Subjects to Teach Your Child in First, Second, and Third Grade

A course of study. Subjects to cover. Things to teach.

Call it what you will, one of the things you want to figure out and make sure you have clear in your mind is what your child should be learning at what stage in their homeschool journey.

Now, this alone can feel intimidating. And daunting. And a whole bunch of other adjectives that can discourage you and make you want to throw up your hands and give up before you even begin…

But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Let’s take a step back and break it down one step at a time. Remember, that’s the number one principle to creating your homeschooling plan: Give yourself time and take it one step at a time.

Knowing the Subjects to Cover

As you begin to put together your homeschool curriculum plan, one of the key questions you want to find the answer to is what to teach your child at which grade level.

A young girl sitting at a table and working through her reading lesson.

No matter which approach to homeschooling curriculum you’ve chosen, knowing what general subjects your child should be learning at any given grade level will serve you well. You see, as you homeschool, you as the parent are responsible for guiding your child’s learning journey. And how can you guide them if you’re not clear on what they should be learning?

This big concept of what subjects you should be teaching your children apply to any approach to homeschooling. (If you’re not sure what the approaches to homeschooling curriculum are, check out this post.)

Today, our goal is not to dive into specific curriculum or give curriculum recommendations or reviews, but to give you a general idea of the subjects you should be covering during the early elementary years as you homeschool your child – in other words, First, Second, and Third Grade.

Keep in mind that every child is different! Every child is at a different learning level and even learns different subjects at different speeds. So, remember: these are general subjects you should be teaching your children, not a written-in-stone law of what your homeschool must look like.

(And don’t miss the beginning of this mini-series where we looked at what your child should be learning in preschool and kindergarten!)

Creating the Lists By Grade

Over the years, I’ve looked at LOTS of subject lists for each grade and what you see below are the subject lists I’ve compiled from comparing lots of information.

Now, as you look at these lists, you’ll find a lot of repetition. For example, math shows up as a subject at every grade level. That’s to be expected! You don’t just learn math in 1st Grade and then never take another math class. You start learning math at the simple addition level, then you move on to subtraction. Next comes multiple-digit addition and subtraction and on it goes. Each year, you build on the math concepts you’ve learned as you continue to add to and expand your knowledge of math. So the similarities are to be expected in these subjects lists as each year takes your child deeper in their study of a particular subject.

First Grade

A young girl sitting on a green carpet and working out math problems with the help of colorful beads.

First Grade can be seen as a truly foundational grade. In many ways, your child is starting to transition from learning primarily through play (even in school) to learning primarily through lessons, whether they are worksheets, talking through things, reading out loud together, or activities. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there is still a good amount of play and creativity involved in First Grade. In fact, the creativity should never stop no matter how old you are! But First Grade tends to have a bit more structure to it than the preschool and kindergarten years.

(By the way, if you missed the preschool and kindergarten subject lists and want to check them out, click here.)

Another truly foundational element is that First Grade is seen as the year your child learns to read. Now, since you are homeschooling, this may or may not be true. If your child hasn’t shown a great interest in learning to read, this may be their primary ‘learning to read year.’ On the other hand, your child may already know how to read by this point.

But that is the beauty of homeschooling! You get to tailor your lessons to where your child is at in their learning journey. With that in mind, here are the subjects to cover in First Grade:

Bible

When faith is the cornerstone of your family, it’s important to teach your faith to your children. Now, you may choose to use a formal lesson to teach your children or you may choose to read different Bible passages together or you may choose a different approach entirely. Whatever you choose, when faith is the cornerstone of your family, make sure this is reflected in your homeschool.

And don’t forget to continue challenging your children to memorize verses!

Reading/Language Arts

A young girl sitting on the floor hugging a stack of beginning reading books.

Whether your child is reading books on their own or whether they are just starting to connect the sounds and symbols of the alphabet, make sure your child is learning to read. The most important key is to meet your child where they are at, teach them how to read, and continue to help them improve their reading proficiency.

Another important aspect of reading is to read out loud to your child. Hearing the cadence and pacing of someone else reading aloud shows your child that books aren’t flat and wooden symbols, but living, vibrant stories to be enjoyed.

One other aspect you may consider is adding in a language arts workbook such as Explode the Code. Now, this part of language arts starts to deal with the comprehension portion of reading. It’s not just about learning what the word says, but knowing what it means and how that relates to the other words on the page.

