st 1 Grade Social Studies Parent Guide Unit 1 Title “Using Connecting Themes in First Grade Social Studies” Unit Focus This unit is designed to introduce students to the five themes Concepts Explored that will feature prominently in first grade social studies. Activities will focus on culture; individuals, groups, and institutions; location; scarcity; and time, change, and continuity. This unit is designed to teach the themes used in the At the conclusion of this unit students should demonstrate course. The standards listed with each activity in the effective use of the enduring understandings, and apply the balanced assessment plan are introduced in this unit, but enduring understandings to their lives and to prior knowledge. will be taught in greater depth throughout the school year. These themes will provide the scaffolding needed for the study of Social Studies for the school year. • Culture • Individuals, groups, and institutions • Location • Scarcity • Time, change, and continuity How You Can Support Your Child You can support your child by providing them quality text that that is directly correlated with the content in this unit. There are a host of print and digital resources that are available for your child to read, as well as reliable online interactive sites that will help your child understand the information. Print Resources (suggested text only others may be used) Scarcity Bear About Town, by Stella Blackstone Scarcity by Janeen Adil May, 2014 st 1 Grade Social Studies Parent Guide Location Mapping Penny's World by Loreen Leedy (Fiction) While You Are Sleeping: A Lift the- Flap Book of Time Around the World by Durga Bernhard Culture A to Z: Do You Ever Feel Like Me? by Bonnie Hausman (Informational) All Kinds Of Children by Norma Simon Individuals, Groups, Institutions Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos (Fiction) Never Forgotten by Patricia C. McKissack Digital Resources (suggested text only others may be used) Discovery Education (videos) http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/ McGruff: Bully Alert (15:00) Angry? Catch Your Anger (3:35) Good Citizens – School Rules (presentation) http://peachebooks.com/civic_understandings Culture, Religion and Family – (website) http://www.proteacher.com/090000.shtml May, 2014 st 1 Grade Social Studies Parent Guide Unit 2 Title Our National Heritage Unit Focus In this unit, students will learn about the groups of people who Concepts Explored first inhabited North America before the Age of Exploration. Student will learn how location helped the Native Americans In this unit, students will begin to explore the United throughout the continent establish settlements and utilize the States‟ national heritage using the theme of culture to resources available in their area. By understanding the intrinsic learn about folktales and patriotic songs. Students will reasons for movement/migration, student will learn how the also use the theme of location to explore basic physical Native American and European explorers affected each other and political geography, and to relate their physical and the development of culture and economy in North America. location to the various ways it can be described. Read or listen to American folktales and explain how they characterize our national heritage. John Henry Johnny Appleseed Davy Crockett Paul Bunyan Annie Oakley Identify and locate his/her city, county, state, nation, and continent on a simple map or a globe. Locate major topographical features of the earth’s surface. Explain the meaning of the patriotic words to America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee) and America the Beautiful. Describe how people are both producers and consumers How You Can Support Your Child May, 2014 st 1 Grade Social Studies Parent Guide You can support your child by providing them quality text that that is directly correlated with the content in this unit. There are a host of print and digital resources that are available for your child to read, as well as reliable online interactive sites that will help your child understand the information. Print Resources (suggested text only others may be used) American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne Johnny Appleseed by P. Demuth A Picture Book of Davy Crockett by David A. Adler Paul Bunyan by Steven Kellogg Digital Resources (suggested text only others may be used) Historical Figure (website) https://sites.google.com/site/peachebookslinks/home http://www.michigan.gov/documents/10-02Glossary_48851_7.pdf) Discovery Education (videos) http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/ -Stories from the Days of Early America (2:43) -Literature for Children: Tall Tales (09:11) -Heroes of American History (45:00) -John Henry (19:11) -John Appleseed (10:56) -Paul Bunyan (11:21) Other Web Resources Continents and Oceans (video and song) http://www.missmaggie.org/2012/01/24/geospy/ (egame) GeoNet - http://www.eduplace.com/geonet/ (interactive game) May, 2014 st 1 Grade Social Studies Parent Guide Unit 3 Title A Changing Country Unit Focus In this unit, students will study several historical figures and their Concepts Explored contributions to American history and culture, using the theme of individuals, groups, and institutions. As these figures were •Read about and describe the life, cultural and prominent during a time of growth and change in our country, geographical traits associated with: the themes of location and time, change, and continuity will help Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark students understand the importance of place in people’s lives, as with Sacagawea, historical figures, in American history well as patterns that occur throughout history. Finally, students and explain how they displayed positive character traits will use the theme of scarcity to understand why the historical of fairness, respect for others, respect for the figures under study made the choices that they made. environment, conservation, courage, equality, tolerance, perseverance, and commitment. •Explain that people have to make economic choices about goods and services because of scarcity. How You Can Support Your Child You can support your child by providing them quality text that that is directly correlated with the content in this unit. There are a host of print and digital resources that are available for your child to read, as well as reliable online interactive sites that will help your child understand the information. Print Resources (suggested text only others may be used) Lewis & Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President by Shirley Raye Redmond How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis & Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer Animals on the Trail with Lewis & Clark by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent Plants on the Trail with Lewis & Clark by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent Sacagawea by Lise Erdrich May, 2014 st 1 Grade Social Studies Parent Guide Thomas Jefferson‟s Feast by Frank Murphy Thomas Jefferson by Cheryl Harness Moses: How Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford ****(Note: this book has some religious tones to it, so teachers should preview it before using.) Harriet Tubman by Wil Mara Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman by Monica Kulling Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman by Alan Schroeder Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeannette Winter Digital Resources (suggested text only others may be used) Journals of Lewis & Clark: http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/ EconEdLink simulation of a voyage – great tie-in with Lewis & Clark: http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=178&page=teacher Interactive story & documents related to life of Harriet Tubman from the Library of Congress: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/tubman Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello: http://www.monticello.org/ May, 2014 st 1 Grade Social Studies Parent Guide Unit 4 Title Inventors in the United States Unit Focus Concepts Explored In this unit, students will use the theme of scarcity to discuss basic economic ideas of goods, services, producers, and Read about and describe the life, cultural and consumers, as well as how the individual contributions of George geographical traits associated with George Washington Washington Carver and Benjamin Franklin had economic impact. Carver and Ben Franklin, historical figures, in American Students will explore the role of location in the lives of Carver history and explain how they displayed positive character and Franklin, as well as the idea of time, change, and continuity traits of fairness, respect for others, respect for the in comparing the lives of Carver and Franklin to their own. environment, conservation, courage, equality, tolerance, perseverance, and commitment. Identify goods that people make and services that people provide for each other. Describe how people are both producers and consumers. How You Can Support Your Child You can support your child by providing them quality text that that is directly correlated with the content in this unit. There are a host of print and digital resources that are available for your child to read, as well as reliable online interactive sites that will help your child understand the information. Print Resources (suggested text only others may be used) Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta (Informational) Ben and Me by Robert Lawson (Informational) Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares by Frank Murphy (Fiction) How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning by Rosalyn Schanzer (Informational) May, 2014 st 1 Grade Social Studies Parent Guide Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes (Fiction)