1st Grade Social Studies: History Units That Fit Six-Year-Olds
1st Grade Social Studies: History Units That Fit Six-Year-Olds
For first-grade teachers who want real history in social studies, the Timelines & Measuring Time unit is a good place to start: it turns yesterday, last year and long ago into something children can see and order. It costs $24.99 and comes with three ready-to-teach sub-units, each with a lesson plan, worksheet, activity, answer key and slides. Then-and-now units on family and school build on it.
View the Timelines unit →For 1st grade social studies, the Teach Lessons Timelines & Measuring Time unit ($24.99) is a practical starting point. It belongs to a Grades 1–4 series and contains an overview and three sub-units, each with a step-by-step lesson plan, a differentiated worksheet with reading passage and word bank, a project or primary-source activity, a complete answer key and slides. Family & Daily Life Then and Now and School Then and Now fit naturally after it.
The resources
Timelines & Measuring Time Unit, Grades 1–4
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Timelines & Measuring Time Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
Family & Daily Life Then and Now Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
School Then and Now Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
Traces of the Past: Discovering Historical Sources Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
The real problem
What makes history tricky in first grade
Six-year-olds have a very short sense of time. Ask a first grader how long ago their grandparents were children and the answer may be "a hundred years" or "last summer". Before any history topic makes sense, children need language for time: before and after, yesterday and tomorrow, a long time ago. They also need to see time laid out, ideally starting with their own day and their own life before moving to their family. The second challenge is reading. Many first graders are still decoding, so a worksheet with a full paragraph can stall the lesson. The teacher ends up reading aloud, explaining words, and keeping twenty-two children on the same line at once. Finally, first-grade history works best close to home. Children compare their own toys, homes and classrooms with what their parents and grandparents had, and they bring that knowledge from home. Units about distant empires can wait. What a first-grade teacher needs is a short, concrete sequence: time first, then family, then school.
Why it fits
Why these units suit a first-grade room
These are suggestions for first grade; the units are written for Grades 1–4 and do not assign topics to a specific grade.
- Timelines & Measuring Time gives students the time words every later history lesson depends on.
- Slides for each sub-unit let you teach as a whole group while students follow on the screen.
- The word bank on each worksheet gives early readers the key words before they meet them in the passage.
- Differentiated worksheets help when some children read independently and others still need you beside them.
- Family & Daily Life Then and Now connects history to grandparents, homes and chores children already know.
- Traces of the Past shows that old photos, objects and stories are how we learn about the past.
Getting started
How a first-grade sequence could look
One possible path through three or four units. Adjust the pace to your class and your schedule.
- Start with the students' own dayUse the first timelines sub-unit to put morning, lunch and home time in order. Read the passage aloud and let students point to the word bank as you go.
- Move to a personal timelineLet the project activity become a timeline of each child's life so far. Ask families for a baby photo or a date if your school is comfortable with that.
- Bring in family then and nowTeach Family & Daily Life Then and Now next. Children compare cooking, washing and playing in the past with what happens at home today. Keep a class chart with two columns.
- Look at school then and nowSchool Then and Now works well after family, since every child has a school to compare. Slates, desks and lessons from long ago are concrete for six-year-olds.
- Close with traces of the pastIf time allows, finish with Traces of the Past. Children see that photos, objects and old buildings tell us how people lived. Let students bring one old object from home if they can.
What to buy
What to buy for first grade
Buy Timelines & Measuring Time first at $24.99. If you have regular weekly social studies time, add Family & Daily Life Then and Now and School Then and Now, which makes three units for $74.97. Traces of the Past is a fourth option if you want a short block on objects and sources. There is no bundle price for these units and TEACHMORE15 does not apply to them. If your first-grade classes also need early number practice, the Elementary Math Practice & Warm-Up Bundle for Grades 1–4 ($34.99) is a separate purchase.
Honest limits
What to expect and what you add
The units cover Grades 1–4 as one band, so not every passage will be pitched at a first grader; plan to read some texts aloud or shorten them. They do not include picture books, timeline strips, photos from your students' homes or craft supplies; you supply those. There is no first-grade calendar built in. Check the topics against your first-grade social studies requirements before you buy. For use across your first-grade team, send Teach Lessons a short message first. Within 7 days, a unit that does not suit your class can be exchanged for store credit of equal value, not a cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Do these units meet first-grade social studies standards?
The units make no claim of alignment with any state or national standards. They are written for the Grades 1–4 band, and topics such as timelines, family life and school then and now are common in early grades. Read the unit overview and compare it with your own first-grade requirements to decide whether it covers what you need.
Can first graders handle the reading passages?
Some can, some cannot yet, and that is normal. Each worksheet is differentiated and has a word bank. Many first-grade teachers read the passage aloud while students follow along, then let them work on the worksheet in pairs. The slides help because the whole class can look at the same page together.
How long does one unit take in first grade?
The units do not prescribe a schedule. Each has three sub-units, and first graders usually need shorter sessions, so a sub-unit may stretch over more than one lesson. Try the first sub-unit, see how long it takes your class, and plan the rest from there.
Is Timelines & Measuring Time too abstract for six-year-olds?
It works best when you start with things students know: their day, their week, their birthday. The unit's project and activity give you a way to make time visible. Long periods of history can wait; in first grade, ordering events from their own life is already real history work.
Do I need to involve families?
Not necessarily. The then-and-now units invite comparisons with home life, and some teachers ask families for a photo or a short story. If that is not practical in your school, students can work only from the reading passages, pictures and slides in the unit. Both approaches work.
Can I use the units with my first-grade team?
The licence is for your own teaching. If your grade-level colleagues want to use the same units, send Teach Lessons a short message before purchase to ask about team use. The files may not be posted online, shared publicly or resold. One short email before buying is enough to ask.
Give your first graders a sense of time
Open the Timelines & Measuring Time unit and look at how the three sub-units are built before you plan your fall.
View the Timelines unit →