Unit Plan 22 (Grade K Social Studies): Stories from the Past
Stories from long ago come alive as children explore real people and places, use pictures and maps as sources, and practice retelling key details with simple sequence words.
Focus: Help children understand that stories from long ago teach us about people and places. Students listen to simple historical read-alouds, study pictures, maps, and photos, and then retell key details about who the story is about, where it happened, and why it matters.
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Subject Area: Social Studies (History • Inquiry • Civics Connections)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 20–30 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students become “History Storytellers” who learn that history is made of stories about real people and places from long ago. They practice listening closely to short historical stories, looking at photos, maps, and simple artifacts, and then retelling what happened using their own words and drawings. The goal is to build a sense that the world has a past, and we can learn about it through sources like books and pictures.
Essential Questions
- What is a story from the past?
- How can we use pictures, maps, and books to learn what happened long ago?
- What important details do we remember when we retell a story (who, where, what happened, why it mattered)?
- How can we share past stories so other people can learn from them too?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Explain that a historical story is about something that happened long ago.
- Use simple sources (a picture book, photo, or map) to answer basic questions about a story from the past (Who is it about? Where are they?).
- Retell a simple historical story including at least two key details (e.g., who and where, or what happened and why it mattered).
- Use sequence words such as “first,” “next,” and “last” when retelling part of a story.
- Create a drawing and dictated or written sentence(s) that show understanding of a story from the past.
Standards Alignment — Kindergarten (C3-based custom)
- K.C3.Hist.5 — Use simple sources to learn about the past and retell key details.
- K.C3.Inq.2 — Gather information from observations and simple sources (photos, maps, short texts).
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can say this story is about long ago.
- I can tell who the story is about and where it happens.
- I can use pictures or a book to help me remember what happened.
- I can retell a story with first, next, and/or last.
- I can draw and tell about a story from the past so others understand it.