•   Social Studies Curriculum : First Grade

     

    The School District of Clayton’s elementary K-2 Social Studies curriculum is grounded in the Learning for Justice Standards of Identity and Diversity. The focus on celebrating students’ individual characteristics strives to develop young people who have begun to explore the process of self-actualization. Through exposure to the diversity within families, schools and communities, we aim to develop cultural awareness and emerging empathy. To varying degrees of emphasis at each grade level, we introduce the five strands of social studies - history, civics, economics, geography and culture.  Each of these is woven into a narrative around the personal experience of each child and their increasing understanding of their place in the local, national and global communities. 

     

    First grade students will begin to explore themselves and the world around them using the essential questions: 

    1. Who am I?

    2. Who are we?

    3. How do we get along in our diverse community?

    4. Who am I and what is my place in my school community?

     

    Within the three social studies units, first grade students will delve into the following topics:

     

    Unit 1 : Our School Community

    • Identify and explain why schools make rules

    • Discuss how individual rights are protected

    • Give examples of being an active and informed citizen in one’s classroom 

    • Describe the characteristics of role models within one’s school 

    • Recognize and explain the significance of symbols within one’s school

    • Describe how decisions are made, enforced and interpreted within schools 

    • Describe roles and responsibilities of leaders in a school

    • Describe cultural characteristics of one’s school

    • Describe how to resolve disputes on in the classroom and on the playground

    • Share stories related about locations, people and cultural events in one’s school

    • Describe how one’s school celebrates its culture

    • Identify globes as representations of real places

    • With assistance, read, construct and use maps with a title and a key

    • Describe how maps are created for different purposes

    • Use a compass rose to identify cardinal directions

    • Locate a place by pointing it out on a map and describing its relative location

    • Identify physical characteristics of one’s school

    • Describe human characteristics of one’s school

     

    Unit 2 : Long Ago and Today

    • Compare and contrast one’s school in the past and present

    • Describe the contributions of various people in one’s school 

    • Describe cultural characteristics of one’s school

    • Describe how to resolve disputes on in the classroom and on the playground

    • Share stories related about locations, people and cultural events in your school

    • Describe how one’s school celebrates its culture

     

    Unit 3 : Community Wants and Needs

    • Describe examples of scarcity within one’s school

    • Describe examples of opportunity cost within one’s school

    • Describe examples of needs and wants within one’s school




     

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