🚀

1st Grade Take-Home Practice

Twenty topics — from digraphs and fluency to place value, time, coins and equal shares.

Ages 6–7

What this year is really about

Grade 1 turns effortful decoding into reading, and counting into knowing. Both happen through volume: many words read, many facts used.

Twenty minutes total, and reading aloud to you is the highest-value ten of it. If a page takes more than a minute, the book is too hard — that's information, not failure.

📚 20 topics⏱️ 20 min a day🖨️ No printing needed

🎒 All 20 take-homes 🗓️ The weekly rotation ✅ End-of-year checklist ⬇️ Download the PDF

A week that doesn't become a second school

20 minutes a day, one strand at a time. Skipping a day is fine — skipping the same strand every week is what causes gaps.

Monday
Reading aloud
Ten minutes of them reading to you, one book, no rescuing too fast.
Tuesday
Number facts
Five minutes of make-ten, then one real word problem.
Wednesday
Writing
Three sentences about one small moment from today.
Thursday
Money & time
Read the clock twice, and count a handful of coins.
Friday
Science or maps
One experiment or one map question, then a free-choice book.

Take it off the screen

The whole 1st Grade pack as a PDF — every topic, every check, every activity, with tick boxes and a date line so you can see what you have actually run. Free, no signup, and it works offline once it's saved.

Or just one subject

📖 Reading

Decoding, fluency, and understanding what was actually said.

4 topics this year

Digraphs and blends — sh, ch, th, and str
Reading smoothly, not word by word
Retelling and finding the main idea
Growing vocabulary on purpose

✏️ Writing

Getting a thought out of the head and onto the page so a stranger understands it.

3 topics this year

Sentences that hold together
Writing about one small moment
Spelling by pattern, not by memory

🔢 Math

Number sense first, then the procedures that ride on top of it.

7 topics this year

Tens and ones to 100
Adding and subtracting within 20
Word problems — deciding what to actually do
Telling time to the hour and half hour
Counting coins
Measuring, and reading a simple graph
Equal shares — halves and quarters

🔬 Science

Noticing, predicting, testing — and being willing to be wrong out loud.

2 topics this year

Light and sound
How plants and animals survive

🌍 Social Studies

Maps, communities, history, and why people who were there disagree.

2 topics this year

Maps, globes and where we are
Then and now

🧭 Study & Life Skills

Attention, organisation, and the habits that decide whether the rest lands.

2 topics this year

Listening and following three-step directions
Trying when it's hard, and being wrong safely

Every 1st Grade topic, and what to do about it

Run the two-minute check first. If it passes, move on — you have just saved an evening. If it doesn't, the take-home underneath it is the fix.

