
First Grade
First grade is the year a child learns to read, and everything else is arranged around that. One math book, one reading and one writing book, a science and a social studies page a couple of times a week, and a lot of books. This shelf holds all of it, including the first chapter books a six-year-old will finish on their own.
How to use it: about an hour, four days a week, with math first while they are fresh. The reading is the part that matters most this year, and the fastest way to wreck it is to make it the hardest part of the day. Read to them well past the point where they can read to you.
The whole year in one place: The Whole Year: 1st Grade. Or answer five questions and we will point you at the right shelf.
Shop our First Grade products below
Cece Loves Science: Push and Pull
- Physics & Energy
- Engineering & Technology
- Maker / Problem-Solving
Why it works: Cece Loves Science: Push and Pull gives the class a concrete design challenge: build a dog-treat dispenser that uses both opposing forces. Cece's team has to apply the force idea, create a device, and see whether it works, so the concept carries the leveled-reader story.
Go, Cub! (National Geographic Kids Readers, Pre-Reader)
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of the World
Skill Sharpeners: Geography Workbook (Grade 1)
Never Smile at a Monkey: And 17 Other Important Things to Remember
Over and Under the Canyon
- Life Science
- Environment & Ecology
- Lyrical / Visual Picture Book
Why it works: Over and Under the Canyon follows a family hike through a desert slot canyon, shifting attention between the trail and life tucked above, below, and around it. Bighorn sheep, roadrunners, geckos, cliffs, heat, and a wildflower bloom turn a shared walk into a layered habitat discovery.

