School Skills: First Grade Milestones
First grade can be a time of stability for some and ups and downs for others. It can sometimes be hard to know what to expect or what they ‘should’ know after their first year at around 6-7 years of age.* By the end of the first grade, your child should be able to do the following tasks in each area.
Listening
Remember what they hear.
Follow two- to three-step directions in a row.
Speaking
Speak clearly so that anyone can understand them.
Answer more difficult yes/no questions.
Tell and retell stories that make sense.
Share their ideas using complete sentences.
Use most parts of speech, or grammar, correctly.
Ask and answer who, what, when, where, and why questions.
Stay on topic and take turns in conversation.
Give directions.
Start conversations.
Reading
Say words that rhyme.
Name all sounds in short words.
Put sounds together to make words.
Match spoken words with written words.
Point to letters, words, and sentences.
Sound out words when reading.
Read 100 common words by sight.
Read grade-level books.
Understand what they read.
Writing
Write about their ideas.
Print clearly.
Spell words that they use a lot.
Begin each sentence with capital letters and end sentences with periods or question marks.
Write stories, journal entries, or notes.
Grammar & Punctuation:
Begins to use cause and effect (e.g., "If I do my work, I get a sticker.")
Uses reflexive pronouns (e.g., "himself," "myself").
Can use the passive voice.
Emerging use of embedding (e.g., "The girl who bought the dress went to the party").
Can use adverbial conjunctions ("now," "then," "so").
Uses most morphological markers fairly consistently (e.g., "The two boys walked to the store").
Emerging use of irregular comparatives (e.g., "good," "better," "best").
Continues to improve correct use of irregular past tense and plurals.
Begins to produce gerunds (a noun form produced by adding –ing to a verb infinitive, e.g., "fish," "fishing" – "Fishing with my dad is fun").
Acquires use of derivational morphemes, in which verbs are changed into nouns (e.g., "catch" becomes "catcher").
Social Skills:
Become aware of mistakes in other people’s speech.
Is apt to use slang (e.g., "that’s cool").
Suggestions for Parents:
Talk to your child often
Read different types of books (fiction and non-fiction)
Read every day, and talk with your child about the story. Ask them to tell you about the pictures or their favourite parts.
Help your child learn the sound-letter patterns of words. You can play rhyming games and point out letters as you read.
Have your child retell stories and talk about their day.
Talk with your child about what you do during the day.
Give them directions to follow around the house.
Talk about how things are the same and different. Play games of ‘odd one out’.
*As the age at which children can start or end certain grades varies wildly from country to country, this guide is written with general achievements in mind, so has tried to use as broad age ranges as possible. Please check with your kindergarten or school for more detailed local information and guidelines.
Please note the above information is general in nature and is not intended as professional medical advice. Please seek an appointment with a registered speech-language pathologist if you are at all worried about your child's development.
References:
ASHA (2009). Your Child’s Communication: First Grade. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/firstgrade/
Paul, R., Norbury, C., & Gosse, C. (2018). Language Disorders from Infancy through Adolescence: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Communicating (5th ed.). Elsevier.
Roseberry-McKibbin, C., Hegde, M. N., & Tellis, G. M. (2024). An Advanced Review of Speech-language Pathology.
Suggested Resources
FREEBIE Hickory Dickory Dock: Auditory Comprehension
A classic nursery rhyme auditory comprehension and WH question activity for early learners. Includes audio for students to sing along.
FREEBIE The Gingerbread Man: Reading Comprehension
A classic fairy tale reading comprehension and sequencing activity for early readers.
FREEBIE Classroom Concepts: Before & After
Helps students to practice important concepts for the school environment, like before and after, which can improve their retelling and ordering skills.
FREEBIE The Write Sounds: Basics 1 a, i, m, s, t
A game show-themed activity set for students to practice their early phonics and spelling skills. Practice important abilities like blending, segmenting, and picking sound with audio.
FREEBIE Investigator Ivan: Recognising Emotions
Follow the adventures of Ivan as he navigates the world of social skills. Help students practice recognising different emotions and how others may be feeling.