0 of 20 done

📖 Reading
Digraphs and blends — sh, ch, th, and str
Can do: Reads two letters making one sound (sh, ch, th, ck) and blends of two or three consonants (stop, split).
Why it matters
These cover an enormous share of English words. A child stuck on single letters can only read a fraction of what's on a Grade 1 page.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Sounds sh as s-h, or drops a letter out of a blend — reading "sop" for "stop" and "pit" for "split".
⏱️ Two-minute check
Write: ship, chin, that, stop, flag, split. "Read these."
Solid looks like: Five of six, with the digraph read as one sound.
10 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Two Letters, One Sound
⏱️ 10 minutesPaperPencilA highlighter
1Write six words and have them highlight the digraph before reading — spotting comes before sounding.
2Say the rule out loud: "S and h are holding hands. Together they say shhh."
3For blends, tap each sound on a finger: s-t-o-p is four taps, not three.
4Read a short book and hunt for that week's pattern — tally the finds.
5Write two of the words from dictation to close the loop back to spelling.
If it's too hard
One digraph a week, always in the same position — sh at the start only.
If it's too easy
Digraph plus blend in one word: shrink, splash, strength.
Say this
"Those two letters are holding hands — they make one sound together. Try again."
Phonics printables
📖 Reading
Reading smoothly, not word by word
Can do: Reads a familiar Grade 1 text at around 50–60 words a minute, in phrases, with expression.
Why it matters
Comprehension runs on leftover capacity. A child spending everything on decoding has nothing left to understand with — which looks exactly like a comprehension problem.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Robot reading, one word at a time; ignores full stops; can decode every word but cannot say what the page was about.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Pick a book they've read before. Time one minute and count the words read correctly.
Solid looks like: Around 50 or more by mid-year, 60 by June, with pauses at the punctuation.
10 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Read It Three Times
⏱️ 10 minutesA short passage or one page of a familiar bookA timer
1First read: slow, working it out, you help with anything stuck for more than three seconds.
2Second read: same page, faster. Count the words and write the number down.
3Third read: with expression, as a character. Silly voices are legitimate technique.
4Compare the numbers. Improvement on the same page is the whole point — never compare to another child.
5Finish by reading it to somebody else: a sibling, a grandparent on the phone, the dog.
If it's too hard
You read a sentence, they read it straight back — echo reading carries the phrasing for them.
If it's too easy
Read a page with dialogue and give each character a different voice, which forces attention to the punctuation.
Say this
"Now read it like you're talking, not like you're working it out. Stop where the dot is."
Reading practice
📖 Reading
Retelling and finding the main idea
Can do: Retells a story with beginning, middle and end, and answers who / what / where / why questions about it.
Why it matters
The point of reading is meaning. Retelling in order is how a teacher checks that the words became a picture in the child's head.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Retells the first page in enormous detail and then says "and then it finished", or answers with something from their own life instead of the book.
⏱️ Two-minute check
After reading: "Tell me what happened, from the start." Then one why question.
Solid looks like: Three events in order, plus an answer to the why that comes from the text.
10 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Five Finger Retell
⏱️ 10 minutesAny story they've just read
1Hold up five fingers: who, where, problem, what happened, how it ended.
2They fold one finger down per part as they say it.
3For anything they miss, go back and find that page together rather than telling them.
4Ask one why question — "why did she hide the letter?" — and make them point at the evidence.
5Do it in the car later with no book. Retelling from memory is the harder, better version.
If it's too hard
Three fingers only: who, what happened, how it ended.
If it's too easy
Ask for the lesson or message of the story, which is a Grade 2 skill worth previewing.
Say this
"Show me the bit in the book that tells you that. If it's not in there, it's a guess."
Reading practice
📖 Reading
Growing vocabulary on purpose
Can do: Notices unfamiliar words, asks what they mean, and uses new words in their own talk.
Why it matters
Vocabulary at six predicts reading comprehension at eleven better than almost anything else, and it is built at home through talk far more than at school.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Reads straight past words they don't know without noticing, and vocabulary stays at the level of the words used at home.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Read a sentence with a word they won't know. "Any word in there you're not sure about?"
Solid looks like: They flag the word rather than gliding past it.
5 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Word Collector
⏱️ 5 minutesA jar or an envelopeSlips of paper
1Every time an interesting word turns up — in a book, on TV, from you — write it on a slip and post it in the jar.
2Give the meaning in child language on the spot, plus an example from their life.
3Once a week, pull out three and use each one in a silly sentence.
4Give a point every time anyone in the house uses a jar word in real conversation.
5Deliberately use grown-up words with them. Downgrading your vocabulary is the one thing to stop doing.
