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1st grade · Social Studies · Unit 9 of 15

Social Studies Detectives

Ask, gather, think and share

What your child practices

The inquiry process: asking good questions, finding clues in people, photos, maps and charts, thinking about what they show and sharing what we learned.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 1.11 · finding facts in sources, and telling primary sources from secondary sources

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Detectives ask questions, then look for clues.
  2. Ask a helper, look at a map or read a book.
  3. Share what you found with others.

Example: Who could you ask about your school's past? You need someone who was there long ago. A teacher who has worked there a long time knows. Answer: a long-time teacher

Social Studies Detectives in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 9 of 15 in 1st grade Social Studies, after Changes in My Life and before School & Travel Long Ago.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    What is a good first step in an inquiry?

    • Ask a question
    • Say the answer
    • Stop looking

  2. Question 2

    The word “neighborhood” means…

    • the area around where you live
    • a type of cake
    • a day of the week

  3. Question 3

    Which word means a person's job or part in a group?

    • role
    • rock
    • roof

  4. Question 4

    After you gather information, what is next?

    • Forget it
    • Think about what it tells you
    • Throw it away

  5. Question 5

    A community is…

    • a group of people who live, work or play together
    • a kind of weather
    • a type of cheese

  6. Question 6

    Which question can an old photo help answer?

    📷
    • Who is taller than the Moon?
    • What did our street look like long ago?
    • What is Tuesday's lunch?

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