North Carolina 1st Grade Standards

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English Language Arts 59 standards

Reading Foundational Skills

Reading Foundational Skills
RF.1.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
RF.1.1aRecognize and use capitalization and ending punctuation."
RF.1.2Print all upper- and lowercase letters legibly.
RF.1.3 Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
RF.1.3aDistinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words.
RF.1.3bOrally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.
RF.1.3cIsolate and pronounce initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in spoken single-syllable words.
RF.1.3dSegment spoken single-syllable words into their complete sequence of individual sounds (phonemes).
RF.1.4 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
RF.1.4aKnow the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.
RF.1.4bDecode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
RF.1.4cKnow final -e and common vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds.
RF.1.4dUse knowledge that every syllable must have a vowel sound to determine the number of syllables in a printed word.
RF.1.4eDecode two-syllable words following basic patterns by breaking the words into syllables.
RF.1.4fRead words with inflectional endings.
RF.1.4gRecognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
RF.1.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
RF.1.5aRead on-level text with purpose and understanding.
RF.1.5bRead on-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
RF.1.5cUse context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Reading Literature

Reading Literature
RL.1.1Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RL.1.2Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
RL.1.3Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
RL.1.4Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
RL.1.5Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information.
RL.1.6Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.
RL.1.7Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
RL.1.9Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
RL.1.10With prompting and support, read and understand literature of appropriate complexity for grade 1 for sustained periods of time.

Reading Informational Text

Reading Informational Text
RI.1.1Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI.1.2Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
RI.1.3Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
RI.1.4Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.
RI.1.5Know and use various text features to locate key facts or information in a text.
RI.1.6Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text.
RI.1.7Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
RI.1.8With guidance and support, identify the reasons an author gives to support ideas in a text.
RI.1.9Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic.
RI.1.10With prompting and support, read and understand informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1 for sustained periods of time.

Writing

Writing
W.1.1 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide closure.
W.1.1aWith guidance and support from adults, organize information and ideas around a topic to plan and prepare to write.
W.1.1bWith guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide closure.
W.1.2aWith guidance and support from adults, organize information and ideas around a topic to plan and prepare
W.1.2bWith guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and
W.1.3 Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal transition words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
W.1.3aWith guidance and support from adults, organize information and ideas around a topic to plan and prepare to write.
W.1.3bWith guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
W.1.4With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools and resources to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.
W.1.5Participate in shared research and writing projects.
W.1.6With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Speaking and Listening

Speaking and Listening
SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
SL.1.1aFollow agreed-upon rules for discussions.
SL.1.1bBuild on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges.
SL.1.1cAsk questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion."
SL.1.2Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
SL.1.3Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.
SL.1.4Produce complete sentences to describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
SL.1.5Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Language

Language
L.1.1Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking; demonstrate proficiency within the K-1 grammar continuum.
L.1.2Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing; demonstrate proficiency within the K-1 conventions continuum.
L.1.3(Begins in grade 2)
L.1.4Determine and/or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies: context clues, word parts and word relationships.
L.1.5 With guidance and support from adults, demonstrate understanding of nuances in word meanings.
L.1.5aSort words into categories to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.
L.1.5bDefine words by category and by one or more key attributes.
L.1.5cDistinguish shades of meaning among verbs differing in manner and adjectives differing in intensity by defining or choosing them or by acting out the meanings.
L.1.6Use words and phrases learned through conversations, reading, and being read to, including common conjunctions.

Mathematics 44 standards

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

Represent and solve problems.
NC.1.OA.1 Represent and solve addition and subtraction word problems, within 20, with unknowns, by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem, when solving:
Add to/Take from-Change Unknown
Put together/Take Apart-Addend Unknown
Compare-Difference Unknown
NC.1.OA.2Represent and solve word problems that call for addition of three whole numbers whose sum is less than or equal to 20, by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number.
Understand and apply the properties of operations.
NC.1.OA.3Apply the commutative and associative properties as strategies for solving addition problems.
NC.1.OA.4Solve an unknown-addend problem, within 20, by using addition strategies and/or changing it to a subtraction problem.
Add and subtract within 20.
NC.1.OA.9Demonstrate fluency with addition and subtraction within 10.
NC.1.OA.6 Add and subtract, within 20, using strategies such as:
Counting on
Making ten
Decomposing a number leading to a ten
Using the relationship between addition and subtraction
Using a number line
Creating equivalent but simpler or known sums

Creating equivalent but simpler or known sums

Analyze addition and subtraction equations within 20.
NC.1.OA.7Apply understanding of the equal sign to determine if equations involving addition and subtraction are true.
NC.1.OA.8Determine the unknown whole number in an addition or subtraction equation involving three whole numbers.

