Welcome to Grade 1 Learn-At-Home!
This page is designed to help provide you with resources to teach your child at this level and to give you some confidence as you tackle this adventure. It focuses on the core subjects, but you can add in any extras that you would like to include. The resources listed are based on the various curriculum learning outcomes presented by the provinces and territories.
Remember that learning at home is a different experience than learning in a classroom. You do not (and should not) do seatwork and focused learning for the whole day. Keep your intentional learning times short and engaging. Learning happens outside of that official "school" time just fine. Provide an environment of learning and see what happens!
A typical school year is divided up into 180 days / 36 weeks. Simply make a plan for each week to pull together your homeschool year. Here is a simple schedule.
- EVERY DAY: Math, Language, Reading
- MWF: Science
- T/TH : Social Studies
- Add in art, music, French, health, and phys ed as desired.
For Math, pick a program that will work best for your child and use it a little each day.
For Language, the main sections of a language program are literature, writing, spelling, and grammar. Try to include something for each area over the course of a week.
For Reading, just read with your child. Pick some classic children’s literature and snuggle together to read aloud. Ask lots of questions as you work your way through the book and have them engage in conversation. Let them come up with theories of what’s going to happen next. A fun idea is to pick books that have been made into movies. Read the book, and then follow up with a movie. If your child is an avid reader on their own, make time to have them read to themselves and to you.
For Science, divide the year into unit topics. Most provinces have 4-5 units in the year. That means you have 7 to 9 weeks for each topic, three times a week. (21-27 lessons for each.) Watch related TV shows like Magic School Bus or Bill Nye, play online games, do experiments, and let your child be a natural scientist.
For Social Studies, divide the year into 3 units of about 12 weeks each, two times a week (24 lessons for each.) Some subjects may need more time and that's okay.
You can add in additional subjects as you would like, whether that be an intentional part of learning time or just as extra learning throughout the day.
- For Art, you can do free art time, follow the instructions of someone else (such as the YouTube channel ArtHubForKids), join an art club like KinderArt.com, or use a series of art lessons. You can even just look at various pieces of art and talk about what they see.
- For Music, quiet listening time to different kinds of music from different time periods and different cultures can be a lot of fun. Talk about the instruments they hear, the rhythm and beat, and the speed of the tempo. They can even move their bodies how they think the music makes them feel.
- For Phys.Ed & Health, make sure to get some intentional active time each day to keep moving. Talk about how to be safe in all kinds of scenarios and the importance of proper food.
The main thing? Have fun.
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MATH
Two options for online curriculum for Grade 1.
If you would prefer a workbook based math program, consider one of these cost-effective options.
- JUMP Math 1.1 and JUMP Math 1.2 - teacher guides are free on their website, but are optional
- Math Mammoth 1
- Complete MathSmart 1
Here are some fun ways to review and practice math skills.
SOCIAL STUDIES
In this unit, students explore the culture, traditions, and heritage of their family.
This unit explores the idea of a community - including what important places and people we find in a community, mapping skills, and understanding roles and responsibilities we play in our community.
Here are some Parent-Interactive resources. Although most of these are intended for a classroom setting, you can complete most of these lessons and activities at home.
- This is My Neighbourhood - this is a "walk through the community and then map it when we get home" lesson.
- The Local Community - this is a multiple unit, faith based, lesson plan that explores the idea of a community. It includes printable worksheets and resources.
Here are some Independent Learning Resources.
- Rules and Responsibilities Worksheets
- Canadian Citizenship Teaching Guide - a set of lesson plans to cover citizen responsibilities. Look at the ones under the "primary" headings.
- Complete this Wants Vs. Needs Learning Pack
LANGUAGE ARTS
Here are two websites that work on language lessons for Grade 1:
Prefer workbooks or worksheets? Here are some ideas:
- Basic Parent Book and Student Book (click on the Language Arts Grades 1-3 tab)
- EnglishSmart
- The Good and the Beautiful (Christian Resource)
- Chalkboard Publishing Grade 1 Language Bundle (ebooks)
Here are some ways to add language arts to your day without a curriculum.
- Read books and do a book report.
- Play Scrabble or Bananagrams Jr.
- Write a daily journal, blog post, or email to a grandparent or friend.
- Pick a "word of the day." Learn how to spell it, the definition, part of speech, etc.
- Write a story: Planner from NaNoWriMo | My Story Planner
THE ARTS
- Play a game from the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.
- Listen to Classical Music and discuss what you hear.
- Watch episodes of the Music Show on YouTube.
SCIENCE
Just want a general workbook?
(This unit is covered in all provinces and territories in Grade 1.)
In this unit, students explore "what makes something alive?" as well as what living things need to survive.
