Grade 1 Math

First grade is a year of exploration in mathematics. Teachers take advantage of the natural love of learning most first-graders have to boost students' ability to conceptualize and calculate groups of numbers. This year your grandchildren should really begin to connect the ideas of numbers with the written numerals that represent them. First-graders should be able to count and write the numbers from 1 to 100 as well as be able to count by 5s and 10s to 100. They should be able to compare amounts, determining which is greater or lesser. Children will also use blocks and other "manipulatives" to construct models of simple addition and subtraction "sentences" (otherwise known as equations). At the same time, they will learn to write simple addition and subtraction sentences to represent the models they construct. And they will learn basic addition facts, with sums to at least 12, and basic subtraction facts (subtracting from 12 or more). Among other important and practical concepts during this building-block year are learning to tell time, at least to the hour and half hour, identifying and extending patterns, and identifying similarities and differences among basic geometric shapes. Above all, first-graders should come to appreciate the wonder of math.

Constructing Math Skills. Your grandchildren's math textbooks may look quite different than those that you or your children used. Part of the reason is the influence of educators favoring a "constructivist" approach to learning mathematics, in which children construct their own meaning of mathematics through various activities, focusing on the process as much as the result. In some schools following this approach, students as young as first-graders are encouraged to use calculators to complete their calculations, rather than memorizing fundamental addition or subtraction facts. But even at the earliest grade levels, the need to master basic facts is essential to success in mathematics. Children who don't need to think about what 5 + 6 equals will move through their lessons far faster than those who do. Some teachers who are uncomfortable with the constructivist approach add addition and subtraction "drilling" exercises to their lesson plans to help kids master basic computation facts. You can do the same when you're with your grandchildren.

• David Schwartz and Steven Kellogg's How Much Is a Million? (HarperTrophy, 2004) helps little kids understand big numbers, making immense amounts immensely less scary.

• The rhyming puzzles and computer-generated images in Greg Tang's Math for All Seasons (Scholastic, 2005) make it fun for grandchildren to practice working with patterns, grouping, and symmetry.

• Grandchildren will boost memory and shape-recognition skills while trying to beat you in this online game of Concentration.

What’s My Number? Write the numbers 1 to 20 on a piece of paper. Then tell your grandchild that you're thinking of a secret number. When they guess, tell them if they are too high or too low. The goal is to discover the number in as few tries as possible. As you play, your grandchild can use beans or other markers to cover the numbers that have been ruled out.

Double Digit. Here's a game to reinforce first-graders' understanding of greater and lesser values: Prepare two game cards, one for you and one for your grandchild, each with two columns, one for "Tens" and the other for "Ones," with empty boxes to fill in under each heading. Take turns rolling a die. After each roll, each player must write the number from the roll in either the tens or the ones column. The player that creates the highest number in each round gets a point and the first to five points wins the game.

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