What a 1st grader learns in math and reading

1st grade · the Common Core skills, in plain words · updated 2026-11-02

This is the whole list: 21 math skills and 19 reading skills a 1st grader is expected to learn, with the Common Core code next to each one. In math, 1st grade is mostly operations and algebraic thinking, numbers in base ten, measurement and data. In reading, the weight is on language and reading foundations.

Math: 1st grade

Operations and algebraic thinking

• Story problems 1.OA.A.1 — Does the story get more, or fewer? More means add. Fewer means take away.
• Adding three numbers 1.OA.A.2 — Add two of them first. Look for two that make 10.
• Turn-around facts 1.OA.B.3 — Swap the two numbers. The answer stays the same.
• Is it true? 1.OA.D.7 — Work out each side. Are they the same number?
• Missing numbers 1.OA.D.8 — Try a number in the box. Does it make the sides match?
• Adding to 20 1.OA.C.5 — Start at the bigger number and count up.
• Taking away to 20 1.OA.B.4 — Ask yourself: what do I add to the small number to get the big one?
• Doubles 1.OA.C.6 — It is the same number twice. Two lots of it.

Numbers in base ten

• Counting to 120 1.NBT.A.1 — Look at the last digit. What comes after it? Watch out for 9.
• Bigger two-digit numbers 1.NBT.B.3 — Look at the tens first. More tens means bigger.
• Adding tens and ones 1.NBT.C.4 — Add tens to tens and ones to ones.
• Ten less 1.NBT.C.6 — The ones stay the same. The tens go down.
• Ten more 1.NBT.C.5 — The ones stay the same. Only the tens go up by one.
• Tens and ones 1.NBT.B.2 — The first digit tells you how many tens.

Measurement and data

• Longest and shortest 1.MD.A.1 — Line them up at one end. The one that sticks out most is longest.
• How many cubes long 1.MD.A.2 — Count the cubes under the stick, one by one.
• Telling time 1.MD.B.3 — The short hand shows the hour. Half past means the long hand points down.
• Reading a chart 1.MD.C.4 — Count the marks next to each picture first.

Geometry

• Shapes by their sides 1.G.A.1 — Count the sides of each shape. Corners come where sides meet.
• Shapes inside shapes 1.G.A.2 — Count the small shapes one at a time. Touch each one.
• Halves and fourths 1.G.A.3 — Half means 2 equal parts. A fourth means 4 equal parts.

Reading: 1st grade

Reading foundations

• Long and short vowels RF.1.2a — A long vowel says its own name, like the a in cake.
• Blends and digraphs RF.1.3a — Two letters can make one sound, like sh in ship.
• Silent e RF.1.3c — A silent e at the end makes the vowel say its name: cap becomes cape.
• Vowel teams RF.1.3c — When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking: ai says a.
• Two-syllable words RF.1.3e — Every syllable has a vowel sound. Clap the beats.
• Word endings RF.1.3f — -ed means it already happened. -ing means it is happening now.
• Sight words RF.1.3g — Some words you just have to know by sight.

Language

• Nouns and verbs L.1.1b — A noun is a person, place or thing. A verb is an action word.
• Pronouns L.1.1d — A pronoun takes the place of a name: he, she, it, they.
• Past, now and later L.1.1e — Yesterday is past. Today is now. Tomorrow is later.
• Describing words L.1.1f — A describing word tells what something is like: big, red, soft.
• Capitals for names L.1.2a — Names of people, days and months start with a capital letter.
• Commas in a list L.1.2c — Put a comma between the things in a list.
• Word parts L.1.4b — un- means not. re- means again.
• Shades of meaning L.1.5d — Some words are stronger than others: look, stare, glare.

Literature

• Characters and setting RL.1.3 — Characters are who. Setting is where and when.
• Retelling a story RL.1.2 — What happened first, next and last?

Informational text

• Main topic RI.1.2 — The main topic is what the whole text is about.
• Text features RI.1.5 — A heading tells what a part is about. A caption tells about a picture.

Reading practice includes 30 short texts at this level, among them 6 science and 6 history passages, with questions that check understanding.

How Teach Me uses this list

The check asks a few questions from this grade and the ones around it to find where your child really is, which is often not the grade on the door. Each day's set then comes from the skills they have not got yet. A skill counts as known when they get it right on their own, more than once. Parents see which skills are open and which are solid, and can point the practice at any topic above.

Teach Me is free. It follows the Common Core State Standards for math and English language arts; high school math follows California's traditional pathway (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Precalculus).

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