, the prospect of entering the institute, the opportunity to earn money is not yet an argument. The first grader wants to play and relax with his friends. Therefore, a game form can increase interest in learning. For example, a game in which a child tries to independently conduct a lesson, explain the material and put marks is popular. If the kid still already has some wishes for a future profession, then parents can try to convey to him that only after completing all the lessons, he will be able to fulfill his dream. Sometimes it works. Do not forget that all children are different and sometimes the same approach may not work.
3. Relationship problems with classmates or teacher. Unfortunately, this factor is quite common and requires parental intervention. To help your child make friends, you need to take him to any sections that classmates attend, make friends with other parents and go for walks with them and their children. If there are problems in the relationship with the teacher, then the matter is more likely in his unprofessionalism. Many teachers are prone to indifference to children, and sometimes some aggression. If so, then you probably need to change the class. A dispositional teacher is able to get along with children and motivate them to study.
4. Complexes of a personal nature. Most often this applies to children who have features in appearance. Grade 1 is still an unconscious age, so someone can scoff. In such an environment, the first grader definitely does not want to study. To begin with, you can try to solve the problem within the class, ask the teacher to conduct a lesson on this topic. Do not be shy to contact a school psychologist, because he will be able to find the right words for children.

Each of these points must be worked out when the child is still small, so that it is not too late.

Tips to help increase a first grader’s desire to learn

In order for a first grader to study well and want it himself, you should consider the following tips:

• In order to study responsibly, parents should not be allowed to be constantly over him while solving homework. So the baby will be addicted, and when mom or dad needs to be distracted, he will do the same, losing concentration. This leads to the fact that the lessons have to be redone from time to time. It is more correct to give hints, guide and explain incomprehensible material, and then come and check.
• Don’t throw out all your ambitions on a child. It often happens that in the pursuit of more knowledge, parents overload it. Not everyone is able to pull it, therefore, as a result, the first grader loses interest. It is worth looking at the situation objectively, if the child is not very busy, but still does not show interest in learning, you should additionally hire a tutor. However, it is worth remembering that at this age the child wants to spend part of the time playing games and with friends, this is important to observe.
• A common story when a child does not get 1 or 2 out of all subjects. Basically, this happens because of a teacher who either gives a lesson incompetently or gives material too quickly, which not all children have time to learn. In this case, you need to try to develop interest on your own. It is better to do it in a playful way, to tell interesting information about the subject. Any questions of interest to the child should be encouraged.

It should be remembered that the first grader especially requires a lot of attention. In order not to aggravate the situation, not to “start” studies, parents constantly need to be interested in academic performance, work together on tasks until the child enters the rhythm.

Here are some tips to help motivate your child to learn:

• do not put pressure on the child, but you should help him, especially where there are gaps;
• curiosity is always worth encouraging;
• be sure to be interested in how the relationship with the teacher and classmates is;
• you can not compare the child with others, especially in a negative way;
• the baby must have the opportunity to take a break from lessons and engage in their hobbies.

Compliance with such simple rules will help the child fall in love with learning even in grade 1, which will be the key to success in subsequent years. Parental support plays a very important role in this.

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What a future first grader should know when going to school

The whole truth about how to choose a backpack for a first grader.

1. Articles
2. What a future first grader should know when going to school

When there is a year left before school, parents begin to panic, because the first grade is not just a new step in the development of the child, but a new step in his life. Even before the application is submitted, parents begin to get nervous after hearing a variety of stories about what a future first grader should know and be able to do. Some even postpone school for a year in order to better prepare their child.

Exam or introduction

The rules for admitting a child to the first grade are described in the document of the Ministry of Education dated 06/28/2012. To understand what a first grader should be able to and know, it is worth referring to this resolution.

Testing

The Letter of the Ministry of Education clearly states that the admission of children to the first grade is carried out without any entrance examinations, selection procedures. This does not include educational institutions in which children with outstanding abilities study, schools with a sports and artistic bias.

Schools often conduct interviews with prospective students. It asks standard questions to which every future first-grader should know the answers.

Article 16 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Education” states that the rules for the admission of citizens to educational institutions are determined individually for each school and are regulated by it. Thus, there is no exact list of questions, but there are some standard tasks that children are invited to solve.

Denial of admission to first class

They cannot refuse admission to class 1 if there are free places in it. In case of refusal, parents or other representatives of the child must contact the local authorities in the field of education to resolve the issue of providing a place in another school.

Even if the child could not answer all the questions, he cannot be denied admission to the 1st grade. The maximum that parents and their child will have to face is an interview with a psychologist. This is not required, but recommended.

Knowledge and skills

The future first-grader does not owe anything to anyone. However, before entering the first grade, an objective assessment of the readiness of children for school is carried out. This is not a requirement, but a system that helps to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the child.

There are three levels by which school readiness is assessed.

Physical readiness

For the successful assimilation of knowledge, children must have physical health, be hardy. All parts of the body must be sufficiently developed. Various chronic pathologies, overwork, a weakened immune system, mental or physical retardation can interfere with the assimilation of the school curriculum.

Personality

Every first grader should be prepared to study at school. He must show interest, desire to go to classes, there must be motivation. On the other hand, the ability to communicate with peers, teachers can greatly affect the assimilation of the program.

The development of personal qualities, the desire to learn depends on adults. If parents tried in every possible way to support the child in his curiosity, communicated with him, then this helps to motivate him correctly.

Intellect

During their first few years of life, children accumulate certain skills and abilities. From this, the level of perception, attention, memory is formed. Intellectual development affects fine motor skills, perseverance. An important role is played by the child’s ability to listen, to follow certain rules.

Level of knowledge

As experience shows, before entering the 1st grade, the child must know the answers to simple questions. His level of knowledge must meet the following criteria:

• Knowledge about yourself. A future first-grader should know not only his full name, but also his age, date of birth, address of residence. Moreover, he should name not just the city, but the street, house number, apartment number.
• Family. The future first-grader should know the full name of the parents, their occupation.
• Seasons. Children should know the seasons, their sequence and how they are characterized.
• Animals. The child must understand the difference between domestic and wild animals, know at least five representatives, be able to describe their appearance.
• Birds. The future first grader should know that there are domestic and wild birds, those that fly away in winter to warm countries and winter.
• Plants. Children should be able to distinguish conifers from deciduous plants. They should have formed the concepts of berries, vegetables, fruits
• Geometric knowledge. The child should know the basic geometric shapes.

In addition to knowledge, children must have a certain set of skills that will help from the first days of school.

• Children should be able to freely navigate around, know where is up, down, right and left.
• Knowledge of the native language, the ability to retell. After listening to a fairy tale, the child should be able to retell it. Moreover, he must distinguish between vowels, consonants, be able to divide words into syllables.
• Account. Preschool children should be able to count up to 20 forward and backward.

Preparation for school

When preparing a child for school, it is not necessary to force him to learn the answers to all the questions that can only be asked, but trying to teach him the minimum that he needs to know is worth a try.