A Grade-By-Grade Guide to Education

First Grade

What you can expect: Teachers cover a lot of ground. In language arts, the students learn about different genres -- poetry, fiction, and nonfiction -- and how they are alike and different; they learn to read more fluently and move on to chapter books. They learn how to write and punctuate sentences. In math, first-graders are mastering addition and subtraction, how to tell time and count money, and the concepts of "greater than," "equal to," and "less than."

-Expect homework and worksheets to start in earnest this year. 

-Teachers start to group students according to abilities, so there will be more emphasis on teaching reading and math to smaller bunches of first-graders.

Don't be surprised if... It's hard for your child to complete worksheets. "At this age, kids love doing their schoolwork, but they don't always like to finish it," says Wood.