What are they teaching the kids these days?
March 6, 2010 9:39 AM Subscribe
Let's say you were unexpectedly charged with arranging educational activities for a group of k-2 year olds. What kind of things would they be capable of learning at that age? What kinds of things are they already learning at school?
Thinking back to my own k-2 years, I learned how to read and understand some vocabulary, and how to add, subtract, multiply and use basic fractions and decimals. I also remember a lesson on how to use money. I have no memory of what else I learned.
What kinds of things are commonly taught to k-2 kids? You can be as concrete or abstract as possible.
And what kind of things aren't taught, but are easily within the grasp of your average 5-8 year old?
(To be clear, I don't need activity suggestions - I want to know the actual concepts being taught.)
Thinking back to my own k-2 years, I learned how to read and understand some vocabulary, and how to add, subtract, multiply and use basic fractions and decimals. I also remember a lesson on how to use money. I have no memory of what else I learned.
What kinds of things are commonly taught to k-2 kids? You can be as concrete or abstract as possible.
And what kind of things aren't taught, but are easily within the grasp of your average 5-8 year old?
(To be clear, I don't need activity suggestions - I want to know the actual concepts being taught.)
Not sure where you are geographically speaking (and the server is wonky so won't let me try to look at your profile) AND I'm not saying I wholeheartedly agree with these BUT, disclaimers aside, you could look at something like the California State Board of Education Standards and Frameworks to at least give you a point of reference.
The frameworks are the high-level view and the content standards detail specifically what kids at each grade level should know (or what the state of CA thinks they should know anyway...) They're available as pdfs, and organized by subject, and grade levels within each subject.
From a psychological development perspective, you might want to do a little background reading on Piaget. From Wikipedia:
Preoperational stage: from ages 2 to 7 (magical thinking predominates. Acquisition of motor skills). Egocentrism begins strongly and then weakens. Children cannot conserve or use logical thinking.
Concrete operational stage: from ages 7 to 12 (children begin to think logically but are very concrete in their thinking). Children can now conceive and think logically but only with practical aids. They are no longer egocentric.
Formal operational stage: from age 12 onwards (development of abstract reasoning). Children develop abstract thought and can easily conserve and think logically in their mind.
I'm no Piagetian scholar or acolyte, but his work has served as the foundation for much of what we know and are continuing to learn about how children can process information at different stages. Do note that some view Piaget's work as euro-centric, and question whether his findings are applicable to children from all cultures. To that end, The Cultural Nature of Human Development, by Barbara Rogoff, is an amazing, fascinating (and eminently readable) work about understanding human development as a cultural process.
posted by hapax_legomenon at 10:10 AM on March 6, 2010
The frameworks are the high-level view and the content standards detail specifically what kids at each grade level should know (or what the state of CA thinks they should know anyway...) They're available as pdfs, and organized by subject, and grade levels within each subject.
From a psychological development perspective, you might want to do a little background reading on Piaget. From Wikipedia:
Preoperational stage: from ages 2 to 7 (magical thinking predominates. Acquisition of motor skills). Egocentrism begins strongly and then weakens. Children cannot conserve or use logical thinking.
Concrete operational stage: from ages 7 to 12 (children begin to think logically but are very concrete in their thinking). Children can now conceive and think logically but only with practical aids. They are no longer egocentric.
Formal operational stage: from age 12 onwards (development of abstract reasoning). Children develop abstract thought and can easily conserve and think logically in their mind.
I'm no Piagetian scholar or acolyte, but his work has served as the foundation for much of what we know and are continuing to learn about how children can process information at different stages. Do note that some view Piaget's work as euro-centric, and question whether his findings are applicable to children from all cultures. To that end, The Cultural Nature of Human Development, by Barbara Rogoff, is an amazing, fascinating (and eminently readable) work about understanding human development as a cultural process.
posted by hapax_legomenon at 10:10 AM on March 6, 2010
Not sure if this will help, but most states have a curriculum that explains what children in each grade are expected to know/ learn. For example, here are the TEKS (Texas Essential Skills and Knowledge) for kindergarten.
