First Grade Social Studies
Families Now and Long Ago, Near and Far
Unit 1: Welcome to School: We Need Rules
August -September
Big Idea: Rules are made so that everyone is treated fairly.
Individuals are accountable for their actions
Expectations for Learning
Government
10. Explain why there are different rules for
different settings.
Explain why rules need to be guided by the
principle of fairness and include
consequences for those who break them.
8. Demonstrate accountability for personal
actions. (all year focus)
9. Collaborate in a way that demonstrates
respect for the rights and opinions of others.
(all year focus)
Essential Questions:
 Why are rules necessary?
 What are traits of good citizens?
Instructional Strategies
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Create Mission Statement and Class rules
Review 9-1-1 call
Suggestions from State.
 Compare playground, cafeteria, gym and classroom rules, noting
similarities and differences.
 Make posters that demonstrate the appropriate rules and actions for
each setting.
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Invite a police officer in to talk about following rules and laws and
being a good citizen
Role play scenarios of children doing something and then accepting
consequences
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Identify and list behaviors that show respect for others
Identify authority figures in the community and their connection to
safety and security
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Introduce concepts of fair play, good sportsmanship, respect
for the rights and opinions of others, and the idea of treating
others the way they want to be treated.
Assessments/Resources
Imagine It: Unit 1-Back to
School
Unit 3-I Am Responsible
IMS Lesson – Come Play with
Me
HM Textbook:
Chapter 1: Rules and Laws
Chapter 2: Our Country
Other Areas of Instruction
Fire Safety instruction
Character Education
Unit 2: History/Past, Present and Future
September- December
Big Idea:
Time can be divided into categories (past, present, future)
Essential Questions:
How do we describe time?
The way basic human needs are met has changed over time.
How have families changed over time?
Ideas and events from the past have shaped the world as it today.
Expectations for Learning
History
1. Use vocabulary correctly to distinguish
categories of time.
2. Use photographs, letters, artifacts and
books to communicate information and
draw conclusions about the past. (Intro to
Primary sources)
3. Compare the way families met basic
needs in the past with the way they are
met today
Geography
4.
Use maps to locate and identify familiar
places in the classroom, school or neighborhood
7. Describe how different cultures satisfy needs
and how this may change over time.
How do you know about these changes?
Instructional Strategies
Suggestions from State
 Create a classroom calendar where children can
record basic weather observations. Refer to the
calendar while comparing the weather of different
months and seasons and integrate vocabulary from
the content statement during discussions.
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Children can share artifacts such as baby books, family
pictures, letters and newspapers with the class. The
teacher guides student examination of the artifacts by
asking questions such as what do we understand
about the past from this photograph? Students can
focus on topics such as clothing, architecture and
modes of transportation
Provide children with various pictures of food, clothing
and shelter from the past and present. Ask students to
sort the pictures into then and now groups. Once
students have had a chance to compare the then and
now examples, ask them to describe how the basic
need for food, clothing and shelter have changed over
time.
Provide students with various books, photos and
artifacts to illustrate the cultural practices of families
in other cultures in various time periods. Guide
students to compare the way each cultural group
addresses basic human needs today with the way it
was done in the past.
Assessments/Resources
Social Studies Book
Unit 4: Changing World
Unit 3: Places We Live
Unit 5
Imagine It (Reading)
Unit 1: Schools Now and
Then
Unit 6: North, South, East,
West
IMS Lessons:
o
o
o
“Mi Casa Y Su Casa”
“Time and Time
Again”
“A Walk in Time”
Location: A site with interactive
activities relating to positional language
and it has some activities involving map
work. You will discover several different
lessons all connected.
Unit 3: Geography: Where Are We?
January-March
Big Idea: Maps can be used to locate and identify places.
Location, climate and physical surrounding affect the way
people live.
Expectations for Learning
Geography
4: Use maps to locate and identify
familiar places in the classroom, school
or neighborhood.
5: Compare physical and human
characteristics of different places in the
local community.
6: Describe the way families in different
places interact with the physical
environment.
Compare the way families interacted
with the physical environment in the
past with the way they interact today.
Essential Questions:
1. Why is knowing “where” important?
2. How do physical surroundings affect the way people live?
Instructional Strategies
Suggestions from State
 Use a variety of kinds of maps and a variety of different
places and have children practice locating and
identifying familiar places
 Introduce maps of local community, Ohio and the United
States
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Provide students with various books, photos and
artifacts to illustrate the cultural practices of families in
other cultures in various time periods. Guide students to
compare the way each cultural group addresses basic
human needs today with the way it was done in the
past.
Explore the physical and human characteristics of a
variety of places, modeling and encouraging the use of
descriptive language to make comparisons
Introduce physical features such as lakes, rivers,
mountains and forests
Introduce human characteristics that can refer to places
in the local community such as towns, cities, farms,
parks, playgrounds, house and traffic signals
Look at the weather report for cities in different regions
of the U.S. either in the newspaper or online. Ask
students how they would dress if they were visiting that
city.
Sort and match pictures showing physical activities from
various environments (i.e. kids in cold climate in warm
clothes, skiing, shoveling snow, snowmen, etc.)
Assessments/Resources
Lesson Plan: United States Geological Survey
http://education.usgs.gov/common/primary.htm
“What do maps show?”
HM Text: 42-43, 52-53, 72-87, 102-119,
Imagine It! (Reading)
 North, South, East, West
 Home, Sweet Home
Social Studies
 Places We Live
Brain Pop
Google Earth: Map of Earth, Country,
State, City
Books:
Houses and Homes (Around the World
Series) by Ann Morris
Unit 4: Economics: How Do We Get What We Want?
April-May
Big Idea:
Wants are unlimited and resources are limited. Therefore, people
make choices because they cannot have everything they want.
Essential Questions:
1. How are people both producers and consumers?
2. How do you get what you want/need?
People are both buyers and sellers of goods and services.
Expectations for Learning
Economics
11. Explain how and why people must
make economic choices.
12. Demonstrate how people are
producers and consumers in the
community.
13. Explain why people trade.
14. Demonstrate the use of currency in
an economic exchange by making real
or pretend transactions.
Instructional Strategies
Suggestions from State
 Lesson Plans: Simple Simon Meets a Producer, Trade to the Tailor;
Toys for Me: A Lesson on Choice – all at: http://www.econedlink.org
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Children describe and then illustrate ways in which their family
trades to get the goods and services they want. Goods are objects
that are capable of satisfying people’s wants (e.g. homes, cars,
furniture, food clothing). Services are actions that are capable of
satisfying people’s wants (e.g. medical care, restaurants, hotels,
lawn mowing, etc.)
Children bring in a good from home or offer a service to trade with
classmates. Each child introduces their good or service, then the
teacher allows time for students to trade. Guide children to discuss
the reasons for the trades they make.
Assessments/Resources
Social Studies
 Marketplace
Math: Marilyn Burns (Math By
All Means)
Imagine It!
 Unit 4: Our
Neighborhood at Work
HM Text: 130-149, 152-165
IMS lessons: What’s for Sale?
Scarcity and Choices
Little Bill, the Producer – Lesson
Books:
The Story of Money by Betsy
Maestro
Money Madness by David Adler