ABSTRACT

This chapter outlines a sequence of activities for Grade 1 in social studies in the area of family life. The Grade 1 unit content involves examination of how life and roles and responsibilities within families change with the arrival of a new member. Curriculum plans that primarily link to one set of standards inevitably draw on children’s use of knowledge and skills cited in standards in other curriculum areas. The targets for formative assessment in children’s progress in acquiring content and their use of cognitive processing strategies to extend learning are well identified in the Standards. The instructional design follows the pattern of tapping children’s prior knowledge before introducing new content and then engaging them in processing the new experience by revisiting prior discussions. The ELA standards feature all four areas of literacy, speaking and listening, reading text, and communicating orally and in written form.