Little Newtons

About the course

What students learn

Little Newtons is our foundational program for 1st and 2nd graders, covering the full grades 1–2 arc across 48 classes over 12 months. First and second grade are the years that decide whether a child grows up confident with numbers or quietly convinced that math isn't for them. Students build number sense up to 1,000, addition and subtraction fluency with regrouping, an honest first look at fractions and measurement, an introduction to multiplication and skip counting, and the language of word problems — then layer on geometry, symmetry, data, and pattern reasoning as the year progresses. Courses are rolling — a student can join at any meeting and continue into the next term without losing the thread.

Syllabus arc

48-class rolling syllabus over 12 months

Courses are rolling — a student can join at any class and continue without losing the thread. Here’s the full topic arc:

1. Class1Number sense to 20. Counting forward and back, comparing quantities.
2. Class2Place value to 100. Tens and ones with base-10 blocks.
3. Class3Make-ten addition strategy.
4. Class4Doubles and near-doubles up to 20.
5. Class5Subtraction within 20 — take-away and missing-addend.
6. Class6Word problems with addition: drawing the picture.
7. Class7Word problems with subtraction: choosing the operation.
8. Class8Halves, fourths, and equal sharing.
9. Class9Length measurement — inches and centimeters.
10. Class10Telling time to the hour and half hour.
11. Class11Money — coins, pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters.
12. Class12Skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s.
13. Class13Two-digit addition without regrouping.
14. Class14Two-digit subtraction without regrouping.
15. Class15Shapes — squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, attributes.
16. Class16Patterns and sorting with numbers and shapes.
17. Class17Two-digit addition with regrouping — carrying explained with base-10 blocks.
18. Class18Two-digit subtraction with regrouping — borrowing without confusion.
19. Class19Word problems mixing addition and subtraction — which operation and why.
20. Class20Place value to 1,000 — hundreds, tens, ones.
21. Class21Comparing and ordering three-digit numbers.
22. Class22Measurement — length, weight, capacity with non-standard and standard units.
23. Class23Time to the nearest 5 minutes and elapsed-time word problems.
24. Class24Even and odd numbers — patterns, sums, and number-line games.
25. Class25Place value to 1,000 — hundreds, tens, and ones review and extension.
26. Class26Three-digit addition with regrouping.
27. Class27Three-digit subtraction with regrouping.
28. Class28Intro to multiplication — equal groups and arrays.
29. Class29Skip counting through 100 — building toward multiplication facts.
30. Class30Money combinations — making change and combining coins and bills.
31. Class31Elapsed time word problems.
32. Class32Bar graphs and pictographs — reading and building simple data displays.
33. Class33Geometry — properties of 2D and 3D shapes.
34. Class34Symmetry — finding and drawing lines of symmetry.
35. Class35Fractions on a number line.
36. Class36Comparing fractions with the same denominator.
37. Class37Simple two-step word problems.
38. Class38Measurement conversions — inches to feet, and similar simple conversions.
39. Class39Telling time to the nearest 5 minutes.
40. Class40Halves, thirds, and fourths — equal parts of a whole.
41. Class41Doubles and near-doubles at higher magnitudes.
42. Class42Mental math strategies for addition and subtraction.
43. Class43Math patterns and function tables.
44. Class44Coordinate grid intro — plotting points in the first quadrant.
45. Class45Area by counting unit squares.
46. Class46Perimeter of rectangles.
47. Class47Data collection with tally marks; probability language (likely/unlikely).
48. Class48Reasoning with even/odd sums — review and synthesis.