If it's too hard
One word a day, and just use it a lot rather than defining it formally.
If it's too easy
Collect word families: enormous, gigantic, massive — and rank them by size.
Say this
"That's a brilliant word. It means… — where else could you use it?"
Reading practice
✏️ Writing
Sentences that hold together
Can do: Writes complete sentences with a capital, a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark, and correct spacing.
Why it matters
Punctuation is not decoration — it's how the writer tells the reader where to breathe. It is also the first thing marked in every year that follows.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
One enormous run-on joined by "and then", or capitals dropped in randomly mid-word.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Write two sentences about your day — one that tells and one that asks."
Solid looks like: Both start with a capital and end with the right mark, with visible spaces.
10 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Punctuation Police
⏱️ 10 minutesPaperA red pencil
1You write three sentences with deliberate mistakes — no capital, no stop, no spaces.
2They put on the police hat and fix them with the red pencil.
3Now they write two of their own and check them with the same rules.
4Read their sentence aloud in one breath, ignoring the missing stop, so they hear why it's needed.
5Add a question sentence, since question marks are almost always the last to stick.
If it's too hard
Give them the sentence written correctly and have them copy it, then find the capital and the stop.
If it's too easy
Add an exclamation and a comma in a list: "I like apples, pears and cake."
Say this
"Read it out loud in one breath. Hear how you ran out of air? That's where the full stop goes."
Writing practice
✏️ Writing
Writing about one small moment
Can do: Writes three to five sentences about a single event, in order, with a beginning and an end.
Why it matters
Small and specific beats big and vague at every age. Learning to zoom in on one moment is the core move of all narrative writing.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
"I went to the park it was fun" — a whole day compressed to one flat line, or a list of everything that happened since breakfast.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Write about one thing that happened today — just one small bit of it."
Solid looks like: Three sentences, all about the same moment, in the order it happened.
15 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Zoom In
⏱️ 15 minutesPaperPencil
1They tell you about their day out loud. Pick the most interesting ten seconds of it.
2"That bit. Just that bit. Tell me it again, slowly."
3Sketch three boxes: first, next, last. They draw a quick picture in each.
4Write one or two sentences under each box.
5Read it back and ask for one detail you can see, hear or smell to be added somewhere.
If it's too hard
They dictate and you scribe, then they copy one sentence of it themselves.
If it's too easy
Add how they felt, and end with a sentence that isn't "it was fun".
Say this
"Don't tell me the whole day — tell me the best ten seconds of it."
Writing practice
✏️ Writing
Spelling by pattern, not by memory
Can do: Spells word families (-at, -ight, -ing) and common irregular words correctly.
Why it matters
Spelling word by word doesn't scale. Spelling by pattern means one lesson unlocks fifty words instead of one.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Passes the Friday test and misspells the same words in Monday's writing — memorised, not learned.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Dictate: night, light, bright. Then: said, come, they.
Solid looks like: The -ight family all correct together, and two of the three irregulars.
10 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Family Ladders
⏱️ 10 minutesPaperPencil
1Write the pattern at the top — -ight — and build a ladder of words under it.
2They change only the front letter each time: light, might, right, sight, tight.
3Say the pattern aloud each time so the ear learns it as well as the eye.
4For irregular words, use look–cover–write–check three times, then use each one in a sentence.
5Hunt the same pattern in tonight's reading book to prove it's real.
If it's too hard
Three words per family, all short.
If it's too easy
Two families in one session and sort a mixed pile of words into the right ladder.
Say this
"You already know night. Bright is the same ending — only the front changes."
Writing practice
🔢 Math
Tens and ones to 100
Can do: Knows 47 is four tens and seven ones, and can build any two-digit number with bundles.
Why it matters
Place value is the idea that makes all later arithmetic possible. Every regrouping, decimal and column method assumes it is solid.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Reads 47 as "four, seven", or can chant tens and ones without being able to build 47 from objects.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Show me 34 with these blocks." Then: "How many tens? How many ones?"
Solid looks like: Three groups of ten and four singles, built without counting to 34 one at a time.
10 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Bundle It
⏱️ 10 minutesStraws, pasta or lolly sticksElastic bands or bag ties
1Count out fifty objects and bundle them into physical groups of ten.
2Call a number: "Make me 36." They grab three bundles and six loose.
3Ask which is bigger, 36 or 63, and make them prove it with the bundles.
4Break a bundle open and talk about what happened to the number — that's regrouping, previewed.
5Write each number down next to the bundles so the digits and the objects sit side by side.
If it's too hard
Stay under 30 and use pre-made ten-sticks.
If it's too easy
