The reorganization of the schools in accordance with the new tasks of the communist education of our youth calls for a rise in the level of instructional and educational work in the elementary grades as well. The significance of this stage of education lies not only in the body of knowledge acquired by the children, but also in the fact that the foundation is laid for their entire subsequent development in the elementary school. At the same time, the difficulties in assimilating knowledge encountered by the children upon entering the 5th grade show that we are apparently making some mistakes in setting up the content and methods of instruction in the elementary grades of school.