West Genesee Mathematics

A Parent’s Guide to
1st Grade
Mathematics

Compiled by Teachers at East Hill Elementary School

Dear Parents,
This guide is intended to better acquaint you with the NYS Common
Core Learning Standards for 1st Grade Mathematics. It has been
compiled from several different sources.
Included in this guide is an overview of the Common Core Learning
Standards for 1st grade, a glossary created by Michele Gipe, West
Genesee math coach, that contains many of the newer terms to which
students are being exposed, information from “A Parent’s Backpack Guide
to the Common Core” from EngageNY.org, a sampling of strategies that
students use in first grade for various concepts from a variety of sources,
information from “Parent Roadmap: Supporting Your Child in First Grade
Mathematics,” a list of math apps, and a list of websites for both parents
and students.
We will continue to update and revise these guides as we continue
along our journey in the implementation of the Common Core. If you have
any suggestions for things to include in this guide, please send an email to
[email protected]. I hope you find this guide helpful. Thank you!

Lisa Craig
East Hill Elementary Principal
Elementary Math Coordinator
Table of Contents

Overview of First Grade Mathematics ……………………..……….……………….…p. 2-3

Parent’s Backpack Guide to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics .. p. 4

Parent Roadmap: Supporting Your Child in Grade 1 Mathematics: Place Value . . . .p. 5

Cracking the Code………………………………………………………………. ...….…...p. 6

1st Grade Glossary created by Michele Gipe, West Genesee Math Coach …….....p.7-8

Stages of Addition……………………………………………...………….………….…….p. 9

Subtraction Stages…………………………………………...………….…………..…….p. 10

Websites for First Graders and Their Families...………………………………….……p. 11

Apps for 1st Graders ……………………………………………………………………...p. 12

Resources Used……….. .. ……………………………………...……………………….p. 12

The way we taught students in the past simply does not prepare them for the higher
demands of college and careers today and in the future. Your school and schools
throughout the country are working to improve teaching and learning to ensure that all
children will graduate high school with the skills they need to be successful.
In mathematics, this means three major changes. Teachers will concentrate on teaching
a more focused set of major math concepts and skills. This will allow students time to
master important ideas and skills in a more organized way throughout the year and from
one grade to the next. It will also call for teachers to use rich and challenging math
content and to engage students in solving real-world problems in order to inspire greater
interest in mathematics.
Taken from Parent Roadmap: Supporting Your Child in Grade One Mathematics

Page 1
An Overview of 1st Grade Math

In Grade 1, instructional time should focus on four critical areas: (1) developing
understanding of addition, subtraction, and strategies for addition and subtraction
within 20; (2) developing understanding of whole number relationships and place
value, including grouping in tens and ones; (3) developing understanding of linear
measurement and measuring lengths as iterating length units; and (4) reasoning about
attributes of, and composing and decomposing geometric shapes.

1. Students develop strategies for adding and subtracting whole numbers based on
their prior work with small numbers. They use a variety of models, including discrete
objects and length-based models (e.g., cubes connected to form lengths), to model
add-to, take-from, put-together, take-apart, and compare situations to develop meaning
for the operations of addition and subtraction, and to develop strategies to solve
arithmetic problems with these operations. Students understand connections between
counting and addition and subtraction (e.g., adding two is the same as counting on
two). They use properties of addition to add whole numbers and to create and use
increasingly sophisticated strategies based on these properties (e.g., “making tens”) to
solve addition and subtraction problems within 20. By comparing a variety of solution
strategies, children build their understanding of the relationship between addition and
subtraction.
2. Students develop, discuss, and use efficient, accurate, and generalizable methods
to add within 100 and subtract multiples of 10. They compare whole numbers (at least
to 100) to develop understanding of and solve problems involving their relative sizes.
They think of whole numbers between 10 and 100 in terms of tens and ones
(especially recognizing the numbers 11 to 19 as composed of a ten and some ones).
Through activities that build number sense, they understand the order of the counting
numbers and their relative magnitudes.
3. Students develop an understanding of the meaning and processes of measurement,
including underlying concepts such as iterating (the mental activity of building up the
length of an object with equal-sized units) and the transitivity principle for indirect
measurement.1
4. Students compose and decompose plane or solid figures (e.g., put two triangles
together to make a quadrilateral) and build understanding of part-whole relationships
as well as the properties of the original and composite shapes. As they combine
shapes, they recognize them from different perspectives and orientations, describe
their geometric attributes, and determine how they are alike and different, to develop
the background for measurement and for initial understandings of properties such as
congruence and symmetry.

