Transition to Kindergarten Parent Guides: What Will My Child Learn in Kindergarten? Reading Success = Student Success

When a child enters a kindergarten class for the first time, he or she continues the learning that began at birth. Just like his/her first years of life, in school there are skills like reading he/she will need to develop before other skills can follow.

The National Reading Panel focuses on five skills that are important to early reading success. These include:

• Phonemic awareness: The ability to hear and recognize sounds in spoken words.
• Phonics: The connection between the letters of written words and the sound of spoken words.
• Fluency: The ability to read correctly, quickly and gather meaning (with expression).
• Vocabulary: The words students must know to communicate effectively.
• Comprehension: The ability to understand and gain meaning from what has been read.

As your child’s first teacher, you can help ensure your child’s success. You can watch his/her progress. You can also support learning at home.

You will find lots of grade level ideas for the five reading skills by clicking “Family FUNdamentals Activities” at the MDE website, www.michigan.gov/mde, under the Quick Links section.

What should my child learn in each grade?

Parents often ask, “What should my child learn in school? What should he/she know and be able to do by the end of each grade?”

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has developed guides for parents of kindergarten through eighth grade students. The guides outline what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade in math and English.

The guides are called “A Parent’s Guide to Grade Level Content Expectations.” These guides are used by teachers to decide what is taught in class. They also are used by MDE to develop grade level tests. These tests are given to students in grades 3-8 as part of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP).

Parents can use the guides to:

• Learn what their child should know and be able to do at the end of each school year.
• Ask how this information will be taught in school.
• Talk about their child’s progress.
• Look at ways they can support their child’s learning.
• Ask for things their child can do at home to support what is being taught in class.
• Understand the MEAP test results.

Kindergarten Grade Level Content Expectations

English/Language Arts

English Language Arts (ELA) is more than just reading and writing. It includes skills like speaking, listening, and viewing. ELA offers us a way to communicate. With ELA, your child can apply what she/he learns to solve real problems at home, school or in their neighborhood.

Word Recognition

By the end of kindergarten, your child should be able to:

• Easily recognize about 18 words he/she sees in and around the home. (His/her name, brand names, and logos.)
• Easily recognize a few basic words. (Go, the, and, is, etc.--you can get a list from your child’s teacher.)
• Follow the written text of familiar stories by pointing to known words.
• Be able to predict unknown words.

Vocabulary

By the end of kindergarten, your child should be able to:

• Know the meaning of words he/she hears and sees often. (Ask the teacher for a grade-level vocabulary list.)
• Try to figure out the meaning of new words and phrases.

Handwriting

By the end of kindergarten, your child should be able to:

• Form upper and lower case letters.
• Write from left to right and top to bottom leaving space between words.

Remember . . . children grow and learn at different rates. You and your child’s teacher will be able to talk about any concerns you have related to your child’s learning.