Unit Plan 22 (Grade 1 Social Studies): Family Stories from the Past

Focus: Help students share and illustrate personal or family history, using stories, pictures, and objects to talk about the past, family traditions, and special memories. Students begin to see that families have similarities and differences in how they celebrate and remember important events.

Grade Level: 1

Subject Area: Social Studies (History • Family & Culture • Inquiry)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 30–45 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students explore family stories from the past. They listen to short read-alouds and share simple stories about their own lives and family traditions (celebrations, foods, trips, routines). Using pictures, photographs, and oral stories, they talk about what happened before today and how families remember important moments. The week ends with a small illustrated family story page that shows who was there, what happened, and why it was special.

Essential Questions

• What is a family story, and how can it tell us about the past?
• How do families celebrate and remember special events or traditions?
• How are our family stories similar and different from one another?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Describe at least one family or cultural tradition (such as a holiday, meal, or routine) and say why it is special.
2. Use a simple source (photo, drawing, or story) to tell who, what, where, and when about a family event from the past.
3. Identify at least one similarity and one difference between their family traditions and a classmate’s.
4. Use temporal words (e.g., before, now, long ago, yesterday) in speaking or writing about family events.
5. Create an illustrated family story page with a picture and a sentence/caption explaining the event or tradition.

Standards Alignment — 1st Grade (C3-based custom)

• 1.C3.Hist.4 — Describe family and cultural traditions; note similarities and differences.
  • Example: Share foods or songs from a family celebration.
• 1.C3.Hist.5 — Use simple sources to learn about the past and retell key details.
  • Example: After a read-aloud on community history, retell who, where, and why.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can talk about one family tradition and say why it is special to my family.
• I can look at a picture or object and tell who was there and what happened in the past.
• I can tell one way my family’s traditions are like a classmate’s and one way they are different.
• I can make a family story picture and write or dictate a sentence that explains it.