What should my child be learning in each grade?

I began to think about this question once my first child entered first grade.  I began to ponder what was expected of her in her year of education and what I was expecting from her school.  The first place I turned was the California State Content Standards.  Each state has created and is implementing a core set of education standards for students in each grade in their state.  The California education standards can be found at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/index.asp

Once on this page you can open PDF packets for English Language Arts adopted in 1997, Mathematics adopted in 1997, Science adopted in 1998, and many others.  The packets are nicely arranged by grade level and organized by topic with a description of what students should master within these parameters.

After reading the first grade standards I felt a bit disappointed in what was being expected of my first grader, particularly in the areas of history and social science.  At my local library I picked up a book from the CORE Knowledge Series titled What Your first Grader Needs To Know, by E.D. Hirsch.  I have found this series tremendously helpful from year to year.  The CORE Knowledge movement is on a mission to create a national set of education standards that all students across the United States can learn.  I found the material at each grade level to be slightly more vigorous and in depth compared to my state's standards. 

As I read through What your First Grader Needs to Know, by E.D. Hirsch, I began to ask my child questions from the book to see if she was learning any of the material presented there.  While in the history section I asked her if she studied history in school and she answered, "What is that?"  That was very insightful and I began to take on the task of working through the history section of this book.  Through the summer we picked a few sections out of the history topics and did a few really fun summer projects in Ancient Civilizations and The Egyptians.  It was great fun!  I highly recommend the CORE Knowledge Series and their website where you can find detailed lesson plans that you can use at home.  All lesson plans are organized by grade and educational topic:
http://www.coreknowledge.org/mimik/mimik_live_data/view.php?id=1833&record_id=269

We have since done a fabulous unit on the Civil War and slavery in America.  It was just fabulous!  I hope you enjoy these resources as you think about what you hope for in your child's education!