Unit Plan 33 (Grade 1 Social Studies): Our Global Connections

Focus: Help students notice that children and families around the world have similar needs (food, clothing, shelter, love) but may meet those needs and celebrate in different ways. Students explore how people adapt to different environments (hot, cold, rainy, dry) and how they care for places, while also learning about family and cultural traditions (foods, music, holidays, and celebrations) from different countries.

Grade Level: 1

Subject Area: Social Studies (Geography • History/Culture)

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

I. Introduction

In this unit, students “travel” around the world through stories, photos, and simple maps to see how children in different places live, play, and celebrate. They compare clothing, homes, and daily routines in different climates and learn that families everywhere have special traditions like holidays, foods, songs, and stories. Students also see how people in different countries care for their environments by recycling, saving water, or planting trees. By the end of the week, they can explain that people around the world are both different and the same in how they meet needs and show what they care about.

Essential Questions

• How do people in different parts of the world meet their basic needs (food, clothing, shelter)?
• How do families adapt to different kinds of weather and places?
• What traditions and celebrations do families around the world have, and how are they similar to or different from ours?
• How do people in other places care for their environment (recycling, saving water, planting trees)?
• Why is it important to respect and learn about cultures and celebrations that are different from our own?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Describe how children and families in at least two different parts of the world meet needs for clothing, food, and shelter.
2. Explain one way people in another place adapt to their environment (e.g., clothing for hot/cold, house styles, activities).
3. Identify at least one family or cultural tradition (holiday, food, song, celebration) from another country.
4. Compare one tradition or celebration from another culture with one of their own, naming at least one similarity and one difference.
5. Name at least one way people in another place care for their environment and connect it to a way we care for our own community.

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

• 1.C3.Geo.5 — Explain how people adapt to and care for places.
  • Example: Clothing for seasons, recycling, picking up litter at a park.
• 1.C3.Hist.4 — Describe family and cultural traditions; note similarities and differences.
  • Example: Share foods or songs from a family celebration.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can tell how families in another country dress, eat, or live and how that fits their environment.
• I can describe at least one tradition or celebration from another place.
• I can say how a celebration from another culture is similar to and different from mine.
• I can name at least one way people in another country take care of their environment and connect it to something we do here.
• I can share a respectful comment or question about someone else’s traditions or way of life.