Number and Operations in Base Ten

Extend and recognize patterns in the counting sequence.
NC.1.NBT.1Count to 150, starting at any number less than 150.
NC.1.NBT.7Read and write numerals, and represent a number of objects with a written numeral, to 100.
Understand place value.
NC.1.NBT.2 Understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones.
Unitize by making a ten from a collection of ten ones.
Model the numbers from 11 to 19 as composed of a ten and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine ones.
Demonstrate that the numbers 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine tens, with 0 ones.
NC.1.NBT.3Compare two two-digit numbers based on the value of the tens and ones digits, recording the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, and <
Use place value understanding and properties of operations.
NC.1.NBT.4 Using concrete models or drawings, strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and explaining the reasoning used, add, within 100, in the following situations:
A two-digit number and a one-digit number
A two-digit number and a multiple of 10
NC.1.NBT.5Given a two-digit number, mentally find 10 more or 10 less than the number, without having to count; explain the reasoning used.
NC.1.NBT.6 Subtract multiples of 10 in the range 10-90 from multiples of 10 in the range 10-90, explaining the reasoning, using:
Concrete models and drawings
Number lines
Strategies based on place value
Properties of operations
The relationship between addition and subtraction

Measurement and Data

Measure lengths.
NC.1.MD.1Order three objects by length; compare the lengths of two objects indirectly by using a third object.
NC.1.MD.2 Measure lengths with non-standard units.
Express the length of an object as a whole number of non-standard length units.
Measure by laying multiple copies of a shorter object (the length unit) end to end (iterating) with no gaps or overlaps.
Build understanding of time and money.
NC.1.MD.3Tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocks.
NC.1.MD.5Identify quarters, dimes, and nickels and relate their values to pennies.
Represent and interpret data.
NC.1.MD.4 Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories.
Ask and answer questions about the total number of data points.
Ask and answer questions about how many in each category.
Ask and answer questions about how many more or less are in one category than in another.

Geometry

Reason with shapes and their attributes.
NC.1.G.1 Distinguish between defining and non-defining attributes and create shapes with defining attributes by:
Building and drawing triangles, rectangles, squares, trapezoids, hexagons, circles.
Building cubes, rectangular prisms, cones, spheres, and cylinders.
NC.1.G.2 Create composite shapes by:
Making a two-dimensional composite shape using rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, and half-circles naming the components of the new shape.
Making a three-dimensional composite shape using cubes, rectangular prisms, cones, and cylinders, naming the components of the new shape.
NC.1.G.3 Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares.
Describe the shares as halves and fourths, as half of and fourth of.
Describe the whole as two of, or four of the shares.
Explain that decomposing into more equal shares creates smaller shares.

Science 10 standards

Motion and Stability- Forces and Interactions

PS.1.1 Understand how forces (pushes or pulls) affect the motion of an object.
PS.1.1.1Use models to explain the effect of a push or pull on the motion of an object, with or without contact.
PS.1.1.2Carry out investigations to compare the effects of a given force on the motion of an object.

Ecosystems- Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

LS.1.1 Understand the basic needs of a variety of plants and animals in different ecosystems.
LS.1.1.1Obtain, evaluate and communicate information to summarize the needs of different plants and animals.
LS.1.1.2Analyze and interpret data to compare how the needs of plants and animals can be met in different environments.

Earth’s Place in the Universe

ESS.1.1 Recognize the features and patterns of the earth/moon/sun system as observed from Earth.
ESS.1.1.1Use models to recognize differences in the features of the day and night sky and apparent movement of objects across the sky as observed from Earth.
ESS.1.1.2Analyze and interpret data to recognize patterns of observable changes in the moon’s appearance from day to day.

Earth’s Systems

ESS.1.2 Understand the physical properties of Earth materials.
ESS.1.2.1Obtain, evaluate and communicate information to summarize the physical properties of Earth materials, including rocks, minerals, soils, and water.
ESS.1.2.2Carry out investigations to compare the properties of different soil samples from local places relating their capacity to retain water, provide nutrients, and support the growth of plants.

Earth and Human Activity

ESS.1.3 Understand that natural resources are important to humans.
ESS.1.3.1Obtain, evaluate and communicate information to summarize ways in which humans use natural resources.
ESS.1.3.2Engage in argument from evidence to explain ways that humans can protect natural resources in the environment.

More Information: North Carolina Dates, Sources and Homeschool Law

North Carolina Standard Course of Study, published by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI).

Adopted by the state: English 2017, Math 2017, Science 2023, Social Studies 2021
Last checked by NexStudents: September 25, 2026

Copied from the state's own files, word for word. States revise their standards, so check the state's page for the current version.

English Language Arts (the state's file)
Mathematics (the state's file)
Science (the state's file)
Social Studies (the state's file)

Homeschool Law in North Carolina

School required for ages: 7–16
Ways to homeschool: One
Notice to the state: Yes
Teacher qualifications: Yes
Required subjects: No
Testing or evaluation: Yes
Immunization records: Yes
Instruction time: A regular schedule for at least nine calendar months a year, apart from reasonable holidays.
The law: North Carolina General Statute §115C-563

Written from HSLDA's summary of North Carolina homeschool law, read September 25, 2026. Laws change and this is not legal advice. Read HSLDA's full step-by-step guide before you file anything.