The year, in one paragraph
In CBSE maths, Class 1 covers numbers to 99, addition and subtraction without borrowing, shapes and simple measurement; Class 2 adds three-digit numbers, borrowing, money and early times tables; Class 3 extends to four-digit numbers, multiplication, division, fractions and time. Here is how those skills typically unfold month by month — and where a little advance practice helps.
One honest caveat before the tables: CBSE prescribes what a class covers, not the week it happens. Schools follow the NCERT textbook chapters in slightly different orders, so treat the months below as the typical sequence, not a rule. If your child's school moves a topic, the skill list per class still holds.
Class 1: the year at a glance
The Class 1 year is about making friends with numbers: counting, recognising, comparing — and the very first sums, kept small and borrowing-free.
| Months | What's typically covered |
|---|---|
| April–May | Counting and number recognition to 20; shapes around us; patterns with objects |
| June–July | Numbers to 50; comparing groups (more/fewer); addition within 10 using objects |
| August–September | Addition and subtraction within 20 — no borrowing; half-yearly revision |
| October–November | Numbers to 99; tens and ones (place value); simple measurement with hand-spans and blocks |
| December–January | Time to the hour and half hour; days of the week; recognising coins and notes |
| February–March | Simple totals with money; mixed practice and year-end revision |
The one skill worth extra reps all year: addition and subtraction within 20. It's the foundation everything in Class 2 stands on, and it's exactly what our Class 1 addition practice drills — sums like 6 + 7 and 9 + 4, no carrying, with an answer key.
Class 2: the year at a glance
Class 2 widens the number line and introduces the two ideas parents remember as "the hard part of primary maths": borrowing and the first times tables.
| Months | What's typically covered |
|---|---|
| April–May | Numbers to 100 revisited; place value; comparing numbers with <, > and = |
| June–July | Skip counting in 2s, 5s and 10s — the runway to multiplication |
| August–September | Two-digit addition with carrying; half-yearly revision |
| October–November | Two-digit subtraction with borrowing; three-digit numbers introduced |
| December–January | The 2, 5 and 10 times tables; time to the quarter hour |
| February–March | Money — making totals and simple change; measuring with simple units; revision |
Skip counting in June–July is sneakily important: a child who can chant 5, 10, 15, 20 has already half-learned the 5 times table before anyone calls it multiplication. Money is the other quiet win — real coins at a real shop beat any drill, and Class 2 money practice covers the paper side: totals and "pay ₹20 for ₹14 — how much change?"
Class 3: the year at a glance
Class 3 is the busiest year of the three: multiplication and division arrive properly, fractions make their first appearance, and numbers stretch to four digits.
| Months | What's typically covered |
|---|---|
| April–May | Numbers to 1,000 and beyond; addition and subtraction with regrouping |
| June–July | Times tables from 2 to 10, built up steadily |
| August–September | Division as sharing; division facts from the tables; half-yearly revision |
| October–November | Fractions — halves, thirds and quarters as parts of a whole |
| December–January | Reading a calendar and simple elapsed time; money problems with more than one step |
| February–March | Measurement in cm and m, shapes and symmetry; year-end revision |
The times tables are the make-or-break skill of Class 3 — division in September assumes them, and so does almost everything in Class 4. Little and often beats cramming: five minutes a day with Class 3 times-table practice does more than an hour on Sunday.
When to practise ahead
Practising ahead works best in small, specific doses — and only one step ahead:
- Summer (April–June): the gentlest window. Revising last year's core — number bonds after Class 1, tables after Class 2 — pays off more than racing into new material.
- Two or three weeks before a topic lands: the sweet spot. A child who has met borrowing casually at home finds the classroom version familiar instead of frightening.
- Skip counting before tables, tables before division: each is the runway for the next. If you practise ahead on anything, pick the runway skill, not the destination.
- Don't jump a full year. A Class 1 child drilling Class 3 fractions gains little and risks maths feeling like a chore. Ten relaxed minutes at the right level beats a struggle at the wrong one.
And a promise we deliberately won't make: practice builds fluency and confidence — no worksheet honestly guarantees marks. What it does is make the classroom hour feel easier, and that's usually what changes a child's relationship with maths.
Free printable practice for each skill
The core skills in the tables above map to printable practice you can generate free during our launch — matched to your child's exact age, with their name in the story problems and an answer key at the back:
- Class 1 sums: addition within 20, no carrying
- Class 2 money: totals and simple change in rupees
- Class 3 tables: multiplication tables 2 to 10
- Logic on the side: a daily 4×4 kids' sudoku quietly builds the reasoning muscle every class uses
Or make the whole thing at once: enter your child's name, age and a favourite theme world at wondersheets.co, and you get a full personalized pack — the right level for their class, wrapped in a story where they're the hero.