By April 2020 public schools throughout the country closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the brink of these turbulent times, we concluded a larger survey study describing first grade literacy instruction in February 2020. Having documented a year of pre-pandemic literacy instruction, we then reached out to the same participants to report on their experiences teaching first grade during the 2020-2021 academic year impacted by COVID-19. In this exploratory study we surveyed first grade teachers (n = 36) to better understand the context, the amount of time allocated, and the materials and resources used by teachers for and during literacy instruction and how these variables differed before and during the COVID 19 pandemic. Our data indicated teachers had increased responsibility as they had reduced access to collaborative planning (t35 = - 2.092, p = 0.004, d = - 0.507), and the support of paraprofessionals (t35 = - 2.256, p = 0.030, d = 0.457). This increase in responsibility was amplified by the challenges of virtual and hybrid instruction, and the changes in instructional formats experienced by teachers. Concurrently, students experienced less instructional time (Z35 = - 3.704, p < 0.001, r = - 0.437), particularly in the areas of writing, vocabulary, and fluency. The consequences of these tumultuous experiences for teachers and students are likely to be long-lasting and complex to reconcile.