Standard Course of Study :: Social Studies — Grade 1

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Classroom
Professional
My LEARN NC
- Email Updates
- Web Conferences

Classroom » Curriculum Standards

Aligned lesson plans

Resources on the web

Xpeditions express: City scavenger hunt: Students take a virtual trip on National Geographic's Xpeditions Express through Europe to the cities of London, Paris, Innsbruck, Venice, Budapest, and Istanbul. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

World view: National anthems around the world: Students visit the World Viewer exhibit in National Geographic's Xpedition Hall and explore the different geographic information about countries around the globe. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Music Education and Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Wildebeest migration: Students will make maps of the wildebeest migration route in eastern Africa. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade 1–2 Science and Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Whooping cranes and their human friends: Students will learn about endangered whooping cranes and trace their migration route in the United States. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade 1 Science and Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Traditional towns and modern suburbs: Students will visit a virtual community and view aerial photographs to compare and contrast these two types of towns. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

To build an island: Students gain a basic overview of the geography of islands. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade 1–2 Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Taking care of our oceans: Students consider why so many people live near the coast and learn about the impacts of this trend on ocean animals. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Science and Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Pioneer America: Journey west: In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students learn about the early pioneers in America and their motivations for moving West. They discover what life was like for these explorers and list items necessary for westward travel during the mid-1800s. Students also create... (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–3 Social Studies); Provided by: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Modeling Shadows: Students observe the daytime and nighttime sky regularly to identify sequences of changes and to look for patterns in these changes. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Social Studies); Provided by: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Mission geography: Continents: In this Xpeditions lesson, students identify characteristics of the physical geography of each continent of the world. Students start by identifying each of the continents and reassembling continental maps. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade 1 Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

The Middle East region: Flags and facts: Students will learn basic facts about the Middle East by exploring maps of the region. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Mars mobiles: Students compare the landscapes of Mars and Earth and create mobiles showcasing some of the features of the Martian landscape. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Life in the mountains: Students are introduced to the idea that people in different parts of the world have different customs and habits of daily life, even if they live in similar landscapes. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade 1–2 Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Introduction to the Grand Canyon: Students look at photographs of three canyons and then focus on the Grand Canyon, discussing how the Colorado River carved it into its present form. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–1 Science and Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Immigrating to America: In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students learn about what it was like for new immigrants to come through Ellis Island at the turn of the century. Through first-hand accounts, students discover where the immigrants were from, the reasons they fled their homelands,... (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–4 Social Studies); Provided by: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Forest features: Students concentrate on the tropical rain forest and learn about explorer Michael Fay's Congo Trek through the African rain forest. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade 1–2 Science and Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Exploring physical and human characteristics of earth's spaces: Students travel around the world on a visual scavenger hunt. First select a handful of important natural and cultural characteristics of places. Then ask them to search through magazines such as National Geographic for photographs that illustrate the range... (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade 1–2 Social Studies); Provided by: Xpeditions

El Niño: More Than Just Hot Air?: Students are introduced to the El Niño phenomenon by doing a brief experiment and looking at pictures of El Niño. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Science and Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Designing a native plants garden: Students compare native vegetation in different parts of the United States. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Science and Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

Caribou migration: Students will learn some basic facts about caribou and map the migration route of the Porcupine caribou herd of Alaska and northwestern Canada. (Learn more); Format: lesson plan (grade 1–2 Science and Social Studies); Provided by: National Geographic

LEARN NC, a program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education, finds the most innovative and successful practices in K–12 education and makes them available to the teachers and students of North Carolina — and the world.