Catawba County Schools – Social Studies
Grade: K
Unit 1: Traditions/Relationships
Micro Concepts: Relationships, Values
Essential Standards
History :
K.H.1.1 Explain how people change over time (self and others).
K.H.1.2 Explain how seasons change over time.
K.H.1.3 Explain the impact of how life events bring change (a new sibling, moving to a new house, a new job, a new school, etc.).
Geography and Environmental Literacy:
K.G.1.1 Use maps to locate places in the classroom, school and home.
K.G.1.4 Identify locations in the classroom using positional words (near/far, left/right, above/beneath, etc.).
K.G.2.1 Explain how people adapt to weather conditions.
Economics and Financial Literacy:
K.E.1.1 Explain how families have needs and wants.
Civics and Government:
K.C&G.1.1 Exemplify positive relationships through fair play and friendship.
K.C&G.1.2 Explain why citizens obey rules in the classroom, school, home and neighborhood.
Culture:
K.C.1.1 Explain similarities in self and others.
K.C.1.2 Explain the elements of culture (how people speak, how people dress, foods they eat, etc.).
Essential Questions
Why do we have rules and what are some examples?
How are we alike and different?
How do changes affect me over time?
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Understandings: Students will understand that… (Unpacking Document)
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A person’s environment may influence personal and social growth.
Positive relationships often depend on courtesy, honesty, and fairness when playing with others.
Similar interests are often used to find similarities and differences in others.
People have common traits but each person has characteristics that make him/her unique.
Connections can be made from one’s culture to another.
Learning Targets “I Can” (Students will be skilled at…)
I can tell ways people change.
I can name the seasons, and tell about the weather in
each season.
I can tell how life events have changed my life.
Literary Texts
Criteria for Success “ I Will”
I will discuss the definition of change and discover
examples of change of themselves and others.
I will observe changes in the seasons, weather, and
environment.
I will explore how life events create change in my life.
Informational Texts
The Little School Bus (Carol Roth Unit )
Plaidypus Lost (Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens
Crummel)Unit 1
Bear Snores On (Karma Wilson) Unit 2
Abuela (Arthur Dorros) Unit 4
This is the Way We Go to School (Edit Baer) Unit 5
The Night Worker Unit 6
See How We Grow (SF)
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Catawba County Schools – Social Studies
Scott Foresman Leveled Readers
Title
The Butterfly
Quilt
Grandpa’s Sign
Granny’s
Cranberry Sauce
Harvest Holidays
Its Time to
Get In Line
Grade
2
Level
E
2
1
F
D
1
1
F
C
Suggested Stories:
Read Alouds:
Little Critter Books by Mercer Mayer
Clifford Books by Norman Bridwell
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin
http://www.schooltube.com/video/2490bb8cd9848c3af3ec/
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Wood
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/2356.html
How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina Friedman
http://stancock.iweb.bsu.edu/cyberlessons/Eat.html
Scott Foresman Leveled Readers
Title
Grade
Level
Flag Day
2
C
At The Ball Park
2
C
Happy Birthday!
2
C
Happy Birthday
2
G
America!
Kiko’s Kimono
3
D
Our Country’s
1
B
Treasures
Treasures We
1
B
Share
Suggested Informational Books:
Read Alouds
Families in Many Cultures (Heather Adamson)
Our American Family Series (Destiny Online Search)
Konnichiwa! I am a Japenese-American Girl (Tricia Brown)
I am Italian American (Brenda DePalma)
I am Vietnamese American (Felice Blanc)
I am African American (Ruth Turk)
In Our Country (Susan Canizares)
The American Flag ( Lloyd G. Douglas)
The White House (Lloyd G. Douglas)
The Stature of Liberty (Lloyd G. Douglas)
It’s Hard to be 5
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Bear’s New Friend
Farfalina and Marcel
Vocabulary/Terminology:
dress
language
unique
interests
Opportunities for Student Writing:
Write/ draw a picture of their family and self to compare to other students.
Write/ draw to show how you are similar/ different from a classmate.
Write/ draw entries for the All About Me book.
Sample Activities :
Read The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. Ask parents and students to share information about their own family traditions. Using this
information, groups of 4 students will “think, pair, share” to answer the question “What is one of your family traditions and why is a
tradition?” to broaden their understanding of family traditions.
Read People by Peter Spier. Ask 2 students to come to the front of the group. Ask the class to help complete a Venn Diagram on
how the 2 students are alike and different.
PBIS (students will practice school and classroom expectations, bathroom, hallway, playground, lunchroom and
other school areas) Video – Minding Your Manners In School (Discovery Education). Other resources:
http://www.christina.k12.de.us/socialstudies/kindergarten.htm
Rewards for PBIS spending/banking points or coins for prize box/extra time (economics & financial literacy)
throughout the year
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Personal timelines from birth. Request photos from parents at the beginning of the year (birth, 6 months, 1 yr., 2
yr., 3 yr., 4 yr.- take beginning of school photo); copy students photos so that they are in black and white and
format them so that they are all the same. Let the student arrange them in order, help them to label.
All about school activities (students will explore the school, school treasure map, class book about the school, meet
new teachers and friends, observe pictures and maps of the school)
Create classroom Time Line (showing seasons, including pictures of students throughout the year with a focus on
change and events). Ideas to include: field trips, lost teeth, holidays, units, main ideas, birthdays, new students,
student’s special life events/awards.
All about me activities (students will create - all about me book, beginning of the year poster, bag with favorite
items, student name activities and games) Focusing on similarities and differences.
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/grade_level_help/culture_kindergarten_k_social_studies.htm
Family activities (examples: share photographs, posters, podcast, books, student made books, family history)
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-literature/CKHOOSTE/___FAMILY2.HTM History Focusing
on similarities and differences.
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/grade_level_help/culture_kindergarten_k_social_studies.htm
Introduction into seasons (change over time, weather conditions, and calendar)
Community Connection/ Field Trip/ Guest Speaker:
Farm field trip
Lazy Five Ranch field trip
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Assessments:
Teacher observation of student work
CCS Writing Rubric to be used when assessing student writing
Resources for SS
LEARN NC www.learnnc.org Search for lesson plans aligned to the SS Essential Standards
NC Council for Social Studies http://ncsocialstudies.org/resources/ Lots of websites to explore
Map Resources http://classroom.jc-schools.net/SS-units/maps.htm
NC Folklore Society www.ncfolkloresociety.org
Teaching History http://teachinghistory.org/
Financial Literacy http://www.kidseconposters.com/
Librarian’s Wiki http://globallibrarygirl.pbworks.com Resource for books that match standards
Newspapers in Education http://www.newsobserver.com/nie/ Sign up for digital copies of newspaper
NC Government Publications Collection http://www.ncgovdocs.org/educator_resources.htm
Federal Reserve http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/ Resource for teaching financial literacy
Mini Pages Archive http://www.lib.unc.edu/dc/minipage/?CISOROOT=/minipage
Social Studies Central http://socialstudiescentral.com/?q=content/primary-sources
Children’s Books with Social Studies Themes http://www.udel.edu/dssep/literature.html
Picture Books http://childrenspicturebooks.info/social_studies_picture_books.htm
National Archives http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/ Lesson plans for teaching with primary documents and tools for analysis.
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