What a 1st grader should know by the end of the year

First grade is the year most children become readers. They learn to sound out longer words and read simple books with accuracy and expression. In math they add and subtract within 20, learn what tens and ones mean, and count to 120.

Checked October 29, 2026 against the sources listed at the end.

The big goal of 1st grade

Reading: turning letters into sounds quickly enough to read a whole sentence and understand it. Math: adding and subtracting within 20, and understanding that the 4 in 43 means four tens.

Reading and writing

Reads words with letter pairs such as sh, ch and th, words with a final e (make, bike), and common vowel teams (rain, boat).
Splits spoken words into all their sounds, and blends sounds into words, including consonant blends (st, fl, tr).
Reads two-syllable words and words with endings like -s, -ed and -ing, plus common irregular words.
Reads first-grade books accurately, at a steady pace and with expression, going back to fix mistakes.
Retells stories with key details and the lesson or message, and describes characters, setting and main events.
Writes short opinion, information and story pieces, uses capital letters and end punctuation, and spells untaught words by their sounds.

Math

Adds and subtracts within 20 to solve word problems, and adds and subtracts within 10 quickly.
Uses strategies like making ten (8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4 = 14) and fact families (if 8 + 4 = 12, then 12 − 8 = 4).
Understands the equal sign as "the same as", and finds the missing number in 8 + ? = 11.
Counts, reads and writes numbers to 120, and knows that two-digit numbers are tens and ones.
Compares two-digit numbers with >, = and <, adds within 100 with models, and finds 10 more or 10 less in their head.
Tells time to the hour and half hour, measures length with objects, and splits circles and rectangles into halves and fourths.

Science

Light and sound: how sound makes things vibrate, and what light passes through.
How plants and animals use their parts to survive, and how young ones are like their parents.
Patterns in the sky: the sun, moon and stars, and how daylight changes through the year.
Simple engineering: designing and testing a solution to a problem.

How to help at home

Keep the ten-minute reading routine going every day; first grade is when it pays most.
When your child guesses a word from the picture, point back to the letters. Our page on what to do when a child guesses words has the exact words to use.
Practice adding facts to 10 until they're quick, then to 20 using making ten and number bonds.
Use a hundreds chart to find 10 more and 10 less: one row down or up.
Read clocks together on the hour and half hour, and ask your child to read the time to you.

Questions to ask the teacher

Is my child reading at the level you'd expect for this time of year? What should we practice?
Which sounds and spelling patterns is the class on now?
Is my child quick with adding and subtracting within 10?
Does my child understand tens and ones, or still count everything by ones?

Teachers see your child every day and know what the class is working on this month. Ask first, then practice what they suggest; the two of you pulling the same way is worth more than any workbook.

Where this list comes from

Reading, writing and math come from the Common Core State Standards for 1st grade, put in plain words; we summarize, so read the standards themselves for the exact wording. Science follows the topic list of the Next Generation Science Standards. Social studies has no national standard, so that part describes what many schools teach in 1st grade.

Your state sets what is taught, and states differ. Many use the Common Core State Standards for reading and math, or standards written from them; others wrote their own. Your state's education department posts its standards, and your child's teacher can tell you exactly what the class covers and when.

Questions parents ask

How many words should a first grader be able to read?

The standards don't set a word count. They expect a first grader to sound out regular words with the patterns taught that year, read common irregular words, and read first-grade books accurately and with expression. Ask the teacher how your child's reading compares with what the class is doing.

Should my first grader know addition facts by heart?

The standards ask first graders to add and subtract within 10 fluently. Knowing all sums of two one-digit numbers from memory is a second-grade goal.

Practice at your child's level

Peabody, our site for children, has free stories and learning games written at each reading level and math grade, with no sign-up. Start where your child is comfortable, not where the calendar says.

Reading level 3: where 1st grade starts What the level reads like, a sample, and the free stories written at it.
1st grade math on Peabody The year's math path, every part open, with games that practice it.
1st grade learning games Reading and math games that play in the browser, three big answers to tap.
Short stories for 1st graders Free stories at the grade's level, to read together or alone.
Start reading on Peabody Peabody asks your child's grade, starts the stories a little under it, and moves the level as books run easy or hard.

Where this comes from

Written for parents, to use alongside your child's teacher, not instead of them. General information only, not professional, medical or legal advice. Checked on October 29, 2026. Something wrong or out of date? Write to hello@peabody.kids.