Kindergarten Social Studies – Me, My World, and Our Community
Foundations of identity, community, early geography, and ELA literacy.
Standards at a Glance
Course Focus
K.1 Myself and My Family
K.2 My Classroom and School
K.3 Places and Spaces Around Me
K.4 Time, Change, and Responsibilities
Overview
Kindergarten Standards at a Glance – Me and My World
A quick look at how Kindergarten students begin to understand themselves, their families, their classroom community, and the places around them—while building early geography and literacy skills.
K.1 Myself and My Family
Social Studies Focus
- Identify personal traits, likes, and interests.
- Recognize family members and their roles.
- Understand that every family is important and may look different.
Geography Skills
- Use simple words like “near,” “far,” “here,” and “there” when talking about home and school.
- Point to where they are in the classroom or on a simple picture map.
ELA Integration
- Reading: listen to picture books about families and self.
- Writing: draw and dictate or label pictures about themselves and their families.
- Speaking/Listening: share about “who I am” in circle time.
K.2 My Classroom and School
Social Studies Focus
- Recognize the classroom as a community.
- Follow rules and routines that help everyone feel safe.
- Identify helpers in the school (teacher, principal, staff).
Geography Skills
- Use simple maps or pictures to show parts of the classroom and school.
- Practice words like “in front of,” “behind,” “next to” when talking about classroom objects.
ELA Integration
- Reading: listen to stories about classroom rules and working together.
- Writing: draw and dictate one way they help in the classroom.
- Speaking/Listening: role-play being a helper or following a rule.
K.3 Places and Spaces Around Me
Social Studies Focus
- Identify familiar places in the neighborhood (park, store, library).
- Notice how people use places for different activities.
- Begin to see that places can be special or important.
Geography Skills
- Recognize simple maps, pictures, or models of places (like a playground map).
- Use basic directional words (up, down, left, right) in movement games.
ELA Integration
- Reading: listen to informational read-alouds about communities and places.
- Writing: draw and label a favorite place and why they like it.
- Speaking/Listening: talk about places they visit with their families.
K.4 Time, Change, and Responsibilities
Social Studies Focus
- Recognize that they grow and change over time.
- Notice differences between “then” and “now” in their own lives.
- Identify simple responsibilities at home and at school.
Geography Skills
- Use simple sequences (morning, afternoon, night) to describe daily routines in different places.
- Connect places to activities (home for sleeping, school for learning, park for playing).
ELA Integration
- Reading: listen to stories about growing up and taking responsibility.
- Writing: draw and dictate “when I was little” and “now.”
- Speaking/Listening: share one responsibility they have at home or school.
Course Focus
Kindergarten Social Studies – Me, My World, and Our Community
In Kindergarten, students begin Social Studies by learning about themselves, their families, and their classroom and school as special communities. They start to notice that people have roles, follow rules, and help one another. They also explore familiar places near them and talk about how they grow and change over time and how they can care for themselves and others.
Throughout the year, students build early geography skills by using simple words about position and place, looking at picture maps, and connecting places to activities in their everyday lives. They develop ELA literacy through listening to read-alouds, talking in circle time, drawing and dictating their ideas, and using new words to describe themselves, their families, their classroom, and their world.
Content Focus: Students explore who they are, what makes them unique, and how their families care for and support them.
Social Studies Indicators
- K.1.1.SS – Identify personal traits (such as name, age, likes, and interests) and share about themselves.
- K.1.2.SS – Recognize family members and describe how family members help and care for one another.
- K.1.3.SS – Recognize that families can be similar and different in size, structure, and traditions.
- K.1.4.SS – Identify simple ways they can show kindness and respect to family and friends.
Geography Integration
- Use simple positional words (such as “near,” “far,” “in front,” “behind”) when talking about where family members or objects are in a room.
- Point to or place a picture of themselves on a simple classroom chart or “Where am I?” map.
- Connect the idea of “home” as a special place where their family lives.
- Create simple picture maps or drawings that show themselves and the people around them.
