UK Primary · Early Elementary
Grade 1 Resources for UK Primary
Grade 1 is the year of reading liftoff. Children consolidate phonics knowledge, begin reading independently, and write multi-sentence pieces. Math expands to addition and subtraction within 20, place value to 120, and the introduction of measurement. By the end of the year, most children should be reading short chapter books with confidence and writing structured paragraphs.
End-of-year reading benchmarks: Most districts expect Grade 1 students to read at DRA Level 16 or Fountas & Pinnell Level I by year-end. Math fact fluency to 10.
What Grade 1 children are learning
📚 English curriculum focus
- Foundational reading — know spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs; decode regularly spelled one-syllable words; read words with inflectional endings
- Reading literature — ask and answer questions about key details; retell stories including key details; describe characters, settings and major events
- Writing — write opinion pieces with a topic, opinion, supporting reason and closure; write narratives recounting two or more events
- Language — use frequently occurring nouns, verbs, adjectives, conjunctions, determiners, prepositions
- Phonemic awareness — distinguish long and short vowel sounds; orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds; segment spoken single-syllable words
🔢 Maths curriculum focus
- Operations and algebraic thinking — represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction within 20
- Number and operations in base ten — extend the counting sequence to 120; understand place value of two-digit numbers
- Measurement and data — measure lengths indirectly by iterating length units; tell and write time in hours and half-hours
- Geometry — distinguish between defining attributes (e.g., triangles are closed and three-sided) versus non-defining attributes (e.g., colour, orientation)
Phonics: End-of-year reading benchmarks: Most districts expect Grade 1 students to read at DRA Level 16 or Fountas & Pinnell Level I by year-end. Math fact fluency to 10.
Grade 1 model texts (WAGOLLs)
Year-group exemplar texts with colour-coded annotations for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and text-type features. Free to view, free to print.
The Lost Key
A short story about finding a mysterious key in the garden. Uses subordinating conjunctions, expanded noun phrases, and a range of sentence types incl…
InstructionsHow to Make a Bird Feeder
Instructions for making a simple bird feeder. Models bullet-pointed equipment list, numbered steps, imperative verbs, and time connectives. Meets Year…
LetterA Letter to Grandma
A short personal letter to a grandparent. Models the structure of a letter (address, greeting, body, sign-off), past tense, and a question. Meets Year…
Grade 1 resources by subject
Resources mapped to Grade 1 from across LessonKind. We use US-style grade levels internally; for UK Grade 1 we show the equivalent grade content.
English / Language Arts · 34 resources
See all 34 English / Language Arts resources →
Math · 28 resources
Science · 10 resources
See all 10 Science resources →
PSHE & SEL · 28 resources
See all 28 PSHE & SEL resources →
Behavior & Classroom Management · 31 resources
See all 31 Behavior & Classroom Management resources →
SEND & Inclusion · 20 resources
Tools for Grade 1 teachers
About the UK National Curriculum
The UK National Curriculum (2014) defines what state-funded primary schools in England teach. Children move through Key Stages: Reception (EYFS, age 4-5), Key Stage 1 (Years 1-2, ages 5-7), Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3-4, ages 7-9), and Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5-6, ages 9-11).
Each year group has age-related expectations (AREs) for reading, writing, mathematics, and other subjects. LessonKind resources are organised by US grade level for the global brand, but on these UK pages we surface the equivalent content for each UK year group.
Key statutory checkpoints
- Phonics Screening Check (Year 1, June) — 40 words to decode
- Multiplication Tables Check (Year 4, June) — 25 questions, all times tables to 12×12
- Key Stage 1 statutory teacher assessment (Year 2)
- Key Stage 2 SATs (Year 6, May) — Reading, GPS, Maths; writing teacher-assessed