How to read this page
Manitoba publishes its curriculum as long official documents written for teachers. This page is the same content, translated for the fridge door: each subject below shows this year's units and the skills inside them. If a skill sounds unfamiliar, that's the point — now you know what to ask about at dinner.
Mathematics this year
Numbers stop being abstract this year — they become things your child can count, compare, build, and explain. In Manitoba, that's Mathematics, Grade 1 — 3 units, 27 skills.
Number
- Counting forward and backward by 1s
- Seeing how many at a glance
- Showing numbers to 20
Patterns and Relations
- Describing and extending repeating patterns
- Balance and imbalance
Shape and Space
- Comparing and ordering by an attribute
- Sorting shapes and objects
See the full Mathematics, Grade 1 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
English Language Arts this year
Reading and writing grow fast at this age — this is the year the letters turn into stories. In Manitoba, that's English Language Arts, Grade 1 — 4 units, 50 skills.
Explore and Discover Language and Literacy
- Listen to the ideas and opinions of
- Experiment with language to initiate and maintain
- Use complete sentences with attention to word
Comprehend and Respond to Multimodal Texts
- Activate prior knowledge including knowledge gained from
- Identify and choose multimodal texts based on interests
- Recognize, and use gathered information as a
Compose and Create Multimodal Texts
- Contribute ideas to a topic based on
- Discuss new information gathered from a relevant
- Use strategies with others to plan for
Communicate Ideas and Build New Understandings
- Begin to adjust communication style (formal or informal) for an audience
- Engage in basic self-reflection as a listener
- Develop learning goals with guidance
See the full English Language Arts, Grade 1 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
Science this year
Science at this age is guided curiosity — observing, sorting, asking why, and testing ideas hands-on. In Manitoba, that's Science, Grade 1 — 5 units, 63 skills.
Scientific Skills and Inquiry
- Measuring and building with tools
- Making picture graphs
Characteristics and Needs of Living Things
- Words for living things
- Plants come in many forms
- How people and animals meet their needs
The Senses
- Words for the senses
- Parts that protect the eye
- Parts of the nose
Characteristics of Objects and Materials
- Words for objects and materials
- Finding what materials can do
- Ways to join materials
Daily and Seasonal Changes
- Words for changes over time
- Putting events in order
- Comparing the seasons
See the full Science, Grade 1 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
Three ways parents use this list
Common questions
What does my child learn in Grade 1 in Manitoba?
Manitoba's official curriculum sets out Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies for Grade 1 — 177 specific skills in total. The big themes: Mathematics covers number and patterns and relations; English Language Arts covers explore and discover language and literacy and comprehend and respond to multimodal texts; Science covers scientific skills and inquiry and characteristics and needs of living things. The full list is on this page.
Is this the official Manitoba curriculum?
It's built from Manitoba's official program of studies, reorganized into plain language — and each subject links to a course page that quotes the ministry's own wording and links to the government source, so you can check our work. One honest caveat: we're not the ministry, curricula do change, and we can't guarantee this reflects the very latest revision, so confirm anything important against the live provincial curriculum data.
My child is finding one of these skills hard. What can I do?
That's normal — every skill on this page is one most kids wobble on at first. MapleMind teaches any of them one-on-one: a short lesson in plain words, a worked example, then solving together. It's free to start, on any device, in 14 languages.
Keep exploring
Knowing the list is half the job
The other half is the teaching — and that's what MapleMind does. Pick any skill on this page and see it taught properly, free, in under a minute.
MapleMind isn't affiliated with any ministry of education. We build these guides from each province's official program of studies and refresh them from time to time — but curricula change, and we can't guarantee this page reflects the very latest revision. Always confirm against the live provincial curriculum data. Last updated 2026-08-15.
Social Studies this year
Social studies starts close to home — family, community, and how people live together. In Manitoba, that's Social Studies, Grade 1 — 3 units, 37 skills.
I Belong
- Groups I belong to
- How my family shows its culture
- Traditions that connect us to the past
+ 5 more skills in this unit →My Environment
- Globes and maps show the Earth
- My province and my country
- Where my home is
+ 15 more skills in this unit →Connecting with Others
- Different ways people live
- My rights and responsibilities
- How we help each other
+ 8 more skills in this unit →See the full Social Studies, Grade 1 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →