Newfoundland and Labrador · Grade 1 · 2026–27 · For parents

What your child learns in Grade 1 in Newfoundland and Labrador

In Grade 1, Newfoundland and Labrador students work through Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies — 86 specific skills across 21 units, set by the province's official curriculum. This page lists them all in plain words, subject by subject, so you know exactly what "how was school?" is actually covering this year.

4Subjects
21Units
86Skills

Built from the official Newfoundland and Labrador curriculum · free to start · web, iPhone & Android

How to read this page

Newfoundland and Labrador 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 Newfoundland and Labrador, that's Mathematics, Grade 1 — 8 units, 14 skills.

Counting

  • Counting forward and backward
+ 2 more skills in this unit →

Representing Whole Numbers

  • Seeing groups within a number
+ 1 more skill in this unit →

Fractions

  • Halves and fourths of wholes and sets
+ 1 more skill in this unit →

Addition and Subtraction to 20

  • Addition and subtraction to 20
+ 1 more skill in this unit →

Repeating Patterns

  • Finding, making, and showing repeating patterns

Equality

  • Equalities and inequalities to 20

Measurement

  • Comparing and ordering by size
+ 1 more skill in this unit →

2-D Shapes and 3-D Objects

  • Sorting and building shapes

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 Newfoundland and Labrador, that's English Language Arts, Grade 1 — 3 units, 33 skills.

Speaking and Listening

  • Describing your own experiences out loud
  • Taking part in conversations
  • Using polite social habits
+ 13 more skills in this unit →

Reading and Viewing

  • Choosing texts for a purpose
  • Making questions that lead to inquiry
  • Making connections to texts
+ 8 more skills in this unit →

Writing and Representing

  • Writing feelings and imaginative ideas
  • Using different text types and forms
  • Using strategies to write effectively
+ 3 more skills in this unit →

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 Newfoundland and Labrador, that's Science, Grade 1 — 3 units, 18 skills.

Earth and Space Science

  • Heat and light from the Sun
  • How sunlight changes living things
+ 3 more skills in this unit →

Physical Science

  • Our senses and materials
  • Changing how materials smell, look, and sound
  • Objects and how we use them
+ 4 more skills in this unit →

Life Science

  • What makes each living thing special
  • How plants and animals meet their needs
+ 4 more skills in this unit →

See the full Science, Grade 1 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →

Social Studies this year

Social studies starts close to home — family, community, and how people live together. In Newfoundland and Labrador, that's Social Studies, Grade 1 — 7 units, 21 skills.

Social Studies Concepts and Skills - 1. Civic Engagement

  • Fairness, rules, and taking turns
+ 2 more skills in this unit →

Social Studies Concepts and Skills - 2. Inquiry and Research

  • Using evidence and making comparisons
  • Asking questions and gathering information
+ 2 more skills in this unit →

Anthropology - 3. Culture and Diversity

  • Social and cultural groups
  • What rights and responsibilities mean
+ 2 more skills in this unit →

Geography - 4. People, Place, and Environment

  • Telling natural and human features apart
  • Ways we depend on the environment
+ 2 more skills in this unit →

Economics - 5. Individuals, Societies, and Economic Decisions

  • Needs and wants
+ 1 more skill in this unit →

Economics - 6. Interdependence

  • How people rely on one another
+ 1 more skill in this unit →

History - 7. Time, Continuity, and Change

  • Features that change over time
  • Changing ways people interact

See the full Social Studies, Grade 1 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →

Three ways parents use this list

At report-card timeMatch the teacher's comments to the units above — "working on number sense" stops being a mystery phrase.
At parent-teacher nightPick one unit per subject and ask "how is my child doing with this?" — specific questions get specific answers.
When they're stuckFind the exact skill on this page, open it in MapleMind, and the tutor teaches just that — step by step, as many times as it takes.

Common questions

What does my child learn in Grade 1 in Newfoundland and Labrador?

Newfoundland and Labrador's official curriculum sets out Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies for Grade 1 — 86 specific skills in total. The big themes: Mathematics covers counting and representing whole numbers; English Language Arts covers speaking and listening and reading and viewing; Science covers earth and space science and physical science. The full list is on this page.

Is this the official Newfoundland and Labrador curriculum?

It's built from Newfoundland and Labrador'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.