Ohio Social Studies Strands Kimberly Mattes First Grade

Rationale Kindergarten through high school students need to understand, through the study of the past and present, what it means to be a human being in society. The students need to develop the ability to make informed decisions as citizens of a diverse, democratic society and realize that they live in a world of finite resources.

Objective 1 n Allow students to gather and interpret information using perspectives from appropriate field of social studies. Teach students to use methods and skills drawn from the social studies and to teach the students to actively engage in learning.

Objective 2 n Teach students to explain how people in different societies cope with the challenges of existence. Teach students how to respond to individual and cultural diversity.

Objective 3 n Teach students to work with others, to make informed decisions, and act in a democratic way.

The Ohio Social Studies Strands n American Heritage n People in Societies n World Interactions n Decision Making and Resources n Democratic Processes n Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities

“American Heritage” Websites n –A site for teachers that includes interviews of historical people, personality profiles, and historic travels. n –A site for teachers that includes various historical topics and chronological time periods. n King/ –A teacher resource designed to educate students on Martin Luther King Junior.

“American Heritage” Websites n Humanities/History/U_S_History/ –A site that contains different history categories (such as Colonial America or Thanksgiving) for teachers. n Lessons/Social_St/History/index.html –A site that contains history lesson plans.

“American Heritage” Activities n Read a folktale and ask the students to identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story. n Record class events and ask the students to put the events in order along a time line. n Do a apple unit and study Johnny Appleseed and why he was important. n Study the Native Americans and ask the students to make an Indian Village and describe how the Indians lived.

“People in Societies” Websites n act/ss_5.html –A site that contains cultural activities to do with students. n geneo.html –A site for teachers that discusses geneology. n japan/index.html –A Japanese sight with many cultural activities for teachers to use with students.

“People in Societies” Websites n themes.world.shtml –This site contains global units on various cultures. It also contains lessons and ideas. n /p1006/htm –This is a site that contains the unit “Many Places, Many Faces.” This is a unit designed to teach children about various cultures.

“People in Societies” Activities n Ask students to talk to their parents about their geneology. Allow the students to share this in class. n Discuss different cultural communities. n Talk about how their school functions as a “community.” n Have a speaker from another community come to visit the class to discuss their community.

“World Interactions” Websites n act/ss_1.html –This site gave world lesson plans to use in the classroom. n WL-AsianStudies.html –This site contains different Asian countries that can be studied. n http.//multimedia2.freac.fsu.edu/ fga/academy/k1us.htm –This site has various maps and discusses skills to show spatial relationships for the students. It also has activities and lesson plans.

“World Interactions” Websites n studies/geography.html –There are different categories for teachers on this website. Some of these categories would be suitable for students. There are different countries that can be studied. n –Teachers or students could use this site to get map information or look for a specific site.

“World Interactions” Acitvities n Show the students various regions that are very different from each other and discuss the ways that we would dress etc. n Teach the children various direction words (right/left, up/down etc.). Then have the children find an item in the classroom using direction words. n Begin basic mapping skills by making streets and houses from their rows and desks. n Discuss recent historical events of a specific country.

“Decision Making and Resources” Websites n academy/k1us.htm –This site contains lessons and activities about how people are dependent on each other. n –This is a junior achievement site that contains ideas for teachers to use at various grade levels. n goat.htm –This is an economics lesson for grades 1-3 that is based on “The Goat in the Rug.”

“Decision Making and Resources” Websites n htm#first –This site discusses first grade key economic concepts that students should know. n week/lessons.htm –This site is entitled “Great Economic Lessons” and contains various economic lessons for all grade levels.

“Decision Making and Resources” Activities n Ask the students to list the resources necessary to make a desired good. n Discuss why all wants cannot be met and what people do to when those wants cannot be met. n Ask the students to discuss what they do when they do not have enough money to buy something. n Make a graph to compare choices made in a situation where there was a lack of resources (such as crayons).

“Democratic Processes” Websites n –This site is great for teachers or students. It has information about the presidents and even has a special section called “White House for Kids.” n –This site contains links to the presidents and the first ladies. It also contains history on the presidents. n –This site for teachers discusses political parties and the history of democracy.

“Democratic Processes” Websites n –This site for teachers contains various links to Ohio government sites. n –This site is for teachers to use to show students how they can become involved in politics. It contains a capital directory and legislation information.

“Democratic Processes” Activites n Discuss the rules of the classroom and allow the children to have a say in making classroom policy. n Discuss what would happen if their were no one in charge (teacher) of the classroom. n Allow the children to become the ones in charge of the classroom n Discuss what would happen if their were no rules to a game. Play that game as if their were no rules.

“Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities” Websites n –This site tells about the kids voting campaign and how to get other children involved. n checking= –The is a teacher site that contains lesson plans about voting and an introduction to the U.S. government. n –This site is called “Learning Adventures in Citizenship.” It is for both students and teachers.

“Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities” Websites n –The site is the center for democracy and citizenship. It is mainly geared towards teachers. n default.asp –This site contains lesson plans for teachers on various subjects including social studies and citizenship.

“Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities” Activities n Set up a “voting booth” where kids can pretend to vote on election day. n Discuss citizenship traits and what it means to be a good citizen. n Take a field trip to the capital. n Read The House on Maple Street and discuss changes observed in the community.

Conclusion These six strands and the various activities represent the social studies content that the students should be able to master in first grade.