1st Grade Math: What to Practice at Home, With Examples

For 1st grade math practice, start with adding and subtracting small quantities, understanding tens and ones, and explaining an answer with a picture. A child who can say why 8 + 5 is 13 gives you more useful information than a page of answers alone.

This guide is for parents supporting an elementary school child in the United States. It uses the Common Core Grade 1 overview as a reference: addition and subtraction within 20, place value, length measurement, and shapes. Your state, district, or teacher may organize learning differently. These are practice suggestions, not a complete curriculum or an end-of-year assessment.

Start with one question, then choose the practice

Ask your child to solve 8 + 5 using a drawing or objects. If counting every object works, let that be the starting point. If they can make a ten, ask them to explain it. Then try 13 − 5. The aim is to find a useful next activity, not assign a score.

Keep the first session to three problems. If reading the question gets in the way, read it aloud without giving away the operation. Notice whether the difficulty is understanding the story, counting accurately, or recording the equation.

Addition: make ten, then add what is left

Draw two rows of five boxes to make a ten-frame. Fill eight boxes, then draw five more counters beside it. Move two into the empty boxes. Three remain outside, so 8 + 5 = 10 + 3 = 13. Write both equations and point to the same thirteen counters.

Try 9 + 4 and 7 + 5 next. The answers are thirteen and twelve. Ask how many counters complete the ten in each case. If moving the counters is confusing, return to counting the whole collection before trying the shortcut again.

Our number bonds to 10 guide offers a printable for exploring the pairs that make ten. For a quick digital round, try the addition activity in our free math games.

Subtraction: connect the missing part to addition

Draw twelve circles. Cross out five and count the seven remaining. Write 12 − 5 = 7. Then point to the crossed-out and remaining circles together: 5 + 7 = 12. Ask, “What part is missing if five and something make twelve?”

Repeat with 14 − 6. The answer is eight, and 6 + 8 = 14 checks it. If your child subtracts the smaller digit from the larger digit in each column, use the entire collection of fourteen to show what is being removed. Our subtraction games include comparison and missing-part stories.

Place value: show why 24 is two tens and four ones

Sketch two bundles of ten marks and four separate marks. Count by tens, then ones: ten, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four. Write 24 = 20 + 4. Swap the digits and sketch 42. Which drawing has more tens?

Try 30 next. It has three tens and no extra ones. Zero holds the ones position; it does not make the whole number zero. If the digits keep getting reversed, revisit our tens and ones games before introducing larger calculations.

Measurement and shapes: use the room around you

Measure a book with identical paper squares laid edge to edge along its length. Avoid gaps and overlaps. Measure a second book with the same squares and compare the results. Using different-sized units would make the counts harder to compare.

For shapes, draw a triangle and a rectangle in different orientations. Ask what stays the same when you turn the paper. Count sides and corners rather than naming a shape only by how it looks upright. These activities are ways to start a conversation, not a checklist of every first-grade skill.

A short routine you can repeat

1. Let your child choose one familiar problem and explain it.
2. Try two related problems with drawings or objects available.
3. Check one answer using a different method.
4. Write down a specific next step, such as “practice making ten from seven.”

A review of concrete manipulatives informs the choice to connect objects and symbols; it does not establish that this routine improves test scores. If the same confusion keeps returning, share the actual problem and your child’s explanation with their teacher.

Tiger Math offers ad-free arithmetic practice for ages 6–12, with difficulty that adapts by topic and a parent report. Use it alongside explanations and classroom work. It is supplemental practice, not a full first-grade curriculum. Explore the Tiger Math app or read how adaptive math practice works.