Illinois has laid down the law for five-year-olds:
“The 172 new ‘benchmarks,’ or skills, cover language arts, math, science, social science, physical development and health, fine arts, foreign language and social/emotional development.”
Read all about Illinois kindergarten standards from the Chicago Sun-Times. Some examples:
LANGUAGE ARTS
• Read one-syllable and high-frequency words
• Explain past events with accurate detailMATH
• Estimate numbers of objects in a set
• Represent data using concrete objects, pictures and graphsSCIENCE
• Understand the purpose of recycling
• Describe the effects of forces in natureSOCIAL SCIENCE
• Participate in voting as a way of making choices
• Understand that each of us belongs to a family and recognize that families varySOCIAL/EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• Demonstrate control of impulsive behavior
• Describe positive qualities of others
What ever happened to “Put a ring around the thing you think?”