FIRST GRADE — California Common Core Standards

These are the California Common Core standards for 1st‑grade reading, spelling, and foundational skills, rewritten in clear, parent‑friendly language.

Print Concepts (RF.1.1)

By 1st grade, students already understand basic print concepts.
They now apply those skills while reading longer sentences and early stories.
They should be able to:

• Recognize the features of a sentence (capital letter, spacing, ending punctuation)

• Track print smoothly across lines and pages

• Notice when something doesn’t look right and self‑correct

Phonological & Phonemic Awareness (RF.1.2)

Students refine the listening skills they built in Kindergarten and begin manipulating sounds more precisely.
They should be able to:

• Blend and segment sounds in spoken single‑syllable words

• Isolate and pronounce initial, medial vowel, and final sounds

• Add, delete, and substitute sounds to make new words (change cat → can → man)

Phonics & Word Recognition (RF.1.3)

This is the heart of 1st‑grade reading and spelling. Students learn the major phonics patterns they’ll use for the rest of elementary school.
They should be able to:

• Know the regular sounds for all consonants and common digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh, ck)

• Decode and spell words with blends (st, bl, tr)

• Read and spell long‑vowel patterns (silent e, vowel teams like ai/ay, ee/ea, oa/ow)

• Read and spell r‑controlled vowels (ar, or, er/ir/ur)

• Read and spell inflectional endings (‑s, ‑es, ‑ing, ‑ed)

• Read grade‑level high‑frequency words

• Distinguish between similar words using phonics patterns and meaning

Fluency (RF.1.4)

Students begin reading short stories with accuracy, expression, and understanding.
They should be able to:

• Read grade‑level text with purpose and comprehension

• Use phonics strategies to solve unfamiliar words

• Reread to build smoothness and confidence

Language Standards (L.1.2)

Students apply phonics patterns to their spelling and begin writing complete sentences.
They should be able to:

• Capitalize dates, names, and the beginning of sentences

• Use ending punctuation (periods, question marks, exclamation points)

• Use commas in dates and simple series

• Spell words using learned phonics patterns

• Spell irregular high‑frequency words

What This Means for Your Child

First grade is the year students move from learning to read to starting to read independently.
Mastery of 1st‑grade phonics patterns—digraphs, blends, long vowels, r‑controlled vowels, and endings—sets students up for 2nd grade, where they will begin multisyllabic decoding and more advanced spelling rules.