But in general, K-2 is know as the "learning to read" grades; 3rd and up are more "reading to learn". So younger kids work on developing pre-literacy (phonological awareness, print awareness, letter to sound awareness, etc.) and basic literacy skills quite a bit. I'm not sure about other subjects so much like math or science, though I am sure they do focus on those as well.
posted by afton at 10:14 AM on March 6, 2010
But in general, K-2 is know as the "learning to read" grades; 3rd and up are more "reading to learn". So younger kids work on developing pre-literacy (phonological awareness, print awareness, letter to sound awareness, etc.) and basic literacy skills quite a bit. I'm not sure about other subjects so much like math or science, though I am sure they do focus on those as well.
posted by afton at 10:14 AM on March 6, 2010
Simple cause and effect is usually pretty good. Science type stuff usually keeps them interested. I remember splitting the stems of white carnations and putting each side in a different colored water and watching it change. This was first grade for me. They might not get the reasons behind it, but they will be able to see the action and then what happens after.
posted by TooFewShoes at 11:08 AM on March 6, 2010
posted by TooFewShoes at 11:08 AM on March 6, 2010
If you are looking for activities that complement the classroom, I would check out the Girl Scout handbooks for Daisies (K-1) and Brownies (1-3). They are well researched. age appropriate, and fun. (And most work as well as with boys as with girls - just allow for more wiggle time in a co-ed group.)
posted by metahawk at 12:59 PM on March 6, 2010
posted by metahawk at 12:59 PM on March 6, 2010
I remember I did a fair bit of simple science. Food webs, how a plant grows towards light.
Maths didn't go much beyond counting, multiplication, and measuring.
posted by 92_elements at 1:03 PM on March 6, 2010
Maths didn't go much beyond counting, multiplication, and measuring.
posted by 92_elements at 1:03 PM on March 6, 2010
First grade right now:
Math - recognizing and extending shape patterns, counting coins, greater- and less-than, bar charts
Reading - abilities vary widely so this is tricky. No advice but to have a range of materials available.
Writing - the vogue right now seems to be for best-efforts, just-get-something-down-on-paper style writing that is not corrected for spelling. There is a lot of "draw a picture on general subject X and write about what you drew."
I guess the other side of this free-writing is that they are also learning to alphabetize and they study the spelling and usage of a new group of relatively advanced words each week.
Science - concur with earlier commenters that this is a lot of fun at this age (any age, really). I know our 1st graders have studied the states of matter, done a unit on weather, and talked at a basic level about metabolism.
posted by lakeroon at 1:23 PM on March 6, 2010
Math - recognizing and extending shape patterns, counting coins, greater- and less-than, bar charts
Reading - abilities vary widely so this is tricky. No advice but to have a range of materials available.
Writing - the vogue right now seems to be for best-efforts, just-get-something-down-on-paper style writing that is not corrected for spelling. There is a lot of "draw a picture on general subject X and write about what you drew."
I guess the other side of this free-writing is that they are also learning to alphabetize and they study the spelling and usage of a new group of relatively advanced words each week.
Science - concur with earlier commenters that this is a lot of fun at this age (any age, really). I know our 1st graders have studied the states of matter, done a unit on weather, and talked at a basic level about metabolism.
posted by lakeroon at 1:23 PM on March 6, 2010
Best answer: Virginia publishes its Standards of Learning online here.
My inner Beavis & Butthead love that it's abbreviated SOL.
I have a kid in 1st grade. Homework is pretty much the same every week. Read a book nightly (usually about 30-50 pp, like the Amelia Bedelia books). They have a plastic baggie of spelling words ("she," "hat," "there," "try," etc) and on one night they sort them (eg, into "-sh" words, etc), then they have to write each word twice, the next night , then write 8 sentences using them, then sort them without looking at them.
In math, they've done adding, subtracting, measuring (eg, take a ruler and measure things that are about 3-7 inches or cm long), capacity ("how much will this hold?"), fractions, and story problems.
Money and making change is big at that age. If you have K-2nd grade kids tho, the 2nd graders probably know how to do it and the younger kids don't.
They also learned about George Washington & Abraham Lincoln. They wrote out sentences about them, eg, "George Washington's face is on the $1 bill."
Kids really like learning how things are made. Oh, wait sorry. My son is watching me type and he says he really is NOT interested in that.
posted by selfmedicating at 3:10 PM on March 6, 2010
My inner Beavis & Butthead love that it's abbreviated SOL.
I have a kid in 1st grade. Homework is pretty much the same every week. Read a book nightly (usually about 30-50 pp, like the Amelia Bedelia books). They have a plastic baggie of spelling words ("she," "hat," "there," "try," etc) and on one night they sort them (eg, into "-sh" words, etc), then they have to write each word twice, the next night , then write 8 sentences using them, then sort them without looking at them.
In math, they've done adding, subtracting, measuring (eg, take a ruler and measure things that are about 3-7 inches or cm long), capacity ("how much will this hold?"), fractions, and story problems.
Money and making change is big at that age. If you have K-2nd grade kids tho, the 2nd graders probably know how to do it and the younger kids don't.
They also learned about George Washington & Abraham Lincoln. They wrote out sentences about them, eg, "George Washington's face is on the $1 bill."
Kids really like learning how things are made. Oh, wait sorry. My son is watching me type and he says he really is NOT interested in that.
posted by selfmedicating at 3:10 PM on March 6, 2010
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posted by decathecting at 9:46 AM on March 6, 2010