Educational goals by grade and subject

This page explains our big-picture view of what kids need to learn in school, and why. Read it first.

Below it, there is one page for each grade and subject. Each page states exactly what a student can do when they finish that grade with us: concrete, checkable, and in plain language.

What we believe

Kids should memorize their math facts. By the end of 3rd grade, a child knows every addition, subtraction, times table, and division fact up to 12 by heart. That is 695 facts. They do not count on their fingers. In 4th grade and after, we check at the start of each year that they still know them all.

Math builds on itself. Each new skill needs the skills before it. A child who cannot multiply cannot do fractions. When a child is stuck, the problem is usually something earlier that they never learned.

Kids should first learn to read fast. Sounding out words has to become easy and quick. Each grade has a reading speed goal, in words per minute.

Then kids should read to learn. Kids understand what they read when they already know about the topic. So they read real books about real things: animals, space, history, and good stories.

Writing starts in 3rd grade. Before that, kids learn to write as part of reading.

Kids need to practice a little every day, at home. 5 minutes a day works better than one long session a week. Tell parents to have their child sign in at learntobe.org and practice every day.

Start where the child is. Many kids are behind. Use the page for the grade a child is ready for, not the grade they are in.

Pages for each grade and subject

We will add more details to these pages as we finish more courses and materials.

Math

Kindergarten · Grade 1 · Grade 2 · Grade 3 · Grade 4 · Grade 5 · Grade 6 · Grade 7 · Grade 8

Reading

Kindergarten · Grade 1 · Grade 2 · Grade 3 · Grade 4 · Grade 5 · Grade 6 · Grade 7 · Grade 8

Writing

Grade 3 · Grade 4 · Grade 5 · Grade 6 · Grade 7 · Grade 8

Why we believe this

Kids get smarter by knowing more and practicing more.

Memorizing things helps kids understand. A child who knows their math facts by heart can think about the problem, not the adding. A child who knows about volcanoes and the Civil War understands what they read about them. And nothing sticks without practice: a little, every day.

Where these ideas come from:

• Learning is Memory, Justin Skycak. To learn anything means to get it into long-term memory.
• It's Memory All the Way Down, Justin Skycak. Higher-level thinking rests on memorized knowledge.
• The Importance of Automaticity, Justin Skycak. Why instant recall is the point, not a nice extra.
• Core Knowledge Foundation, E. D. Hirsch. A shared body of knowledge, taught grade by grade, is what makes kids literate.
• The Knowledge Gap, Natalie Wexler. Why the skills-first approach to reading in elementary schools fails, and why knowledge-rich content fixes it.
• Why Don't Students Like School?, Daniel Willingham. The cognitive science: memory is the residue of thought, and factual knowledge must come before skill.
• Principles of Instruction, Barak Rosenshine. What effective teaching looks like: small steps, lots of practice, and high success rates.
• Do math drills help children learn?, Hechinger Report. The research case for timed fact practice.
• How to Remember Anything Forever-ish, Nicky Case. A friendly explanation of spaced repetition, the method our flashcard decks use.
• Rethinking Retrieval Practice, Carl Hendrick. Remembering has to connect to understanding. That is why the decks go alongside a real course.

Where things are

• Courses: learntobe.org/courses
• Math fact flashcards: learntobe.org/decks. The student signs in to their own account.
• IXL: for students with an IXL account through our pilot. See How should tutors use IXL?