California 1st Grade Math Topics
California 1st grade math covers a wide range of foundational skills that prepare students for more advanced math in later grades. Every topic below aligns to the California Common Core State Standards for mathematics.
Addition and Subtraction
First graders in California learn to add and subtract within 20 using word problems, properties of operations, and strategies like counting on and making ten. Students also work toward fluency with addition and subtraction within 10.
- Addition and subtraction word problems within 20
- Adding three whole numbers with a sum up to 20
- Understanding the equal sign and unknown addends
- Relating counting to addition and subtraction
Place Value and Number Sense
Students learn that two-digit numbers are made of tens and ones. They count to 120, compare two-digit numbers using >, =, and <, and practice adding within 100.
- Counting to 120 from any starting number
- Understanding tens and ones in two-digit numbers
- Comparing two-digit numbers with symbols
- Adding a two-digit number and a one-digit number
- Finding 10 more or 10 less mentally
- Subtracting multiples of 10
Measurement and Data
First graders measure length by lining up units and compare object lengths. They also tell time to the hour and half-hour and sort data into up to three categories.
- Ordering and comparing lengths of objects
- Expressing length in whole number units
- Telling time in hours and half-hours on analog and digital clocks
- Organizing and interpreting data with up to three categories
Geometry
Students identify shapes by their defining attributes, compose new shapes from simpler ones, and begin exploring fractions by partitioning circles and rectangles into halves and fourths.
- Defining versus non-defining attributes of shapes
- Composing 2D and 3D shapes into composite shapes
- Partitioning circles and rectangles into halves and fourths
California