What Should My Child Know by Grade? Reading, Math and Writing Skills for Kindergarten Through 5th Grade

How to use this guide

Each grade below lists the big skills most children master by the end of that school year, based on the Common Core standards that many states use or adapted. Your state's standards may move a skill up or down a year. Use this to spot gaps early, not to compare your child with a neighbor's.

A useful rule of thumb: if your child is missing one or two skills from the grade they just finished, practice those. If they're missing most of a grade, talk to the teacher or consider a placement test. The what grade is my child tool gives a quick estimate.

Grade-by-grade overview

Kindergarten

The kindergarten year focuses on letters, sounds and numbers. Briefly: name all letters, know their main sounds, read simple words like sit and hop, count to 100, count up to 20 objects, write numbers to 20, and add and subtract within 5 fluently. See the full list with quick checks in what should a kindergartener know.

What should a 1st grader know?

Reading

• Decodes regular one-syllable words, including consonant digraphs (sh, ch, th), final-e words (cake, bike) and common vowel teams (rain, boat)
• Breaks two-syllable words into parts (rab-bit)
• Reads irregular sight words like said, was, where
• Reads grade-level text accurately and with expression
• Retells stories with key details; asks and answers questions about a text

Math

• Adds and subtracts within 20, fluent within 10 using strategies like making ten
• Solves word problems within 20, including comparing ("how many more?")
• Understands tens and ones: 47 is 4 tens and 7 ones
• Adds within 100 using place value (34 + 20; 34 + 5)
• Measures length with units; tells time to the hour and half hour
• Divides circles and rectangles into halves and fourths

Writing

• Writes several sentences on a topic, with an opening and a sense of closing
• Uses capitals at the start of sentences, end punctuation, and phonetic spelling of new words

Quick check: Can your child read ship, cake, train and jumping? Can they solve 8 + 6 by making ten (8 + 2 + 4)?

What should a 2nd grader know?

Reading

• Reads long-vowel words and two-syllable words with common patterns
• Reads common prefixes and suffixes (un-, re-, -ful, -less)
• Reads grade-level text fluently, rereading when needed
• Identifies the main topic of a paragraph and the lesson of a story

Math

• Adds and subtracts within 20 using mental strategies; knows all sums of two one-digit numbers from memory by year end
• Adds and subtracts fluently within 100
• Adds and subtracts within 1,000 using place value
• Understands hundreds, tens and ones; counts by 5s, 10s and 100s
• Solves one- and two-step word problems within 100
• Tells time to the nearest five minutes; counts money (dollars and coins)
• Uses arrays to build toward multiplication (3 rows of 4)

Writing

• Writes stories, opinions and short reports with a clear beginning, middle and end
• Uses linking words (because, and, also)

Quick check: Can your child solve 63 − 28 and explain how? Read a page from a beginning chapter book smoothly?

What should a 3rd grader know?

Third grade is the shift from learning to read to reading to learn, and from adding to multiplying.

Reading

• Reads multisyllable words and words with prefixes and suffixes
• Reads grade-level fiction and nonfiction fluently with understanding
• Answers questions using evidence from the text; describes characters and how they change
• Uses text features (headings, captions, glossaries) to find information

Math

• Multiplies and divides fluently within 100; knows all products of two one-digit numbers from memory by year end
• Uses properties of multiplication (6 × 4 = 4 × 6; 8 × 7 = 8 × 5 + 8 × 2)
• Adds and subtracts fluently within 1,000
• Understands fractions as numbers and places them on a number line; compares simple fractions
• Finds area by counting squares and multiplying; finds perimeter
• Tells time to the nearest minute; solves elapsed-time problems
• Solves two-step word problems with all four operations

Writing

• Writes organized paragraphs that state an opinion and give reasons
• Writes short research pieces and narratives with dialogue

Quick check: Can your child answer 7 × 8 and 6 × 9 without counting? Place ¾ on a number line between 0 and 1? Our multiplication facts guide has a step-by-step plan if facts are shaky.

What should a 4th grader know?

Reading

• Uses prefixes, suffixes and Greek and Latin roots to read and understand new words
• Summarizes texts; explains the theme of a story
• Compares firsthand and secondhand accounts of the same event
• Reads longer chapter books and informational texts independently

Math

• Adds and subtracts multi-digit numbers fluently with the standard algorithm
• Multiplies up to a four-digit number by a one-digit number, and two two-digit numbers
• Divides up to four-digit numbers by one-digit numbers, with remainders
• Recognizes and generates equivalent fractions (15/9 = 5/3); adds and subtracts fractions with like denominators
• Multiplies a fraction by a whole number
• Writes decimals to hundredths and connects them to fractions (0.62 = 62/100)
• Measures angles; classifies shapes by parallel and perpendicular sides and symmetry

Writing

• Writes multi-paragraph opinion, informational and narrative pieces
• Groups related information into paragraphs; uses facts, definitions and quotes

Quick check: Can your child solve 346 × 7 and 864 ÷ 4? Explain why 2/4 = 1/2?

What should a 5th grader know?

Reading

• Reads complex grade-level texts in all subjects
• Quotes accurately from a text to support answers
• Compares two texts on the same topic and integrates information from several sources
• Explains how an author uses reasons and evidence

Math

• Multiplies multi-digit whole numbers fluently with the standard algorithm
• Divides up to four-digit numbers by two-digit numbers
• Adds, subtracts, multiplies and divides decimals to hundredths
• Adds and subtracts fractions with unlike denominators (⅔ + ¼ = 11/12)
• Multiplies fractions and divides unit fractions by whole numbers
• Understands volume and finds it for rectangular prisms
• Graphs points on a coordinate plane

Writing

• Writes research-based pieces that use and cite several sources
• Writes clear, organized essays with an introduction, supporting paragraphs and a conclusion

Quick check: Can your child solve 2.4 × 1.5? Add ½ + ⅓? Write a five-paragraph essay with a clear main idea?

Reading fluency benchmarks by grade

Oral reading fluency, measured in words correct per minute (WCPM), is one of the quickest home checks. These are the 50th-percentile scores from the 2017 Hasbrouck and Tindal norms, published by Read Naturally.

How to check at home: pick an unfamiliar passage at your child's grade level. Have them read aloud for one minute. Count the words read, then subtract errors. Read Naturally suggests that students scoring 10 or more words below the 50th percentile may benefit from fluency-building work. Fluency is only one piece; ask a few questions to check understanding too. If your child is well below, see how to help a struggling reader.

Math fact fluency by grade

Shaky facts are the most common hidden reason kids struggle in upper elementary math. See math facts fluency for a 10-minute daily routine, and print practice from our math worksheets.

If your child is behind or ahead

Behind in one or two skills: practice those for 10–15 minutes a day. The math worksheet generator and grade-level spelling word lists make it easy.

Behind by a grade or more: talk to the teacher and ask what assessments show. Persistent trouble with reading or math despite good teaching can signal a learning difference; see signs of dyslexia or dyscalculia. Our how to get better at math guide covers finding and filling gaps.

Ahead: add depth, not just speed. See math enrichment for ideas.

Programs that help

• Khan Academy: free practice and videos aligned to each grade, K–12.
• IXL: skill-by-skill practice organized by grade and state standard.
• Zearn: free K–8 math lessons with on-screen teachers.
• Reading Eggs: reading lessons and ebooks for ages 2–13, with a placement quiz.
• ReadTheory: free adaptive reading comprehension practice with grade-level reports.

Save programs to your wishlist to compare. If your family uses a state ESA or scholarship, curriculum and online programs are often eligible; each program decides, so check scholarships in your state.