1st grade Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in 1st grade social studies in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- History: where holidays come from, and people who shaped Texas and the nation
- Geography: directions, simple maps, and Texas and the United States on maps and globes
- Economics and government: goods and services, choices, rules, laws and public officials
- Citizenship and culture: state and national symbols, anthems and mottoes, and good citizens
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
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.
My Community
Community helpers and places, plus rights, rules, roles and responsibilities at home, at school and in the community.
Community Services
Jobs that serve the community (fire, health, sanitation, libraries, transit) and services the government or community provides for everyone.
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.
Respect & Inclusion
Sharing, taking turns, listening, including others, and showing respect for people, belongings and the places we share.
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.
Social Studies Detectives
The inquiry process: asking good questions, finding clues in people, photos, maps and charts, thinking about what they show and sharing what we learned.
Flags, Symbols & Songs
State and national symbols (the US and Texas flags, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty and the Alamo), the two pledges, our anthem and state song, the mottoes of Texas and the United States, and voting.
People Who Made a Difference
The people the Texas standards name for Grade 1: Sam Houston, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.; good citizens Benjamin Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt; and inventors Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Garrett Morgan.
Holidays & Celebrations
Where community, state and national holidays come from (Independence Day, Constitution Day, Veterans Day, Texas Independence Day, San Jacinto Day, Juneteenth and others) and how people celebrate them.
Texas on the Map
The four cardinal directions, and finding the community, Texas and the United States on maps and globes, with Texas's capital, its neighbors and the Rio Grande.
Rules, Laws & Leaders
Why homes, schools and communities have rules and laws, the people in charge at home and school, and what a mayor, the governor and the president do.
Families Near & Far
How families meet their needs for food, clothing and shelter in different places, family traditions and languages, and how families are alike and different.
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 Texas 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 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) 1st grade social studies units include Maps, Our Land, My Community, Community Services, Earning, Saving & Sharing, Respect & Inclusion.
Free printable 1st grade social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.