1st grade Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in 1st grade social studies in the New York State Learning Standards, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- My family and other families, now and long ago
- American symbols, heroes, and the Pledge of Allegiance
- Citizens, rules, laws and local, state and national leaders
- Maps, resources, goods and services, and money
Easy ways to practice social studies at home
- Talk about your family, your neighborhood and the people who help in it.
- Make a simple map of your home or street together.
- Share a family tradition or story and ask your child to share one back.
- Practice taking turns and sharing, and talk about why fairness matters.
What each unit covers
Changes in My Life
Big life events (a new sibling, a move, starting school), how people's experiences are alike and different, and ordering events as a simple timeline.
School & Travel Long Ago
How schools and communities worked in the past, and how people traveled by wagon, stagecoach, sailing ship and steam train before cars and airplanes.
My Community
Community helpers and places, plus rights, rules, roles and responsibilities at home, at school and in the community.
Respect & Inclusion
Sharing, taking turns, listening, including others, and showing respect for people, belongings and the places we share.
My Roles & Responsibilities
Seeing that we have different roles (student, friend, sibling, helper), that these change from place to place, and how our actions affect others.
Maps
Reading a simple map with north at the top, using north, south, east and west, map symbols and legends, and near and far.
Our Land
Natural and human-made features, how the land shapes how we live, and caring for it by reducing, reusing and recycling.
Needs and Wants
Practices telling needs from wants, and what affects how families meet their needs and wants.
Goods and Services
Introduces goods (things) and services (work people do), and how communities depend on each other to exchange them.
Earning, Saving & Sharing
Practices how people earn income, why families save, sharing and bartering, choosing between needs and wants, and natural, human and capital resources.
American Symbols & Heroes
The Pledge of Allegiance and patriotic songs, American symbols such as the flag and the Statue of Liberty, national holidays, and people from history all Americans can feel connected to.
Rules, Laws & Leaders
Why rules and laws protect rights and keep people safe, local, state and national leaders (the mayor, the governor in Albany and the president), and solving problems fairly.
Family History
Families of every kind and their traditions, family timelines, sources such as photos, letters and oral histories, and how families long ago compare with families today.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practicing the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the New York report card guide.
Common questions
Talk about your family, your neighborhood and the people who help in it. Make a simple map of your home or street together. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The New York State Learning Standards 1st grade social studies units include Changes in My Life, School & Travel Long Ago, My Community, Respect & Inclusion, My Roles & Responsibilities, Maps.
Free printable 1st grade social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.