Add ten to any number instantly, and subtract ten, by adding or removing a bundle.
Say this
"How many bundles of ten? How many loose ones? That's what the two digits are telling you."
Math practice
🔢 Math
Adding and subtracting within 20
Can do: Solves 8 + 7 and 15 − 6 by making ten or using known facts, not by counting one by one.
Why it matters
These are the facts every later calculation stands on. Fluency here is what stops a Grade 4 child from losing a long-division question to a slip in 13 − 7.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Fingers for everything, long pauses, and answers that are one out — the signature of counting rather than knowing.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Ask 9 + 6, 8 + 7, 14 − 8, 13 − 5 out loud. Watch the hands and the time.
Solid looks like: Three of four within about three seconds each, with a strategy they can describe.
10 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Make Ten First
⏱️ 10 minutesTwo ten-frames drawn on paperCounters, coins or pasta
1Build 8 + 7 on two ten-frames: eight in one, seven in the other.
2Move two across to fill the first frame. "Now it's 10 + 5. What's that?"
3Say the strategy every time: "I took two from the seven to make ten."
4Repeat with 9 + 4, 7 + 6, 8 + 5 — the ones where making ten pays.
5Play a fast round with cards: turn two, add them, first to say it wins.
If it's too hard
Practise the bonds to ten alone first — that's the machinery this strategy runs on.
If it's too easy
Subtraction by the same route: 15 − 8 becomes "take 5 to get to ten, then 3 more."
Say this
"Don't count them all. Take some across to make a ten first — ten plus anything is easy."
Math practice
🔢 Math
Word problems — deciding what to actually do
Can do: Reads a story problem and knows whether it's an addition or a subtraction, then solves it.
Why it matters
Almost every maths failure from Grade 3 onward is a word-problem failure. Children who can compute but can't choose the operation stall hard.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Grabs the two numbers in the problem and adds them, regardless of what was asked. Keyword tricks ("altogether means add") make this worse, not better.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"There were 12 birds. 5 flew away. How many now?" Then a harder shape: "I have 6. How many more do I need to have 14?"
Solid looks like: Both correct — especially the second, which is a subtraction hiding inside an addition sentence.
10 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Draw the Story
⏱️ 10 minutesPaperPencil
1Read the problem twice. First time for the story, second time for the numbers.
2"Draw what's happening." Stick figures, boxes, dots — anything.
3Ask the only two questions that matter: "Are we getting more, or fewer?" and "What are we trying to find?"
4Write the number sentence, then solve it.
5Answer in a full sentence: "There are 7 birds left." The sentence forces a sanity check.
If it's too hard
Act it out with real objects before drawing anything.
If it's too easy
Two-step problems, or ones with a number in them that isn't needed.
Say this
"Draw the story first. Is the answer going to be bigger or smaller than what we started with?"
Math practice
🔢 Math
Telling time to the hour and half hour
Can do: Reads an analogue clock to the hour and half hour, and links it to what actually happens then.
Why it matters
Analogue clocks teach fractions of a circle and counting by fives before either is taught formally — and digital-only children lose that for free.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Reads the minute hand as the hour hand, or says "6:30" as "half past six" without knowing they're the same.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Set a clock to 3:00 and then 7:30. "What time is it?"
Solid looks like: Both, and they can say it both ways: seven thirty, half past seven.
10 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
The Day in Clocks
⏱️ 10 minutesA paper plate clock or a real analogue clockPaper
1Make a clock face together — writing the twelve numbers in the right places is half the lesson.
2Set it to the times of their real day: school, lunch, football, bed.
3Talk about the hands: short one is slow and shows the hour, long one is fast and shows the minutes.
4Play "set the clock": you say a time, they set it. Then swap.
5Put an analogue clock somewhere they'll see it every day and ask the time at random.
If it's too hard
Hours only, and hide the minute hand with tape.
If it's too easy
Quarter past and quarter to, and how many minutes until dinner.
Say this
"The short hand is lazy — it tells the hour. The long hand runs fast — it counts minutes."
Math practice
🔢 Math
Counting coins
Can do: Names coins, knows their values, and counts a mixed handful by starting with the biggest.
Why it matters
Coins are skip counting with a purpose, and they're the only place most children meet fives and tens as real quantities.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Counts each coin as one, or assumes the physically bigger coin is worth more.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Hand them two dimes, one nickel and three pennies. "How much is this?"
Solid looks like: 28 cents, counting from the biggest coin down.
15 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Shop at Home
⏱️ 15 minutesReal coinsSticky notes for pricesHousehold items
1Price five items with sticky notes, all under 50 cents.
2Give them a handful of mixed coins and let them buy things.
3Insist on the rule out loud: "Start with the biggest coin and count on."
4Swap roles so they have to give change — much harder and much more useful.
5Try one item two ways: "Can you pay for this with different coins?"
If it's too hard
