Seven Math Skills Your Child Will Learn in 1st Grade
Your child is heading to first grade! After the year in kindergarten, your first grader will be ready for some amazing growth. For many children, grade one is the year that they bloom as readers and mathematicians. Get ready to support your child’s mathematical growth by learning about first grade math skills.
In first grade, you can expect your child to learn about:
1. Addition and subtraction facts to 20
Now that your child has mastered the idea of adding and subtracting, they’re ready to practice math facts. This means getting faster when answering addition and subtraction problems to 20.
2. Addition and subtraction as inverse operations
Your child probably understands the concept of addition as “putting together” and subtraction as “taking apart.” In first grade, children are encouraged to see the connections between addition and subtraction. Your child will learn how addition and subtraction are inverse operations, or that one is the opposite of the other, and create “fact families” of related addition and subtraction problems.
3. Count and write within 120
Your child has probably mastered counting to 20. But in first grade kids will learn to count all the way up to 120! That’s not all. Kids will be expected to not only count, but write, the numbers. This is great practice for understanding multi-digit numbers.
4. Add within 100
Now that your child has an understanding of numbers past 100 as well as basic addition and subtraction facts, it’s time to practice adding within 100. Children will practice adding one-digit numbers to two-digit numbers using strategies like counting on and number charts. Children can practice adding larger numbers with the help of a 1-100 chart.
First graders are also ready to practice adding and subtracting 10s to and from two digit numbers.
5. Measure objects
In first grade, kids learn how to measure using rulers and more unusual things like paper clips. After taking measurements, children compare and order objects by length.
6. Tell time to hour and half hour
One of the trickiest concepts first graders will learn is to tell time. Using analog clocks is confusing, especially when kids are more used to seeing digital clocks. In first grade, your child will learn about the big and little hands of a clock and will practice telling time to the hour and half hour.
7. Understand basic fractions
First graders also get an introduction to fractions as equal shares. They will learn how to divide into equal groups and learn basic fractions like ½, ⅓, and ¼. First graders usually have a good understanding of fairness, so practicing making equal shares should be a relatively easy task for them!
First graders are ready to dive deep into mathematical concepts. Find time to connect with your child about classroom learning and get ready to have some fun!
Found this useful? Check out our grade by grade math guides from Kindergarten to 5th grade
Written by Lily Jones, who loves all things learning. Lily has been a kindergarten & first grade teacher, instructional coach, curriculum developer, and teacher trainer. She loves to look at the world with curiosity and inspire people of all ages to love learning. She lives in California with her husband, two kids, and a little dog.
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