1st Grade Homework {Single Page and Standards Based}

For several years, I would wait until Monday to frantically find homework to send home. I tried having no homework for a year, and many parents frequently asked me for something to work on at home. After years of frustration, I finally came up with a plan that worked for us! After using this program several years in my classroom, I decided to make it available to others teachers!

So What Is It?

Each week, I sent home ONE sheet with engaging activities for families to complete together covering all of our major subjects. Students simply complete the activities and use a notebook to record their thinking. Some tasks need students to put something in their notebook (like a story problem) while others are simple discussions or activities. Students complete as many as they can with their families and show their teacher on Friday.

Why Homework?

Research shows that homework isn't effective when tied to punishment and that many students don't have support at home. However, for students that DO have support, it can be incredibly helpful to have families discuss their learning and work with them for a few minutes each night. For students that don't have parent support, homework allows them the opportunity to practice responsibility in a relatively risk-free environment. This homework is NOT designed to be taken as a grade or used as a way to give a consequence. Like everything in my classroom, it is designed to engage students in their learning, build relationships between families and schools, and increase student’s problem solving skills and confidence.

How Is It Set Up?

This homework is set up into 50 weeks for 4 day’s worth of activities. The homework progresses in difficulty and follows a typical 1st grade pacing guide. You'll also find many of the activities are review from previous weeks. Each week follows the following schedule:

Monday-Reading/Comprehension, Story Problem, Phonics/Grammar, Science/Social Studies

Tuesday-Reading/Comprehension, Math, Phonics/Grammar, Science/Social Studies

Wednesday-Reading/Comprehension, Story Problem, Phonics/Grammar, Science/Social Studies

Thursday-Reading/Comprehension, Math, Writing

You’ll send a notebook home with students at the beginning of the year and teach students how to date their page and find the next available page. Ideally parents will be working with students and can support them as they practice this important organizational skill. I’ve also included an editable parent letter with a photo example and explanation.

Everyday students will read for several minutes and discuss the book with the family (or write about it in their notebook). I chose to include 2 days of story problems and 2 days of other math skills. For phonics and grammar, students will work to read, write, sort, and use many different types of words. Science and social studies activities are often tied to real-world examples and include discussions with families. Students write about character traits, their learning, personal goals, science and social studies topic, and more. Each week has a different writing focus to keep students engaged.

What Activities Are Included?

I created this homework while teaching first grade. As a teacher in Texas, everything I taught was based on our state standards (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills). However as I prepared it for other classrooms, I used the Common Core to help me tweak and add tasks for students to complete. You will find simple tasks that only take a few minutes, and that are easy for students and parents to understand. Some tasks are more challenging than others to build students stamina and problem-solving skills.

What If We Are On A Different Schedule?

This homework is NOT dated so that you can choose when to use each week of homework. Before each set of homework (5 weeks), you’ll find the topics included. Simply choose the weeks that are most applicable to what is happening in your classroom! Homework should always be review and not teaching new content. This homework is ideal because it spirals and includes review activities all year long. If you need to include something specific or have a school holiday, I’ve included an editable page for you to type in your own activities.

What’s Covered?

The following topics are covered during at least one week of homework. Most skills are included over and over again, particularly those that are most important in the first grade curriculum. The topics are NOT listed in order so that you can easily see what's included.

Reading

General

• reading simple sentences

• our favorite books

• fiction v nonfiction

• asking questions

• author’s purpose

• visualizing

• making connections

Fiction

• beginning, middle, end

• describing characters

• problem and solution

• setting

• character feelings

• making predictions

Nonfiction

• text features

• my schema

• new learning

• interesting facts

• facts and details

Phonics

• lowercase letters

• upper case letters

• alphabet

• vowels/consonants

• cvc words

• syllables

• changing phonemes

• rhyming words

• word families

• short vowels

• digraphs

• blends

• short/long vowels

• silent e

• solving tricky words

• bossy r

• vowel teams

• r-controlled vowels

• diphthongs

Grammar

• sorting into categories

• alphabetical order

• nouns

• singular nouns

• plural nouns

• verbs

• present tense verbs

• past tense verbs

• word meaning

• capitalization

• compound words

• time words

• adjectives

• contractions

• prepositions

Math

Number Sense

• drawing objects

• oral counting

• writing numbers

• counting backwards and forward

• 1 more/1 less

• 10 more/10 less

• skip counting by 10s, 2s, and 5s

• tens and ones

• place value

• number lines

• tally marks

Comparing And Ordering Numbers

• greater than/less than

• comparing with <, >, =

• ordering numbers

Geometry

• 2d shapes

• 3d shapes

• 2d/3d sorting

• dividing shapes into halves and fourths

• operations

Adding/Subtracting Within 20

• combinations of numbers

• adding 1 digit to multiples of 10

• missing addends

Measurement/Time/Money

• nonstandard measurement

• telling time

• coin rubbings

• coin value

• saving money

Data/Graphs

• creating graphs

Story Problems

• combining within 20

• separating within 20

• comparing within 20

• missing parts within 20

• combinations of numbers

• combining single digits with multiples of 10

• combining any number with 10

• skip counting to solve

• combining 3 numbers

Science

Science Process Skills

• scientists

• science safety

• science tools

• asking questions

• 5 senses

• comparing/sorting matter

• properties of matter

Physical Science

• heating, cooling, and melting

• light, heat, and sound energy

• magnets

• movement

• pushing and pulling

Earth Science

• seasons

• the sky

• weather

• bodies of water

• rocks

• soil

• landforms

• natural resources

Life Science

• living and nonliving

• plant parts

• plant uses

• food chains

• lifecycles

• human adaptations

• pets/caregivers

• animal adaptations

Social Studies

• calendar skills

• good citizens

• community laws

• authority figures

• jobs

• mayors and governors

• my city, my state

• voting

• drawing maps

• cardinal directions

• timelines

• American symbols

• historical figures

• inventions

• past and present

• technology

• holidays

• traditions

• goods and services

• needs and wants

Thank you so much for reading about this product! For a more detailed look, download the preview! I've included the parent letter, each week's topics, as well as an example.