Essential Standards @Lowell

Kindergarten Standards

What your student will be working on in Kindergarten
ELA (Literacy	Math
Name upper-and lower-case letters, matching those letters with their sounds, and printing them.	Write and recognize written numbers from 0 to 20
Retell familiar stories and talking about stories read to them using details from the text.	Add with a sum of 10 or less; subtract from a number 10 or less; and solve addition and subtraction word problems
Ask and answer questions about key details in stories or other information read aloud.	Compare two groups of objects to tell which group, if either, has more; compare two written numbers to tell which is greater
Take part in classroom conversations and follow rules for discussions (e.g., learning to listen to others and take turns when speaking).	Count to 100 by ones and tens.
Learn to recognize, spell, and properly use those little grammatical words that hold the language together (e.g., a, the, to, of, from, I, is, are).	Count numbers in standard order using one-to-one correspondence (Count objects to tell how many there are).

First Grade Standards

What your student will be working on in Kindergarten
ELA (Literacy	Math
Name upper-and lower-case letters, matching those letters with their sounds, and printing them.	Write and recognize written numbers from 0 to 20
Retell familiar stories and talking about stories read to them using details from the text.	Add with a sum of 10 or less; subtract from a number 10 or less; and solve addition and subtraction word problems
Ask and answer questions about key details in stories or other information read aloud.	Compare two groups of objects to tell which group, if either, has more; compare two written numbers to tell which is greater
Take part in classroom conversations and follow rules for discussions (e.g., learning to listen to others and take turns when speaking).	Count to 100 by ones and tens.
Learn to recognize, spell, and properly use those little grammatical words that hold the language together (e.g., a, the, to, of, from, I, is, are).	Count numbers in standard order using one-to-one correspondence (Count objects to tell how many there are).

Second Grade Standards

What your student will be working on in Second Grade
ELA (Literacy	Math
Pay close attention to details, including illustrations and graphics, in stories and books to answer who, what, where, when, why, and how questions.	Quickly and accurately add with a sum of 20 or less (e.g., 11 + 8); quickly and accurately subtract from a number 20 or less (e.g., 16 – 9); and know all sums of one-digit numbers from memory by the end of the year.
Read fluently to demonstrate an understanding of a story.	Understand what the digits mean in three-digit numbers (place value)
Use text features (e.g., captions, bold print, indexes) to locate key facts or information efficiently.	Use understanding of place value to add and subtract three-digit numbers (e.g., 811 – 367); add and subtract two-digit numbers quickly and accurately (e.g., 77 – 28)
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.	Solve challenging addition and subtraction word problems with one or two steps (e.g., a “onestep” problem would be: “Amy has 23 fewer apples than Julie. Julie has 47 apples. How many apples does Amy have?”)

Third Grade Standards

What your student will be working on in Third Grade
ELA (Literacy	Math
Writing, reading, speaking, and listening by using what they know about the English language.	Fluently adding and subtracting within 1,000.
Reading closely to find main ideas and supporting details in a story.	Beginning to multiply numbers with more than one digit (e.g., multiplying 9 x 80).
Reading grade-level stories and poems aloud fluently, without pausing to figure out what each word means.	Multiplying and Dividing up to 10 x 10 quickly and accurately, including knowing the times tables from memory).
Writing stories that establish a situation and include details and clear sequences of events that describe the actions, thoughts, and feelings of characters.	Solving word problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Writing opinions or explanations that group related information and develop topics with facts and details.	Understanding fractions and relate them to the familiar system of whole numbers (e.g., recognizing that 3⁄1 and 3 are the same number).

Fourth Grade Standards

What your student will be working on in Fourth Grade
ELA (Literacy	Math
Describing the basic elements of stories —such as characters, events, and settings by drawing on specific details in the text	Adding and subtracting whole numbers quickly and accurately (numbers up to 1 million).
Comparing ideas, characters, events, and settings in stories and myths from different cultures. Compare and Contrast two texts/topics.	Multiplying and dividing multi-digit numbers in simple cases (e.g., multiplying 1,638 x 7 or 24 x17, and dividing 6,966 by 6).
Independently conducting short research projects on different aspects of a topic using evidence from books and the Internet.	Using whole-number arithmetic to solve word problems, including problems with remainders and problems with measurements.
Using context clues, roots to determine the meaning of new words, and use new academic vocabulary correctly.	Understanding and applying equivalent fractions (e.g., recognizing that 1⁄4 is less than 3⁄8 because 2⁄8 is less than 3⁄8).
Writing summaries or opinions about topics supported by a set of well-organized facts, details, and examples.	Adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions in simple cases (such as 2 3⁄4 − 1 1⁄4 or 3 x 5⁄8), and solving related word problems.

Fifth Grade Standards

What your student will be working on in Fifth Grade
ELA (Literacy	Math
Summarizing the key details of stories, dramas, poems, and nonfiction materials, including their themes or main ideas.	Generalizing the place-value system to include decimals, and calculating with decimals to the hundredths place (two places after the decimal).
Determining two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by details in the text.	Adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators (e.g., 21⁄4– 11⁄3), and solving word problems of this kind.
Building knowledge of academic words with an emphasis on those that signal a contrast in ideas or logical relationships, such as on the other hand, similarly, and therefore (using academic language).	Multiplying fractions; dividing fractions in simple cases; and solving related word problems (e.g., finding the area of a rectangle with fractional side lengths; determining how many 1⁄3-cup servings are in 2 cups of raisins; determining the size of a share if 9 people share a 50- pound sack of rice equally or if 3 people share 1⁄2 pound of chocolate equally).
Reading closely and drawing evidence from grade-level fiction and nonfiction materials, including the ability to quote accurately from them when answering questions.	Multiplying whole numbers quickly and accurately, for example 1,638 x 753, and dividing whole numbers in simple cases, such as dividing 6,971 by 63.
Determining the theme of a story from details of the text.	Understanding the concept of volume, and solving word problems that involve volume.

Help Your Child Learn at Home

Try to create a quiet place for your child to study, and carve out time every day when your child can concentrate. You should also try to sit down with your child at least once a week for 15 to 30 minutes while he or she works on homework. This will keep you informed about what your child is working on, and it will help you be the first to know if your child needs help with specific topics. Additionally, here are some activities you can do with your child to support learning at home:

English Language Arts and Literacy:

Invite your child to read his or her writing out loud to other family members. Ask questions about your child’s word choices and ideas.
Go to a play or musical with your child. Discuss the way the actors bring the words to life.
Discuss your family stories and history. Encourage your child to ask relatives questions about their lives. Put the information together in an album or brainstorm different ways to tell family tales, such as poems or short stories.
Encourage your child to tell you about his or her day at school.

Math

Look for “word problems” in real life. Some 5th grade examples might include:

Doing arithmetic with decimals, for example when balancing a checkbook.
Multiplying with fractions — for example, if you used about 2⁄3 of a 3⁄4-cup measure of vegetable stock, then how much stock did you use? About how much is left?
Using the length, width, and depth of a garden plot to determine how many bags of garden soil to buy.

For more information, the full standards are available at Corestandards.org

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In This Section

Essential Standards @Lowell

Kindergarten Standards

What your student will be working on in Kindergarten

First Grade Standards

What your student will be working on in Kindergarten

Second Grade Standards

What your student will be working on in Second Grade

Third Grade Standards

What your student will be working on in Third Grade