One coin type at a time — all pennies, then all nickels.
If it's too easy
Give change from a dollar, and find two different coin combinations for the same price.
Say this
"Biggest coin first. Twenty-five… now count on from there."
Grade 1 money lessons
🔢 Math
Measuring, and reading a simple graph
Can do: Measures length with a ruler starting at zero, and reads and makes a picture graph or bar chart.
Why it matters
Measuring is where number meets the physical world, and a graph is the first time a child sees data answering a question.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Starts measuring at the end of the ruler rather than the zero, and reads a bar chart by counting bars instead of reading the scale.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Measure this pencil." Then show any simple bar chart: "Which has the most? How many more than that one?"
Solid looks like: A measurement starting at zero, and a correct comparison including the difference.
15 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Measure and Chart
⏱️ 15 minutesA rulerPaperThings to measure or count
1Measure five things and write the results in a list.
2Line the results up in order, shortest to longest.
3Now count something instead — cars by colour out of the window, socks by colour.
4Draw a bar for each category on squared paper, one square per item.
5Ask three questions off the chart: most, least, and how many more.
If it's too hard
Measure in whole blocks or paperclips before using a ruler.
If it's too easy
Ask a question about the total, or about two categories combined.
Say this
"Line the zero up with the very end — not the edge of the ruler, the zero."
Math practice
🔢 Math
Equal shares — halves and quarters
Can do: Splits a shape or a set into two or four equal parts and names them halves and fourths.
Why it matters
It is the foundation of fractions, and the word that matters is *equal*. Children who miss that word spend Grade 3 confused about why 1/2 isn't just "one piece".
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Cuts a sandwich into two very unequal pieces and calls both halves.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Draw a rectangle. "Split it into four equal parts. What's each one called?"
Solid looks like: Four genuinely equal parts, and the word quarter or fourth.
10 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Fair Shares at Snack Time
⏱️ 10 minutesSandwich, pizza, apple, or a strip of paper
1Ask them to share it fairly between two people, then between four.
2Every time, ask the same question: "Is that fair? How do you know?"
3Fold a paper strip in half, then half again, and open it up to count the parts.
4Show a deliberately unequal cut and ask whether it's a half. Insist on the word equal.
5Split a set as well as a shape: eight grapes between four people.
If it's too hard
Halves only, with things that fold or snap in the middle.
If it's too easy
Split into thirds, which is genuinely hard, and compare a half to a quarter to see which is bigger.
Say this
"Halves have to be equal. If one piece is bigger, they're just pieces — not halves."
Math practice
🔬 Science
Light and sound
Can do: Knows that sound comes from vibration and that we see things because light bounces off them.
Why it matters
These are the first two invisible causes a child can actually test at home, and they build the habit of explaining rather than just describing.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Thinks we see because our eyes send something out, and that sound is just "noise" with no cause.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Why can't you see anything in a completely dark room?" and "What's actually moving when a drum makes a sound?"
Solid looks like: Some version of "there's no light to bounce" and "the drum skin is shaking".
15 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Feel the Sound, Bounce the Light
⏱️ 15 minutesA bowl with cling film and some rice or saltA torchA mirror
1Stretch cling film over a bowl and sprinkle rice on top. Bang a pan next to it — the rice jumps.
2Let them put fingers on their throat and hum. That's the same vibration.
3In a dark room, shine a torch at a mirror and bounce the beam onto the ceiling.
4Ask them to predict where the beam will land before you move the mirror.
5Make shadows and test what changes the size — that's a whole extra lesson for free.
If it's too hard
Just the rice and the humming. Feeling the vibration is the core idea.
If it's too easy
Test which materials block light completely, partly, or not at all, and sort them.
Say this
"Put your fingers on your throat and hum. Feel that? Sound is something shaking."
Science activities
🔬 Science
How plants and animals survive
Can do: Explains how an animal's body parts help it survive, and that young animals resemble their parents.
Why it matters
It's the first version of structure-and-function — the idea that a body part exists *because* of what it does — which runs all the way to A-level biology.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Describes what an animal looks like without ever linking a feature to a purpose.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Why does a duck have webbed feet? Why does a cactus have spikes instead of leaves?"
Solid looks like: A purpose for each, even a rough one — swimming, protection, saving water.
15 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Design an Animal
⏱️ 15 minutesPaperCrayons
1Pick a hard place to live: the desert, the deep sea, the Arctic.
2List what's difficult about it: no water, no light, no warmth.
3They design an animal for it and label each body part with its job.
4Compare with a real animal that lives there and see what nature did instead.
5Look at a young animal and its parent in photos, and list what's the same.
