Question:

How can I prepare my girl who is in K2 now for Primary 1? How much should she know? Is there any guideline for what she must know? 

Answer:

Look Closely at Classroom Skills to Prepare Children to Be Classroom Confident for Primary 1

In preparation for Primary 1, there are both academic skills and classroom skills that a child should try to hone by the end of Kindergarten 2.

In terms of literacy skills, we usually break it down into reading, comprehending, speaking and writing skills. It is important that children be able to read and understand simple text types. Children should also be able to express their opinions in a coherent and confident manner. Additionally, being able to write at a comfortable pace and being able to craft basic sentences are also things to work on with your child.

As for numeracy skills, we usually break it down into simple relationship and patterns, counting and number sense, and basic shapes and spatial concepts. It is important that children are able to do simple matching, sorting, comparing, ordering and patterning. For number sense, children should be able to understand one-to-one correspondence, knowing how numbers relate to the quantity of real objects. We can also consider introducing the idea of subitizing to children, a skill that allows children to be able to tell small quantities without the need to count.

We also look closely at classroom skills to prepare children to be classroom confident for Primary 1. Skills such as being independent, having a healthy concentration span, taking instructions, knowing how and when to ask for help and being able to manage conflict with their classmates are among the many that we should hope to hone in our children. 

The Expert:

Sue Lynn Lee 

Academic Director, Early Years and Lower Primary

The Learning Lab