Unit Plan 18 (Grade 1 Social Studies): Midyear Inquiry Project—Our Community Map

Focus: Guide students through an inquiry project where they combine their learning about maps, weather, and community places to create a shared “Our Community Map” display. Students will ask questions, gather information from simple sources, and show how people live, work, move, adapt, and care in their community using symbols, labels, and drawings.

Grade Level: 1

Subject Area: Social Studies (Geography • Inquiry/Research • Community Life)

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

I. Introduction

In this unit, students act as community geographers and question-askers. They bring together earlier learning about places, maps, weather, and caring for our environment by creating a large class community map display. They ask and refine questions, gather information from photos, short texts, maps, and simple interviews, and then use drawings, symbols, labels, and short sentences to show important places, features, and helpers. The week ends with a gallery walk or mini “map tour,” where students explain their part of the display.

Essential Questions

• What makes our community and neighborhood special?
• How can maps, symbols, and labels help us understand where places are and what happens there?
• How do weather and physical features affect what people do in our community?
• How can we show and share what we learn about our community in a way others can understand?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Ask and refine simple questions about their community and nearby places (e.g., “What happens at the park?” “Who helps us at the fire station?”).
2. Gather information about community places from simple sources such as photos, picture books, maps, and short interviews.
3. Sort and choose relevant information and basic facts to include on a community map (places, weather, features, helpers).
4. Use a simple map with symbols, position words, and labels to show important places, physical features, and human-made features.
5. Contribute to a class “Our Community Map” and share one conclusion about how people adapt to and care for the community.

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

• 1.C3.Inq.1 — Ask and refine questions about community and world.
  • Example: “How do rules help everyone at recess?”
• 1.C3.Inq.2 — Gather information from simple sources (photos, maps, short texts, interviews).
  • Example: Use a picture book and a class interview with the custodian to learn about school jobs.
• 1.C3.Inq.3 — Evaluate and sort evidence (relevant/irrelevant; fact/opinion at a basic level).
  • Example: Decide which pictures actually show “helping keep the school clean.”
• 1.C3.Inq.4 — Communicate conclusions using words, drawings, charts, and labels.
  • Example: Create a mini-poster showing a community helper, tools, and how they help.
• 1.C3.Geo.1 — Identify and describe familiar places (home, school, neighborhood) and their purposes.
  • Example: Tell what happens in the cafeteria vs. the library.
• 1.C3.Geo.2 — Use simple maps and map symbols; follow/describe routes with position words.
  • Example: Draw a classroom map with a legend; describe the route to the playground.
• 1.C3.Geo.3 — Describe physical features and weather patterns in the local area.
  • Example: Trees, river, hills; “It’s windy in spring so we wear jackets.”
• 1.C3.Geo.4 — Identify human-made features and explain how people use them.
  • Example: Roads, bridges, buildings; “Bridges help us cross water.”
• 1.C3.Geo.5 — Explain how people adapt to and care for places.
  • Example: Clothing for seasons, recycling, picking up litter at a park.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can ask questions about places and helpers in my community.
• I can use pictures, books, and maps to find facts about our community.
• I can help make a map with symbols, labels, and position words.
• I can show at least one physical feature (like trees, a hill, a creek) and one human-made feature (like a road or school) on our map.
• I can explain one way people adapt to or care for our community (clothes, recycling, park rules, etc.).