1st grade math help: addition to 20, tens and ones, and telling time
Get tutoring help for your child →First grade is the year many children move from counting objects one at a time to thinking about numbers in groups. By June, a first grader is usually expected to add and subtract within 20 with some ease and to understand that the 3 in 35 stands for three tens. If homework suddenly feels harder this year, that shift is often the reason.
The first grade math picture
Most states build first grade around standards drawn from or close to the Common Core. The core topics are:
- Addition and subtraction within 20, including word problems and the idea that subtraction can be solved as a missing addend (9 minus 4 is the number you add to 4 to make 9).
- Fluency within 10, meaning those facts come quickly and reliably.
- Place value with tens and ones, comparing two-digit numbers and adding a two-digit number to a one-digit number or a multiple of ten.
- Measuring length by lining up same-size units, like paper clips, end to end with no gaps.
- Telling time to the hour and half hour on analog and digital clocks.
- Simple data and shapes, such as sorting objects and splitting circles and rectangles into halves and fourths.
Why some first graders stall
A child who still counts every fact from one, even 2 plus 1, will tire quickly as problems grow. Others memorize that "ten comes before the ones" without grasping that 46 is forty plus six, so they write 406 or mix up 46 and 64. The equal sign trips up many students: they read it as "the answer goes here" and are puzzled by 7 = 3 + 4. On clocks, the half hour is confusing because the hour hand sits between two numbers.
What struggling can look like in first grade
- Finger counting on every single fact, with no shortcuts such as counting on from the larger number.
- Reversed two-digit numbers that persist after the teacher has addressed them.
- Word problems answered by grabbing the two numbers and adding, whatever the story says.
- Strong tears or refusal when math homework comes out.
Good questions for a tutor
- Which strategies will you teach for facts, such as making ten or using doubles?
- How will you use base-ten blocks or drawings for place value?
- How do you handle a child who is anxious about getting answers wrong?
- How will you share progress with me and with the classroom teacher?
For an overview of how support changes from grade to grade, see math tutoring by grade.
Simple habits that help at home
- Make ten: use an egg carton with two spots cut off, or ten pennies, to show which pairs fill it up.
- Bundle straws or craft sticks into groups of ten with a rubber band so tens become something you can hold.
- Measure with toys: how many blocks long is the couch cushion? Did we leave gaps?
- Read the kitchen clock at breakfast and bedtime and talk about where both hands point.
- Turn-around facts: if your child knows 6 + 3, ask what 3 + 6 must be, and why.
Short, frequent practice beats long sessions. Five minutes a day of playful number talk does more than an hour on Sunday.
Tell us your child’s grade, ZIP code and the subject that feels hardest. Wherever you live in the U.S., we’ll search for a tutoring provider near you. Families near Bay Ridge, Brooklyn can connect with Huntington Learning Center.
Start the questionnaireRelated guides
- Kindergarten math help: counting, shapes and early number sense
- 2nd grade math help: place value to 1,000, regrouping and money
- Math tutoring: what to ask at each school stage
- All parent guides