Week 5 of 8
Week 5
1st Grade → 2nd Grade · Fact families add sub and Sentence basics
Math
Fact Families: Add and Subtract
Seeing that 3, 5, and 8 make four related facts: 3+5=8, 5+3=8, 8−3=5, 8−5=3. Middle of first grade.
The mistake to watch for. Writing the two additions correctly, then writing 3 − 5 and 5 − 8 for the subtractions — the largest number must start the subtraction.
How to help. Say the whole and the parts out loud before writing. The whole always comes first when taking away.
A worked example
The numbers 2, 5 and 7 make a fact family: 2 + 5 = 7, 5 + 2 = 7, 7 − 2 = 5, 7 − 5 = 2. The biggest number is the total, so it comes first in the subtraction facts.
All fact families: add and subtract sets, with answer keys →
Reading & language
Sentence Word Order
Understanding that English sentences follow a standard word order — subject, then verb, then the rest. First grade.
The mistake to watch for. Reordering words to match how the idea occurred to them rather than how English structures it — a common pattern for early writers and for multilingual learners translating word-for-word.
How to help. Have your child read the scrambled words out loud in the wrong order first. Hearing that it sounds wrong is often more convincing than being told the rule.
A worked example
Put these words in order: dog / the / barks. A sentence says who or what, then what happens, and it starts with a capital letter: 'The dog barks.'
Words for this week
- family
- A group of numbers that go together, like 3, 4 and 7 in a fact family.
- sum
- The answer you get when you add.
- difference
- The answer you get when you subtract.
- add
- To put numbers together to find how many in all.
- subtract
- To take one number away from another to find how many are left.
- sentence
- A group of words that tells a whole thought. It starts with a capital letter and ends with punctuation.
- capital
- A big letter like A or B, used to start a sentence or a name.
- noun
- A word for a person, place or thing, like girl, school or ball.
- verb
- A word that tells an action or a state, like run, is or sing.
- period
- The dot ( . ) at the end of a sentence.
Read this week
Bacon
A short food article from our Learn library, chosen for this reading level. Read it together, then ask your child to tell you one new thing they learned.