Image: MomJunction Design Team
The importance of workbooks has increased drastically with the onset of online learning, and you need academically challenging books for your child to improve. So, choose from our list of the best workbooks for 1st grade to help children keep up with their studies. You can have a word with your child’s teacher, look up reviews online, and consider your child’s progress before choosing the right one. Our buyer’s guide will also help you pick good-quality, expert-approved workbooks for 1st graders based on their grades and skills.
Elizabeth Daly, a State-certified high school English teacher and book blogger, says, “Whether your child is educated at home or school, workbooks can be an engaging and effective way of developing their skills. Look for workbooks that make learning fun for your child.”
Top Picks
10 Best Workbooks For First Grade
1. Best For Boosting Retention Power: School Zone – Big First Grade Workbook
Workbook for 1st graders from the School Zone will teach your first graders parts of reading, word problems, money, basic maths, basic reading, time, and more. It is a paperback book that has time-tested tools and writing by hand can foster specific areas of a child’s brain. The trusted book for kids can boost retention power. Also, reading will improve your first grader’s mind academically and emotionally. Available in English, there are 302 activity pages with 18 answer key pages that will guide your child at every stage.
The workbook has colorful illustrations that are kid-friendly and will reinforce the lessons. It has visual clues and easy directions to help promote self-directed learning. The pages are exclusively perforated so that your child can easily tear out individual worksheets without parent involvement. Parent notes are there in each section to guide your children at every stage.
Item Weight: 1.07 pounds
Why We Think It's Worth Buying
The product has garnered more than 14,524 positive reviews on Amazon.
2. Best For Critical Thinking Skills: Brain Quest Workbook: Grade 1 By Lisa Trumbauer
Brain Quest workbook is teacher-approved, loved by kids, and trusted by parents. The parent-recommended colorful workbook is engaging and entertaining in an educational way. The book is packed with games, fun activities, and essential skill-building exercises, including spelling, phonics, subtraction, addition, vocabulary, skip counting, money, science, maps, and many other educational topics that will enhance your child’s critical thinking and creative writing skills. It has 320 pages and is available in English. The content has colorful stickers, an award certificate, a fold-out poster, and a parent’s guide. Click here to check out a detailed personal review of this skill development book.
Item Weight: 1.07 pounds
3. Best For Spelling Activities: Modern Kid Press Sight Words And Spelling Workbook
Available in a paperback form, this first-grade workbook has 93 pages and is available in English. It has a superior matte cover design, and the book is printed on premium paper. Fundamental writing and spelling activities are included in the book that engage your child for a long period.
The presence of various animals and magical creatures will grab their attention. Liked by many reviewers, this book will teach your child about high-frequency words and helps improve their reading consequently. Phonic activities and worksheets in the book are ideal for children of six to eight years.
Item Weight: 9.6 ounces
Quick tip4. Best For Improving Cognitive skills: Summer Bridge Activities Workbook
With 160 pages, this first-grade workbook will provide your child with 60 days of activities. It includes fitness exercises, social studies, math, reading, writing, and social science. This book also has stickers, flashcards, answer keys, and a competition certificate to sharpen essential skills, making it a trusted choice.
All the pages are numbered for easy progress tracking. By investing 15 minutes a day, your child would develop cognitive and comprehensive skills and explore the world outside. The book is trusted by parents and will also improve the child’s self-esteem, confidence, and problem-solving abilities.
Item Weight: 1.2 pounds
Why We Think It's Worth Buying
Over 5,311 Amazon shoppers have left good reviews about this product, citing its quality features and benefits.
5. Best For Vacation Practice: Carson Dellosa Phonics ForFirst Grade Workbook
Ideal for first graders, this workbook consists of 64 pages and activities related to writing letters, consonants, word families, vowel sounds, words, and tracing. Various puzzles and games are also included in the book to keep your child busy in a productive way. The activity book has 140 motivational stickers, an incentive chart, and an answer key to guide your child in every stage. Fine motor skills would be improved through writing and other engaging activities.
The pages are fully colored and provide step-by-step instruction at every stage. Available in English, the book can be a trusted tool that will help your children in preparing and learning various concepts. These books for kids are also ideal for traveling, school breaks, and even during vacations.
Item Weight: 4 ounces
Quick tip6. Best For Problem-Solving Skills: School Zone – Big Math 1-2 Workbook
School Zone workbook is one of the best workbooks for 1st graders. It has 320 pages, including 299 activity pages, one reward certificate, and 20 sheets of answers. The pages are made from glossy, durable paper. The skills included in this classic picture book are subtraction, addition, fractions, money, concepts, shapes, time, and word problems.
All the activities inside this illustrated book will help sharpen problem-solving, motor, and visual perception skills. The directions are easy to follow, and with little guidance, your child can solve them. The book has kid-friendly, bright colorful illustrations, which help increase the motivation and focus of your child. The book is made according to the standards set by NCTM. The pages are perforated, and you can easily tear them out. It is portable and encourages on-the-go learning.
