Teach kindergarteners all about the numbers 0 to 10 with this guided lesson which focuses not only on recognizing numbers, but beginning to understand their value. Each exercise aims to illustrate the values behind each number in an engaging way, making early math a fun occasion. If you wish to extend the learning after the lesson is over, check out our accompanying numbers worksheets.

This year, first graders will be introduced to place value and our base 10 number system, usually by starting with 2-digit numbers (100 or less). This guided lesson helps introduce place value to first graders through instruction and examples targeted to this skill. If your child finishes the lesson and needs more practice with place value, download and print the accompanying worksheets suggested by our curriculum team.

Understanding how our ten number system works enables students to see interesting and useful patterns and relationships in these math activities. These patterns allow students to develop more efficient mental math strategies when multiplying by multiples of 10 or 100. Students will also review rounding and apply this skill to larger numbers - up to 100,000’s place.

Words are the wondrous building blocks in language. This unit increases students’ word knowledge by introducing more challenging vocabulary and exploring how words are related. Learners will also discover some of the ways words are constructed using derivational root words, prefixes, suffixes, and compound words. Students will get to explore and create fun literary devices such as similes, idioms and metaphors.

Words are like legos - they can have interchangeable parts. In this unit students will study the construction of words including roots, prefixes and suffixes. Students will also explore how to modify words to make them possessive, a different part of speech and adjust to signify singular and plural. Understanding the basic building blocks of words, will increase students’ vocabulary, improve their spelling and add strategies for decoding unfamiliar words.

Sentences are the building blocks of paragraphs. A sentence is a complete thought that can stand alone and in this unit students will learn what comprises a complete sentence and how to identify a fragment, or incomplete sentence. They will explore different kinds of sentences and how to punctuate them. And, to sharpen their craft, students will learn how to spice up their own writing by adding sentence pattern variety.

This lesson is a continuation of place value practice, and offers more instruction on identifying tens and ones in 2-digit numbers. Once first graders are able to quickly identify place value they are then able to understand on a deeper level what larger numbers actually mean. This is crucial for the math fluency that will support higher-level concepts in the later grades.

This guided lesson focuses on short U, as in jump, sun, and duck. Kids learn how to recognize and read this sound, then practice with short U words. Breaking up lessons based on vowel sounds helps kids chunk concepts together, easing retention and boosting phonics skills. Once you are through with the lesson, consider downloading some of the accompanying short U printables for extended learning.

Understanding how to pronounce the short I sound, such as in pill and film, is important for first graders encountering words they don't know. This guided lesson teaches kids all about the Short I sound, and provides lots of examples of short I words. Targeted practice like this helps to reinforce kids' understanding of short vowel sounds and boosts phonemic awareness, upon which lifelong reading skills are based.