There are several different standards that I have noticed inside of the first grade classroom. The most important standard that the teachers address is reading. At the beginning of the year they did bench marking to determine what the students already knew coming into first grade. With that information they were better able to teach the class what they need to know and they also occasionally take students out one at a time to help them. They have focused on learning the names of letters, the sounds letters make, sounding out words, etc.
I have not seen any science or history being addressed in the classroom. I have seen a smidgen of math and art but that's really it. They mostly focus on reading so that they can get their sight words down. I think the teachers choose to do little or no science and history because they feel that it is more critical for the students to learn how to read.
My cooperating teachers seem to think that the standards and standardized testing is beneficial in schools. Reading is such a critical skill to have so it makes sense why the students are held to a certain standard of learning. Having standards will help prepare them for second grade in the future.
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