If it's too hard
Look at a real pet or a bird outside and name three body parts and their jobs.
If it's too easy
Explain why the same animal would die somewhere else, feature by feature.
Say this
"What is that part *for*? Everything on an animal has a job."
Science practice
🌍 Social Studies
Maps, globes and where we are
Can do: Finds their country on a globe, knows a map key exists, and uses the four directions.
Why it matters
Spatial understanding of the world is scaffolding for every history and geography lesson that follows, and it's mostly built through repeated exposure at home.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
No sense of the nesting — town inside state inside country inside continent — and no idea what a map key is for.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"What's bigger: our town, our country, or our continent? Put them in order."
Solid looks like: Correct nesting order, and they can point to their country on a globe.
15 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Zoom Out From Your Front Door
⏱️ 15 minutesA map, globe or a phone map appPaper
1Draw five boxes, one inside the next: house, street, town, country, continent.
2Fill each in together, checking on the map as you go.
3On a real map, find where a relative or a favourite football team lives.
4Look at the key and work out what three symbols mean.
5Give directions using north, south, east and west inside the house.
If it's too hard
Three boxes only: house, town, country.
If it's too easy
Add the ocean nearest to you and two neighbouring countries.
Say this
"Our house is in our town, our town is in our country. What's the country in?"
Social studies
🌍 Social Studies
Then and now
Can do: Describes how life was different in the past and puts events on a simple timeline.
Why it matters
Chronology is the hardest part of history for young children — "a long time ago" means everything from last Tuesday to the dinosaurs.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Puts dinosaurs, grandparents and knights in the same undifferentiated "olden days".
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Which came first — dinosaurs, castles, or when Grandma was little?"
Solid looks like: The right order, with any reasoning at all.
20 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Interview a Grandparent
⏱️ 20 minutesA phonePaper for a timeline
1Write three questions together: what did you play with, how did you get to school, was there a TV?
2Call and ask. Let the child do the talking.
3Draw a line on paper and mark: Grandma little, Mum little, you born, now.
4Talk about one thing that got better and one thing that got worse.
5Add a much older event — castles, dinosaurs — miles further along the line to show the scale.
If it's too hard
Compare then and now for one single thing: telephones, or school.
If it's too easy
Add dates to the timeline and work out how many years ago each was.
Say this
"Was that before or after Grandma was little? Let's put it on the line."
Social studies practice
🧭 Study & Life Skills
Listening and following three-step directions
Can do: Holds three instructions in their head and carries them out in order.
Why it matters
By Grade 1 this is how classroom work is delivered. A child who loses step two spends the lesson watching what everyone else does.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Starts the first step and stops, or asks "what was I doing?" halfway through.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Put your book on the shelf, get your shoes, and wait by the door." Once, then wait.
Solid looks like: All three, right order, one telling.
5 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Three-Step Missions
⏱️ 5 minutesNothing
1Get eye contact first. Instructions given to a back don't land.
2Give three steps in one go, with no repetition.
3Have them repeat it back before moving. Saying it aloud is what stores it.
4Build to four steps once three is reliable and dull.
5Use it for real jobs — setting the table, packing a bag — not invented ones.
If it's too hard
Two steps, and let them repeat it twice.
If it's too easy
Add a condition: "If the towel is wet, hang it up; if it's dry, fold it."
Say this
"Say it back to me first. Now go — I'm not repeating it."
Real-world challenges
🧭 Study & Life Skills
Trying when it's hard, and being wrong safely
Can do: Attempts something difficult, gets it wrong, and carries on without collapsing.
Why it matters
Grade 1 is often the first time a child meets work they can't do instantly. How that feels sets their relationship with difficulty for years.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Rubs out constantly, refuses to start anything they might get wrong, or says "I'm just bad at maths" at six years old.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Give them something a bit too hard and watch the first thirty seconds.
Solid looks like: They try something. Frustration is fine; refusal to attempt is the flag.
5 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
The Mistake Jar
⏱️ 5 minutesA jarPaper slips
1Every family member writes down one mistake they made today and posts it in the jar.
2Read a few at dinner. Adults go first, and adult mistakes must be real ones.
3For each, say what it taught you. That sentence is the whole exercise.
4When they're stuck on homework, say "not yet" instead of "wrong".
5Praise the strategy they used, never how clever they are.
If it's too hard
Just model it yourself out loud for a week before asking them to join in.
If it's too easy
Let them deliberately pick the harder option in a game or a worksheet and talk about how it felt.
Say this
"You can't do it *yet*. That's what practice is for — and mistakes are how the brain grows."
Real-world challenges