Page 2
Big Ideas in Grade 1
Operations and Algebraic Thinking Measurement and Data
• Represent and solve problems involving • Measure lengths indirectly and by iterating
addition and subtraction. length units.
• Understand and apply properties of operations • Tell and write time and money.
and the relationship between addition and • Represent and interpret data.
subtraction. Geometry
• Add and subtract within 20. • Reason with shapes and their attributes.
• Work with addition and subtraction equations.
Number and Operations in Base Ten
• Extend the counting sequence.
• Understand place value.
• Use place value understanding and properties
of operations to add and subtract.

What is Changing in Mathematics Education

The information below was taken from the “Parent’s Backpack Guide to Common Core State Standards”
found on engageny.org.

Page 3
How 1st Grade “Fits” in the Progression
(taken from Parent Roadmap: Supporting Your Child in Grade One Mathematics)
In grade one, students will work with whole numbers and place value—including grouping numbers into tens and
ones as they learn to add and subtract up through 20. Students will also use charts, tables, and diagrams to solve
problems. Activities in these areas will include: quickly and accurately adding numbers together that total up to 10
or less and subtracting from numbers up through 10; understanding the rules of addition and subtraction (for
example, 5+2=2+5); solving word problems that involve adding or subtracting numbers up through 20;
understanding what the different digits mean in two-digit numbers (place value); comparing two-digit
numbers using the symbols > (more than), = (equal to) , and < (less than); understanding the meaning of the
equal sign (=) and determining if statements involving addition and subtraction are true or false (for example,
which of the following statements are true? 3+3=6, 4+1=5+2); adding one- and two-digit numbers together;
measuring the lengths of objects using a shorter object as a unit of length; putting objects in order from longest to
shortest or shortest to longest; organizing objects into categories and comparing the number of objects in different
categories, and dividing circles and rectangles into halves and quarters.

Page 4
 Partnering with your Child’s Teacher
(taken from Parent Roadmap)

Don’t be afraid to reach out to your child’s teacher—you are an important part of your child’s
education. Ask to see a sample of your child’s work or bring a sample with you. Ask the teacher
questions like:
• Is my child at the level where he/she should be at this point of the school year?
• Where is my child excelling? How can I support this success?
• What do you think is giving my child the most trouble? How can I help my child improve in this
area?
• What can I do to help my child with upcoming work?

Page 5
 Mathematical Practices
These eight practices are the goals of
all math education, K‐12
1. Make sense of problems and per‐
severe in solving them.
2. Reason abstractly and quantita‐
tively.
3. Construct viable arguments and
critique the reasoning of others.
4. Model with mathematics.
5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
6. Attend to precision.
7. Look for and make use of struc‐
ture.
8. Look for and express regularity in
repeated reasoning.

Page 6
Glossary for 1st Grade Math

Page 7
Glossary for 1st Grade Math, cont.

Page 8
Stages of Addition

Page 9
Subtraction Stages

Page 10
Websites for 1st Graders

www.xtramath.org

www.ictgames.com/

http://www.aplusmath.com/

http://www.aaamath.com/

http://www.coolmath4kids.com/

http://www.funbrain.com/

http://www.teachrkids.com/

http://www.mathplayground.com/wordproblems.html

http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/

Video Clips
Dr. Nicki's math videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlmJIUOYcB4

Page 11
Teacher Recommended Free Apps for Kids

First Grade Math Magic

10 Frame Fill
Concentration
Number Lines

Teacher Recommended Apps for Kids (less than $2.00)

iMath 10 Maker ($0.99)
Math Workout and Exercise ($0.99)
Skip Counting, HAVOC ($0.99)
Missing Numbers ($1.99)
Monkey Math ($1.99)
ArithmeticRek ($0.99)

Resources Used in this Publication

EngageNY, www.engageny.org

Math with Meaning: Foundations of Number Sense, Staff Development for Educators,
2011

Kansas Association of Teachers of Mathematics (KATM) Flip Books, www.katm.org

New York Post Schools Special, Crack the Core, March 30, 2014, CUNY

New York State Education Department, Common Core Learning Standards for Mathe-
matics, K-12

Parent Roadmap: Supporting Your Child in Grade One Mathematics, Council of the
Great City Schools, Washington, D.C.; http://www.cgcs.org

Why Before How: Singapore Math Computation Strategies, Jana Hazenkamp, 2011

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