Grade 1 Social Studies Curriculum
Family-facing version of the grade 1 social studies curriculum
Quarterly Overview of Grade 1 Social Studies
The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning. The pacing by quarter and by week provides an example of how the curriculum can be organized throughout the year. Teacher teams may adjust the pacing or order of units to best meet the needs of students.
Week 1Week 2Week 3
Week 4Week 5Week 6
Week 7Week 8Week 9
Quarter 2
Quarter 3
Units and Details
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate being a good citizen, on and offline, by:
- Focusing on fair play, exhibiting good sportsmanship, helping others, and treating others with respect.
- Recognize the purpose of rules and practicing self-control.
- Working hard in school.
- Taking responsibility for one’s own actions.
- Valuing honesty and truthfulness in themselves and others.
Students will consider:
- What is the same and different about rules in our homes, our classroom, our school, online, and in our community?
- What makes a rule a “good rule”?
- How do our choices affect others?
Students will be able to:
- Discover important locations relating to Virginia on maps and globes such as:
- Identifying shapes of the United States and Virginia.
- Locating Washington, D.C. and Richmond
- Recognize symbols (American flag) and traditional practices (Pledge of Allegiance) of the United States to understand patriotism.
- Recognize symbols and traditional practices that honor the Commonwealth of Virginia by:
- Identifying the Virginia state flag, state capitol building, state bird, and state flower.
- Describing why people have symbols and traditions.
- Understand that people of Virginia have diverse ethnic origins, customs, and traditions and are united as Americans by common principles.
- Describe life in Virginia’s past and present, making connections to food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and recreation.
Students will consider:
- What does the American flag mean to the diverse people in our community, nation, and world?
- How do people in our homes, classroom, and community define “patriotism”?
- Why is it important to know where places are located?
- What traditions are important to me, my family, my classmates, and the people in my community?
- How are the lives and experiences of people in my community the same and different?
- What does diversity mean to me?
- Why might patriotic symbols be important to some people?
- How do location and climate affect the way people live in Virginia today?
Students will be able to:
- Apply the traits of a good citizen, on and offline, by:
- Valuing honesty and truthfulness in themselves and others.
- Participating in classroom decision-making.
- Understand that the people of Virginia:
- Have state and local government officials who are elected by voters.
- Make contributions to their communities.
Students will consider:
- What is the same and different about rules in our homes, our classroom, our school, online, and in our community?
- What makes a rule a “good rule”?
- How do our choices affect others?
- How can I make a contribution to my community?
- Why is it important to vote?
Students will be able to:
- Classify goods and services and how people are consumers and producers.
Students will consider:
- In what ways do people make choices?
- How do people get the things they want?
Students will be able to:
- Develop map skills by:
- Recognizing map symbols including land, water, cities, roads, etc.
- Using cardinal directions on maps.
- Constructing simple maps that include a title, map legend, and compass rose.
Students will consider:
- How might maps of the past be similar to and different from maps now?
- In what ways do maps show us how places change over time or stay the same?
- How do people know the direction or location of a place?
Students will be able to:
- Explain the significance of the Jamestown settlement.
- Construct an understanding of the perspectives of influential people and their effects on Virginia's history, with a focus on:
- Powhatan
- Pocahontas
- Christopher Newport
Students will consider:
- In what ways has Virginia changed over time?
- How does climate and environment impact the way people live?
- How do people depend on other people and their environment for survival?
Students will be able to:
- Apply the traits of a good citizen, on and offline, by:
- Focusing on fair play, good sportsmanship, helping others, and treating others with respect.
- Recognizing the purpose of rules and practicing self-control.
- Describe and make connections to the work of Martin Luther King Jr.
Students will consider:
- What is the same and different about rules in our homes, our classroom, our school, online, and in our community?
- What makes a rule a “good rule”?
- How do our choices affect others?
- How might people honor and celebrate traditions, people, or events of the past?
- How can the actions of one person change people’s beliefs?
Students will be able to:
- Describe and make connections to the impacts of influential Virginians who helped form a new nation, with a focus on, but not limited to, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
- Make connections to people and events associated with:
- George Washington Day (Presidents' Day)
- Juneteenth
- Independence Day
Students will consider:
- How might people honor and celebrate traditions and events of the past?
- How do the contributions of some American leaders still impact people today?
Students will be able to:
- Understand the relationship between money and savings.
Students will consider:
- In what ways do people make choices?
- How do people get the things they need and want?
- How might people save money?
Students will be able to:
- Understand that geographical features, such as landforms and location, affect how people live.
Students will consider:
- How does where we live affect how we live?
- How might geographical features (rivers, mountains) impact daily life for people?
- In what ways do maps show us how places change over time or stay the same?
Students will be able to:
- Apply the traits of a good citizen, on and offline, by:
- Working hard in school.
- Understand that the people of Virginia make contributions to their communities.
Students will consider:
- What is the same and different about rules in our homes, our classroom, our school, online, and in our community?
- What makes a rule a “good rule”?
- How do our choices affect others?
- In what ways might people contribute to their home, their school, their community, and to the world?
Students will be able to:
- Describe the stories of influential people and their contributions to Virginia, with emphasis on:
- Maggie L. Walker
- Arthur R. Ashe, Jr.
- Lawrence Douglas Wilder
- John Mercer Langston
Students will consider:
- How have some individuals changed the lives of Americans?
- How can ordinary people change the world?
- How does the past influence today?
Students will be able to:
- Explain that people make choices because they cannot have everything they want.
- Understand that people save money for the future to purchase goods and services.
Students will consider:
- In what ways do people make choices?
- How do people get the things they need and want?
- How might people save money?
Students will be able to:
- Develop map skills by:
- Recognizing map symbols including land, water, cities, roads, etc.
- Using cardinal directions on maps.
- Constructing simple maps that include a title, map legend, and compass rose.
Students will consider:
- How might we tell others where to find people, places, and things?
- How does where we live affect how we live?
- In what ways do maps show us how places change over time or stay the same?
Assessments
Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.
- Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
- Check for understanding
- Gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
- Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for next steps in instruction.
For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.
In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), first grade tests focus on basic literacy and numeracy development.