ELA Literacy Integration
- Reading: Listen to picture books and short texts about families and feelings; talk about characters who are similar to or different from themselves.
- Writing: Draw and dictate or label a picture of themselves and their family members; attempt to write names or beginning sounds.
- Speaking/Listening: Share about “who I am” during circle time or partner talk, using sentence frames such as “I am…” or “I like…”.
- Language: Use words like family, home, friend, kind when talking and drawing about their lives.
Content Focus: Students view the classroom and school as communities where people have roles, follow rules, and help one another.
Social Studies Indicators
- K.2.1.SS – Recognize the classroom as a community and describe how students and teachers work and learn together.
- K.2.2.SS – Identify classroom and school rules and explain how rules help keep everyone safe and cared for.
- K.2.3.SS – Identify school helpers (such as teachers, principal, nurse, custodian) and describe how they help the school community.
- K.2.4.SS – Practice simple ways to be a responsible class member (sharing, cleaning up, listening).
Geography Integration
- Use simple picture maps or diagrams to show parts of the classroom and school (door, carpet, tables, playground).
- Practice positional words (“next to,” “between,” “around”) in classroom scavenger hunts.
- Follow a simple path on a classroom or school map (for example, from classroom to library).
- Create a “My Classroom Map” with labels or symbols for important places.
ELA Literacy Integration
- Reading: Listen to stories about school, rules, and working together; identify who is in the story and what the problem or rule is.
- Writing: Draw and dictate a way they help in the classroom or follow a rule; add labels or beginning-sound words.
- Speaking/Listening: Participate in shared discussions about classroom rules, using phrases like “We can…” and “We should…”.
- Language: Use words such as classroom, rule, helper, safe, share when talking about school life.
Content Focus: Students learn to notice and name important places in their neighborhood and community and how people use these places.
Social Studies Indicators
- K.3.1.SS – Identify familiar community places (such as homes, parks, stores, libraries, fire stations).
- K.3.2.SS – Describe what people do in different places (play, shop, read, get help).
- K.3.3.SS – Recognize that community helpers work in different places to support others.
- K.3.4.SS – Identify one or two “special places” that matter to them and why.
Geography Integration
- Look at simple maps, photos, or models of community places and identify what they see.
- Use basic directional words (up/down, left/right) in movement games and map activities.
- Match pictures of places to activities (for example, playground → play, library → read).
- Create class charts that show different places in their community and what happens there.
ELA Literacy Integration
- Reading: Listen to informational read-alouds and simple texts about communities and community helpers; ask and answer who/where questions.
- Writing: Draw and dictate a picture of a favorite place in their community and what they do there; label key objects (tree, slide, book).
- Speaking/Listening: Share about places they visit with family, using sentence frames like “I go to…” and “I like to…”.
- Language: Use words such as place, community, helper, park, library, store when talking about their world.
Content Focus: Students begin to understand that people grow and change, that days have order, and that they have simple responsibilities at home and school.
Social Studies Indicators
- K.4.1.SS – Recognize that they were younger in the past and will grow and change in the future.
- K.4.2.SS – Sequence simple events from their day (morning, afternoon, evening).
- K.4.3.SS – Identify responsibilities they have at home and at school (cleaning up, listening, helping).
- K.4.4.SS – Describe why it is important to try their best and care for others over time.
Geography Integration
- Connect different times of day with different places (home in the morning, school during the day, home at night).
- Use simple picture schedules that show where they go and what they do at each part of the day.
- Notice how the classroom or playground looks at different times (arrival, clean-up, end of day).
- Create “My Day” picture maps that connect time, place, and activity.
ELA Literacy Integration
- Reading: Listen to stories about growing up, changing, and taking responsibility; discuss what characters learn or how they change.
- Writing: Draw and dictate about “when I was little” and “now,” or about a responsibility they have and how they do it.
- Speaking/Listening: Share a personal story about learning to do something new or helping someone; listen and respond to classmates kindly.
- Language: Use words such as before, after, yesterday, today, tomorrow, responsibility when talking about time and routines.
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