Now, some people might think adding reading comprehension this early is too soon, but I feel that reading comprehension should begin as your child first learns to read. It’s never too early to understand not only what the sounds are, but what the words are telling you!

Handwriting

At this point, your child has probably been doing a fair amount of worksheets and tracing letters and numbers. In First Grade, you want to move from simple repetition of tracing a number or letter to putting those letters together into words.

This can be as simple as writing a phrase your child likes on handwriting paper and having them copy it or you could use a set curriculum. The key is to have them start writing words and phrases and building their fine motor skills in the process.

Spelling

When it comes to homeschooling, make sure your child is ready to learn spelling words before you get them started! Don’t get me wrong, learning how to spell words is very important, but it will be easier for your child to learn and easier for you to teach them if you make sure they are ready before starting.

Keep in mind, you don’t have to start this right at the beginning of the year! If you need to wait a few weeks into the school year before getting this subject going, go right ahead! Remember, you are setting the pace for your child.

Math

At this point, your child is most likely ready to begin a formal math curriculum. But again, you know your child best so make sure you are meeting them where they are at in their learning journey. No matter what math curriculum you choose to use, make sure your child has mastered the lesson before moving on to the next one – no matter how long it may take!

Science

When it comes to science, first grade is typically the time when you start a formal science curriculum. An elementary science curriculum will typically present a simple lesson, then have some activities or experiments to help reinforce what you’ve learned. The big idea on starting a science curriculum is that you’re no longer jumping all over the place on science lessons, but following a train of thought from the start of the year to the end of the year.

History

Now history can sound like a rather intimidating subject for First Grade. However, don’t think of history lessons as an in-depth look at World War II, think of it as laying the foundation for you to build on as your child grows. You can do this by looking at a certain time period or group of people (perhaps Native Americans and Pilgrims) or by taking a big picture timeline approach to all of history.

Geography

Let’s be real, geography feels like a heavy subject to add in for a First Grader, right? And expecting your child to be able to recreate a map of your state and label all the major cities would be expecting far too much!

But what if you started giving your child an idea of the world around them? This is the approach to geography in First Grade. To give your child an appreciation of the world around them by introducing them to big concepts about our world (different countries and areas of the world) and about your own country (perhaps focusing on the different states if you live in the United States).

Again, if you have older children, working geography lessons in with your First Grader will be much easier, but you can still explore the world around you with your children no matter what their age.

Typing (optional)

In our day and age of computers, typing is a skill that has pretty much become essential. Now, this is a lot easier than it looks! In fact, there are a lot of free options created just for kids that will teach them how to type properly. The key is making sure your child takes 5 minutes to do their typing lesson!

Art & Music (optional)

A young child playing with play-dough at a table.

Art class in First Grade could be as simple as having your children draw pictures and making sure you’re doing projects in other subjects. It could also include learning about painters by reading age-appropriate books about their lives and work, then trying to paint a picture in their style.

Music lessons could be as simple as making sure your child does their piano lessons or learning about composers and their lives and listening to their music.

Again, if you have older children who are already learning about painters and composers, these lessons are easier to start in First Grade by simply including your younger children in what your older children are learning. But at the same time, don’t discount learning about music and art from your little ones!

PE (optional)

Let’s face it, most kids don’t need an excuse to run around and play! While some families choose to give their children a more formal PE class, many families just make sure their children are enjoying time outside running, playing, and riding their bikes. How it looks in your family will be unique to your family!

Second Grade

You’ll notice that these Second Grade subjects below are essentially the same as the subjects for First Grade. In many ways, now that your child is in elementary school, you’re continuing to build on what they’ve learned the year before. Each year as you cover a subject, you’ll go a little deeper and expand your child’s knowledge in that area.

You may have heard the phrase “transitioning from learning to read to reading to learn.” Some say this shift happens during the second half of the Second Grade year while others say this shift happens in the Third Grade year. In many traditional schools, the focus in the early elementary years is simply getting a child to connect the sounds of the letters on the page so they can read the words. There’s no connection to understanding what they’re reading. There’s no emphasis placed on making sure they not only say the word, but know what it means.

This doesn’t have to be the case for you in homeschooling! When you start to build in reading comprehension (a fancy way of saying ‘understanding what you’re reading’) even as you teach your child to read the letters on the page, this transition becomes almost nonexistent. Instead, you can simply reinforce the comprehension part even as your child becomes more and more proficient at reading.