When to ask for help instead of practising harder

Home practice fixes most gaps. These are the ones where a conversation with the teacher — or an assessment — is worth more than another month of trying. Raising them early is not an overreaction; waiting a year rarely helps.

Cannot blend sounds into simple words by the middle of Grade 1.
Reading is still word-by-word with no expression by June, or under about 30 words a minute.
Still counts every addition from one and cannot make ten by the end of the year.
Writes nothing without an adult sitting next to them, or refuses to write at all.
Persistent letter and number reversals combined with real reading difficulty — worth mentioning to the teacher, together.

By the end of 1st Grade

Tick these off through the year. Anything still open in the spring is exactly what the summer is for.

Reads simple books with digraphs and blends smoothly, around 60 words a minute.
Retells a story with beginning, middle and end and answers a why question from the text.
Writes several sentences on one topic with capitals, spaces and full stops.
Knows every addition and subtraction fact within 20 without counting on fingers.
Reads and builds any two-digit number as tens and ones.
Solves one-step word problems and chooses the operation correctly.
Tells time to the half hour and counts a mixed handful of coins.
Splits shapes and sets into equal halves and quarters.
Follows a three-step instruction on the first telling.

Want the written practice as well?

Everything on this page is free and needs nothing printed. If you also want worksheets to work through, the 1st Grade packs cover the same topics on paper.

1st Grade Packs

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Frequently Asked Questions

What topics does a 1st Grade child cover?

20 across 6 strands: Reading (4), Writing (3), Math (7), Science (2), Social Studies (2), Study & Life Skills (2). Every topic on this page names the skill, why it matters, what struggling with it looks like, a two-minute check, and one activity you can run at home tonight.

How much home practice does a 1st Grade child actually need?

About 20 minutes a day at ages 6–7 — and it works better split into two short goes than done as one long session. Twenty minutes total, and reading aloud to you is the highest-value ten of it. If a page takes more than a minute, the book is too hard — that's information, not failure.

How do I know which 1st Grade topic to work on?

Run the two-minute check on each topic rather than guessing. It tells you what a solid answer looks like, so you can tell in a couple of minutes whether a topic needs work or is already done. Start with whichever check fails, not with the first topic on the page.

Can I download or print the 1st Grade take-homes?

Yes — there is a free PDF on this page. Download the full 1st Grade pack (all 20 topics with their checks, activities and tick boxes), the one-page two-minute check sheet, or a single subject on its own. No signup, and the activities themselves still only need things a normal home already has.

When should I be worried rather than just practising?

There is a "when to ask for help" section on this page listing the specific signs that mean a conversation with the teacher is worth more than more home practice. Those are the ones to act on early — waiting a year rarely helps.

1st Grade Take-Home Practice

🗓️ A week that doesn't become a second school

Take it off the screen

Every 1st Grade topic, and what to do about it

Digraphs and blends — sh, ch, th, and str

Two Letters, One Sound

Reading smoothly, not word by word

Read It Three Times

Retelling and finding the main idea

Five Finger Retell

Growing vocabulary on purpose

Word Collector

Sentences that hold together

Punctuation Police

Writing about one small moment

Zoom In

Spelling by pattern, not by memory

Family Ladders

Tens and ones to 100

Bundle It

Adding and subtracting within 20

Make Ten First

Word problems — deciding what to actually do

Draw the Story

Telling time to the hour and half hour

The Day in Clocks

Counting coins

Shop at Home

Measuring, and reading a simple graph

Measure and Chart

Equal shares — halves and quarters

Fair Shares at Snack Time

Light and sound

Feel the Sound, Bounce the Light

How plants and animals survive

Design an Animal

Maps, globes and where we are

Zoom Out From Your Front Door

Then and now

Interview a Grandparent

Listening and following three-step directions

Three-Step Missions

Trying when it's hard, and being wrong safely

The Mistake Jar

🚩 When to ask for help instead of practising harder

✅ By the end of 1st Grade

Want the written practice as well?

Frequently Asked Questions

What topics does a 1st Grade child cover?

How much home practice does a 1st Grade child actually need?

How do I know which 1st Grade topic to work on?

Can I download or print the 1st Grade take-homes?

When should I be worried rather than just practising?

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A week that doesn't become a second school

When to ask for help instead of practising harder

By the end of 1st Grade