Item Weight: 2 pounds
7. Best For Daily Practice: Channie’s One Page A Day Workbook
Workbook from the Channie’s Store has easy tear-off 50 pages that allow your first grader to practice subtraction and addition exercises daily and with high accuracy. This first grade math workbook has 25 double-digit subtraction and addition problems on one page and the boxes are large so that the child can easily focus on calculation and repetition.
According to the reviewers, the color-coded blocks, divider lines, vertical lines, and tens place can avoid confusion, reduce stress, and will improve accuracy. It fosters academic discipline, independent work, and love for mathematics. The workbook has 25 pages and 50 worksheets. Your child’s critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities can be enhanced with this workbook.
Number of Items: 1 | Color: White | Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.25 inches | Item Weight: 6.5 ounces
Why We Think It's Worth Buying
The whopping 2,038 positive reviews on Amazon reflect the superior quality of this product.
8. Best For Daily Reading Practice: 180 Days Of Reading By Suzanne I. Barcher
180 Days of Reading workbook for 1st graders will improve the grade levels of your child. The book is made to foster daily reading habits in the child. Available in English with 248 pages, the book is suitable for classroom and home learning. The book also has activities related to sight word comprehension, phonics, and other school-level activities crafted by teachers to foster master concepts in the child.
The tried-and-tested, engaging workbook has daily lessons built on weekly themes. It teaches simple spelling, simple sentence writing, and reading comprehension exercises. All the activities are age-appropriate and have fun topics that your child would love to do.
Item Weight: 1.3 pounds
9. Best Engaging: Carson Dellosa First Grade SkillsWorkbook
With incentive charts and essential writing, phonics, reading, math skills, and spelling, this workbook for kids has 140 motivational star-shaped stickers. Addition, subtraction, graphs, and puzzles are also included in the book. Step-by-step instructions are there for each activity to enhance the art and math skills of your child. It has 64 pages available in English and is a trusted tool to learn basic concepts.
The colorful pages can grasp the children’s attention, and all the fun activities are grade-appropriate and will help enhance cognitive development and critical thinking skills.
Item Weight: 4 ounces
10. Best Guide For Teachers & Parents: Spectrum 1st Grade Reading Workbook
Fully colored and fiction-based, this book passage reviews and exercises to help children understand characters, major events, settings, and central messages. The engaging exercises will help your child to understand sounds, letters, sight words, word recognition, key ideas, and other details to build confidence. The workbook has 158 pages and is available in paperback form. It is a blended combination of ideas and knowledge.
3D and 2D shapes, place value, measurements, addition, and subtraction are also available in the book. There are also activities based on capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and parts of speech. The best-selling book also has solutions for teachers and parents to help guide the child at any stage. It is an ideal homeschooling educational resource and is also suitable for vacation or summer learning.
Item Weight: 14.4 ounces
Quick tipHow To Choose The Right Workbook For First Grade?
Consider the following features before buying workbooks for first grade.
- Engaging and fun: The book that you choose should grab the attention of your child. It is supposed to give a blended vibe of entertainment and learning. Look for workbooks with age-appropriate content that give them a break from conventional learning while providing the needed educational experience.
- Grade- and age-appropriate: Choose a book according to your child’s age and grade level. If the book is difficult to solve or easier than expected, the child will lose interest. The content in these books is grade-wise and also supports the information taught in school. Go through testimonials written by teachers and opt for parent-recommended books to ensure they are appropriate for your child.
- Interest: Choose a workbook that your child wants. This way, they will spend more time doing enriching activities. Talk to your child before you invest in a book.
Why Trust MomJunction?
Wedetso Chirhah writes extensively about children’s products and books. He reviews and selects books that ensure an amazing reading experience. If you are on the lookout for first-grade workbooks for your child, Wedesto has made your task simpler by selecting some of the best 1st-grade workbooks available online, after an in-depth examination of the contents and user reviews. Additionally, he has included a buying guide to help you make an informed choice.
Now that you know the importance of workbooks, pick one that suits your child’s learning requirements and has easy-to-understand content. Regardless of whichever book you pick, ensure it has highly interactive activities and beautiful illustrations to grab your little one’s attention and kindle their interest in the subject. You may consider one that comes with stickers, flashcards, charts, answer keys, and clear step-by-step instructions. Further, pick a time-tested book based on your child’s interest and the concepts or developmental areas you wish to target.
Infographic: What Are The Various Kinds Of Workbooks For First Graders?
Workbooks for first graders are a fun and engaging means to allow your child to practice what they learn as a part of their curriculum. Understanding the various categories of workbooks can help you assess their utility as per your needs. Check out the infographic below to explore diverse types of workbooks to help you make an informed decision.
Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
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