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Here are some benchmarks to measure whether your child is learning the fundamentals in math and science:
By the beginning of first grade, a child should be able to:
• Recite numbers 1 through 20 corresponding to flash cards
• Compare more, less, and same
• Recognize half of a whole object
• Know about time and tell hours
By the end of the first grade, a child should be able to:
• Work with patterns and sequences
• Add and subtract single-digit numbers
• Estimate and predict simple outcomes
• Practice measuring length, capacity, and weight
• Work with geometric shapes
• Count higher than 100
• Identify the fractions 1/2, 1/3, 1/4
• Solve simple word problems
• Make observations and recognize similarities and differences
By second grade, a child should be able to:
• Ask a question about objects, organisms and events in the environment
In the third grade, a child should be able to:
• Add and subtract two- and three-digit numbers, both with and without regrouping
• Tell in which place each of the digits is located
• Count combinations of coins
• Measure in many ways
• Read a thermometer
• Observe and measure objects, organisms, and/or events
• Interpret graphs, charts and tables
• Communicate the results of a simple investigation
At the end of the third grade, a child should be able to:
• Comfortably add and subtract large numbers
• Understand how place value works in our number system
• Round numbers in order to make a reasonable estimate
• Use tools such as rulers and thermometers to measure the area and perimeter of squares and rectangles
• Differentiate solids from shapes
• Find fractions of a whole and factions of a set
• Understand basic probability and statistics
• Understand how bar graphs, line graphs, and tables communicate information in math
• Employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses.
At the end of fourth grade, a child should be able to:
• Use data to construct a reasonable explanation
• Communicate investigations and explanations
In the beginning of the fifth grade, a child should be able to:
• Understand the basic mathematical language of logic
• Read, write, compare, and place in order whole numbers to the millions, and decimals to the thousands
• Create equivalent fractions
• Understand how prime numbers are only divisible by one and itself, while other numbers have multiple divisors
• Apply the order of operations with a math problem, including division, multiplication, addition, subtraction and parenthesis
• Describe the important features of a set of data (examples: range, mean, mode, median)
• Convert improper fractions to mixed numbers and mixed numbers to improper fractions
• Understand and name different types of triangles by looking at their angles and sides
• Represent an unknown quantity with a symbol (example, 3 + 5 + x = 10)
• Provide a reasonable hypothesis
• Defend conclusions based on evidence and revise conclusions based on more evidence and other points-of-view
• Observe substances have characteristic properties which are independent of the amount of the sample
• Understand objects in the sky have patterns of movement (Sun, Moon), these are daily, and seasons; and Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water and the gases of the atmosphere
Dr. Francis Eberle, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) contributed to this article. Additional Sources: www.education.com.
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