Unit description: In this unit, the students will examine the role and characteristics of a citizen including appropriate actions and model behavior in specific contexts (i.e. classroom, community, etc.). They will develop a basic understanding of our connection to people and cultures across the world and how to protect and respect them both as well as develop an understanding of rules and laws, why they exist, and what consequences are. The students will examine the different levels of government at a local, state and national level and they will become familiar with economic terminology in the context of making economic decisions.
Download the complete Grade 1 Social Studies – Civic Ideals and Practices framework to customize for your own planning.
Essential Questions and Big Ideas
- BI: Governments create rules and laws in order to protect and respect citizens and communities
- What is a citizen and how do they behave?
- Citizens are members of societies who have rights that are protected by laws and rules.
- How do citizens protect and respect the world they live in?
- Citizens full laws and rules and take care of their communities and neighbors.
- How do citizens follow rules and laws?
- Citizens follow rules by being kind and respectful of their spaces and people they are near.
- Citizens follow a variety of laws that keep everyone safe, for example obeying traffic signs and lights.
- What is the citizen’s role in government?
- Citizens in America can vote when they are 18 to pick who they want in government.
- Citizens can share how they feel to be a part of decision making.
Prerequisite Skills
“My Family and Other Families, Now and Long Ago” is organized around the same five units of study that organize kindergarten Social Studies—Individual Development and Cultural Identity; Civic Ideals and Practices; Geography, Humans, and the Environment; Time, Continuity, and Change; and Economic Systems. These units represent five of the unifying themes of social studies, and may be presented in any order.
Download the complete Grade 1 Social Studies – Civic Ideals and Practices framework to customize for your own planning.