In some ways, first grade has changed over the years. The various federal and state benchmarks and regulations will, as a matter of course, affect the way that any academic program is carried out. In addition, changes to educational philosophy and ideas about what young children are capable of, as well as how much ought to be expect of them, are bound to take place over time.

One of the ways that first grade has changed over the years has been a general increases in the amount of homework that is given. In fact, first grade is not alone in this area. The amount of homework given at first grade and all grades has been increasing for at least the last couple of decades. While a first grader certainly won’t have as much homework as a freshman in high school, she will almost certainly have more homework than a first grader would have had fifty years ago.

More advanced topics are being covered in first grade now, as well. This is one of the positive ways in which first grade has changed over the years. Children are more likely to be exposed to reading in kindergarten, for example, and therefore can make much faster and more significant progress in terms of reading. In addition, changes to curriculum have begun to expose first graders to more advanced concepts, such as multiplication, earlier than in years past. While first graders are not expected to know their times tables, for example, they may be taught, as part of their addition lessons, about doing “doubles” or “two times” and may be taught that counting by fives is the same as “five times.”

Schools are now more accountable than they have been in the past, as well. Schools are required, for example, to make sure that every student can read by the time they are in first grade. To meet these requirements, the things that are taught, as well as they way that they are taught has had to change.

Posted in School Issues

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