Engaging 1st Grade Social Studies Lesson Plan: My Place in the World & Community Helpers

Introduce your first grader to the world of social studies with this fun, two-day lesson plan! Perfect for 6-year-olds, this guide uses hands-on activities to teach foundational concepts. Day 1 covers geography and civics with a 'My Place in the World' craft, helping kids map their place from their home to the planet. Day 2 explores history and community with a 'Then and Now' sort and a community helpers worksheet. This complete plan for homeschool or classroom use includes materials, instructions, and book suggestions.

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Lesson Plan: What is Social Studies?

Student: Mirabelle, Age 6 (1st Grade)

Subject: Introduction to Social Studies

Time: 2 Days, 15-20 minutes per lesson (plus optional independent work)

Day 1: My Place in the World

Learning Goal: Mirabelle will understand that Social Studies is about learning about people and places, starting with herself and her own community. This introduces early Geography and Civics concepts.

Materials Needed:

  • 6-7 sheets of paper (different colors are fun, but white is fine)
  • Pencil and crayons or markers
  • Scissors (child-safe)
  • Glue stick or a single brass brad fastener
  • Several circular objects for tracing in different sizes (like a small cup, a bowl, a plate, etc.)
  • Your copy of ‘My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things’ by DK

Lesson Instructions (15-20 minutes):

1. Introduction: What is Social Studies? (3 minutes)

What to Say: "Hi Mirabelle! Today we are starting a new subject called Social Studies. That sounds like a big, fancy word, doesn't it? But all it really means is 'learning about people!' We're going to learn about people in our family, people in our town, and people all over the world. We will learn about the places they live, the jobs they do, and things that happened a long, long time ago. Social studies is like being a detective for people and places!"

What to Do: Sit with her and speak in an excited, curious tone. Open the 'My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things' and flip to a page about people or different places in the world to give her a quick visual.

2. Activity: My Place in the World Craft (12-15 minutes)

What to Say: "To start our journey, let's figure out YOUR special place in the world. We're going to make a project that shows you, in your home, in your town, all the way out to the whole world! It’s like a set of nesting dolls, but with places."

What to Do:

  1. Help Mirabelle trace and cut out circles of paper, each one bigger than the last. You will need about 6 circles.
  2. Smallest Circle: "This tiny circle in the middle is the most important person—YOU! Let's draw a picture of you on it and write your name."
  3. Next Circle: "Where do you live? In our home! Let's glue your 'ME' circle onto this next biggest circle. On this one, let's draw our house." Help her label it "My Home."
  4. Next Circle: "Our home is in our town/city. What is the name of our town?" Glue the "Home" circle onto this next one and help her write the name of your town/city. She can draw her favorite place in town, like the library or a park.
  5. Continue for Bigger Circles: Repeat the process for "My State," "My Country," and finally, the biggest circle, "Planet Earth." For the Earth circle, she can color it blue and green.
  6. Assemble the Project: You can either glue each circle onto the center of the next biggest one to create a flat, layered map, or you can stack them all and poke a brass brad through the top so she can fan them out like a book. This makes an excellent project for her portfolio!

Independent Work (10+ minutes):

Mirabelle can spend extra time coloring and decorating each layer of her "My Place in the World" project. Encourage her to add details to her drawings, like her family in the house, or trees on her street.

Book & Video Suggestions:

  • Book: Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney. This is the classic book for this exact activity and is perfect for her age.
  • Video: Search YouTube for "Me on the Map read aloud" to find a video of someone reading the book.

Day 2: People Then & Now and People Who Help

Learning Goal: Mirabelle will be introduced to the idea of History (life long ago) and Economics (jobs people do) in a simple, relatable way.

Materials Needed:

  • Tablet or computer for a short video
  • "Then and Now" Picture Cards (see prep note below)
  • "Community Helpers" Worksheet (see prep note below)
  • Crayons or markers
  • A piece of paper, folded in half to make two columns

Prep Note: Before the lesson, do a quick online image search for "then and now objects for kids." Print and cut out pictures of a few pairs, such as: an old-fashioned telephone and a smartphone; a horse and buggy and a car; an old dress and modern clothes. For the worksheet, draw a simple line-matching activity: on the left side, draw or print pictures of a firefighter, a doctor, and a librarian. On the right side, in a mixed-up order, draw a fire hose, a stethoscope, and a book. The goal is for her to draw a line connecting the person to their tool.

Lesson Instructions (15-20 minutes):

1. Review and Introduce History (5 minutes)

What to Say: "Yesterday in Social Studies, we learned about people and places and made our amazing 'Place in the World' craft. Today, we're going to talk about people from a long, long time ago. This part of Social Studies is called History! Let's see how different things were."

What to Do: Watch a short, engaging YouTube video on the topic. Search for "Then and Now for kids" or "Life in the Past for Kids." (e.g., a video from SciShow Kids or similar educational channels).

2. Activity 1: Then and Now Sort (5 minutes)

What to Say: "Wow, things have changed a lot! I have some pictures here of different objects. Some are from 'Then'—a long time ago—and some are from 'Now.' Can you help me sort them?"

What to Do: Take the piece of paper you folded in half. Label one column "Then (Long Ago)" and the other "Now." Give Mirabelle the picture cards you prepared and have her place them in the correct column. Talk about each one: "Look at this old phone! How is it different from the phone we use now?"

3. Introduce Community & Jobs (5 minutes)

What to Say: "Social Studies also teaches us about how people work together and help each other. In our town, lots of people have jobs to help our community. Can you think of someone who has a job that helps people?" (Guide her to think of doctors, firefighters, librarians, mail carriers, etc.)

What to Do: Briefly discuss a few jobs she names. Explain that people work to help others and also to earn money to buy things they need, like food and a home.

4. Activity 2: Community Helpers Worksheet (5 minutes)

What to Say: "I have a fun puzzle for you. On this paper, there are some community helpers on one side, and the tools they use on the other. Can you draw a line to connect the helper to their special tool?"

What to Do: Give her the worksheet you prepared. Guide her through the first one if she needs help, then let her complete the rest. This is your second great piece for her portfolio!

Independent Work (10+ minutes):

Mirabelle can color her Community Helpers worksheet. For an extra activity, she can draw a picture of what job she might want to do when she grows up and tell you about it.

Book & Video Suggestions:

  • Book: Whose Hands Are These?: A Community Helper Guessing Book by Miranda Paul or any Richard Scarry book about jobs (like What Do People Do All Day?).
  • Video: Search YouTube for "Community Helpers for Kids" to find fun songs and videos about different jobs.
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