Here are some Parent-Interactive resources. Although most of these are intended for a classroom setting, you can complete most of these lessons and activities at home.
- Mr. Collinson's Grade 1 Science Lessons : includes 22 lessons (ran out of time and never finished the last few lessons or quiz), along with the worksheets that you can print out.
- Scholastic Canada: Needs and Characteristics of Living Things: This is a teacher guide to walk through a unit about this topic. There is a lot of "Extra" stuff here intended for teachers so just skip past all that to the activities (starts on page 10.) Look for the Activate, Connect, and Consolidate sections for the activities and resources. Includes books to read, website links, printable worksheets, and more. Keep in mind that this particular resource references Scholastic products, so if you don't have specific things, just skip that part and do the next activity (or adapt to what you can get instead).
Here are some Independent Learning Resources.
- Living and Non-Living Things video
- Living and Non-Living Things online games
- Living and Non-Living Worksheet pack
(This unit is covered in all provinces for Grade 1.)
In this unit, students explore "what is an object?" and "what is it made of?" It's a lesson in observation and description as well as understanding the beginning of characteristics of matter.
Here are some Parent-Interactive resources. Although most of these are intended for a classroom setting, you can complete most of these lessons and activities at home.
- Mr. Collinson's Grade 1 Science Lessons: includes a layout of what he did with his grade 1 class over a 25 lesson period, activities they did together, worksheets and sample quizzes.
- Exploring Materials and their Properties. This link has a few fun hands-on activities (like finding objects around the house that are made of specific materials and putting your hand in a bag to figure out an object.) She has a unit you can buy on Teachers Pay Teachers, if you want - but you don't need to. Use the freebie mini-book on this page to review materials.
- Build a Tower. Collect a variety of different objects and materials and get your children to make the tallest tower they can. Are they sturdy? Are some materials better to build with?
Here are some Independent Learning Resources.
- Objects and Materials. This teacher has some great examples of vocabulary to use during this unit. If you scroll down to the bottom of this page, find some ideas on how to challenge your child about materials and objects as well as some videos and online games to play for review.
(This unit is covered in all provinces and territories in Grade 1.)
In this unit, students explore "what makes something alive?" as well as what living things need to survive.
Here are some Parent-Interactive resources. Although most of these are intended for a classroom setting, you can complete most of these lessons and activities at home.
- Mr. Collinson's Grade 1 Science Lessons : includes 25 lessons, along with the worksheets that you can print out, that he completed with his class to study changes, day and night, the seasons, and how they affect plants, animals, and people.
- The Four Seasons: Lessons based on a video (which I cannot find) but includes activities and worksheets.
- Daily And Seasonal Changes: This is a teacher resource, so just skip to page 11 on and look for the Activate, Connect, and Consolidate sections for activities and lessons.
Here are some Independent Learning Resources.
- Four Seasons Song Video
- Four Seasons Flip Book - This printable has 2 levels, so pick which version works best for your child.
(This unit is covered in the provinces: AB, SK, MB, PEI, NL, and NT)
In this unit, students discover more about their bodies, how they work, and explore their senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.
Here are some Parent-Interactive resources. Although most of these are intended for a classroom setting, you can complete most of these lessons and activities at home.
- Five Senses Unit Study - activities and reading books for each sense. You can also download her free worksheets.
- Five Senses Unit Study - activities for each sense. Includes a free printable workbook.
Here are some Independent Learning Resources.
- Use some of the printable resources above.
- My Five Senses Printable Mini-book.
(This unit is a combination of units covered in BC, QC, AB, and the Territories)
In this unit, students explore light and shadows.
Here are some Parent-Interactive resources. Although most of these are intended for a classroom setting, you can complete most of these lessons and activities at home.
- Light and Shadows. This is a 10 lesson unit that gets kids to explore. There is a lot of teacher information at the beginning of the file. The activities start at page 11. Look under "Lesson Details" for the basics on how to do that activity and have a discussion with your student.
- MysteryScience - How is a Rainbow Made? and experiment
Here are some Independent Learning Resources, if you want your child to learn on their own.
(This unit is done in ON with a "Keeping warm" related one in the Territories.)
This unit explores the concept of energy, where it comes from, and how we use it in our lives.
Here are some Parent-Interactive resources. Although most of these are intended for a classroom setting, you can complete most of these lessons and activities at home.
- Mr. Collinson's Grade 1 Science Lessons : includes 27 lessons, along with the worksheets and quizzez that you can print out, which he used with his Grade 1 Science class.
Here are some Independent Learning Resources.
- Types of Energy Video
- Living Powerfully Workbook from Ontario Power Generation (It's at the bottom of the page, under Grade 1 Student workbook)
PHYSICAL EDUCATION & HEALTH
Use activities from GoNoodle to keep active.
