Missouri Elementary Social Studies: Early American History for Grades 1–4
Missouri Elementary Social Studies: Early American History for Grades 1–4
Yes, you can buy ready-made early American history lessons for a Missouri elementary classroom, but none of them will hand you the Louisiana Purchase or Missouri statehood. The Early American History Bundle covers the national story that sits underneath those topics: Native Americans, explorers, the Pilgrims, pioneers, timelines and historical sources. Every lesson is planned; the Missouri chapter is yours to add.
See the 8 early American unitsFor Grades 1–4 in Missouri, the Early American History Bundle ($99.99) gives you eight planned units: Native Americans, explorers, the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving, pioneers on the frontier, timelines, historical sources, and school and family life then and now. Each unit has an overview and three sub-units with a lesson plan, a differentiated worksheet with reading passage and word bank, an activity, an answer key and slides. It is not written for Missouri and contains no Missouri history.
The resources
Early American History Bundle, Grades 1–4
8 resources in one download: $99.99 instead of $199.92 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Early American History Bundle | Native Americans, Explorers, Pilgrims & Pioneers | 8 Units | Grades 1–4
Elementary History Curriculum | All 20 History Units | Grades 1–4
Ancient Civilizations Bundle | Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, Vikings & Stone Age | 8 Units | Grades 1–4
Civics & Civil Rights Bundle | Martin Luther King Jr., Voting, Direct Democracy & Freedom of the Press | 4 Resources | Grades 5–9
The real problem
What the Missouri sequence asks of a Grade 3 or 4 teacher
The Missouri Learning Standards for social studies were approved on April 19, 2016 and have been in use since 2016–17. From kindergarten through Grade 5 they are written grade by grade, so your grade level, not a course title, decides what you teach. Example standards mapped by the State Historical Society of Missouri show where the weight falls. Grade 3 is Missouri-focused: Native American migration to Missouri, European exploration, the Louisiana Purchase and statehood. Grade 4 looks at America before about 1800, with Native American migrations, European exploration and settlement, and westward expansion. So you need solid lessons on the big national story, written so that seven- and nine-year-olds can actually read them and local material about your own state. Writing the national lessons yourself eats weekends: each needs a reading passage at the right level, a worksheet that works for your strongest and weakest readers and some way to get students looking at real evidence. The Missouri piece is short by comparison and is often better built from local sources you already know.
Why it fits
Where the eight units meet the Missouri grades
The bundle carries the national side of Grades 3 and 4 and the history-thinking skills younger grades practice.
- Native Americans: First Peoples of North America gives background before a Missouri lesson on migration.
- Explorers & the Voyage to the Americas covers European exploration, which shows up in both Grade 3 and Grade 4.
- Pioneers & Life on the Frontier fits the westward expansion work that Grade 4 points toward.
- Pilgrims & the First Thanksgiving treats early settlement factually and respectfully, with source work instead of legend.
- Timelines & Measuring Time and Traces of the Past build the chronology and evidence habits a state history unit needs.
- School Then and Now and Family & Daily Life Then and Now suit Grades 1 and 2 classes.
Getting started
A suggested way to run it in a Missouri year
This is one possible order for a Grade 3 or Grade 4 class. Shift it to match your district calendar and the order your school uses.
- Start with timelines and sourcesOpen the year with Timelines & Measuring Time and Traces of the Past. Students learn to place events in order and to ask what an object or picture tells us before they meet any content.
- First Peoples before anything elseTeach Native Americans: First Peoples of North America next. Then add your own lesson on peoples who lived in what is now Missouri, using a local museum page or a regional source you trust.
- Explorers and the PilgrimsMove into the explorers unit and the Pilgrims unit. Each has three sub-units, so you can teach all of them in sequence or pick one sub-unit when time is short.
- Pioneers, then your Missouri lessonsPioneers & Life on the Frontier leads naturally into the Louisiana Purchase and statehood. Those two topics are not in the bundle, so plan two or three of your own lessons here.
- Close with then and nowSchool Then and Now and Family & Daily Life Then and Now work well at the end of the year, or as stand-alone days when a substitute covers your class.
What to buy
Early American bundle or the full set of 20?
Pick the Early American History Bundle at $99.99 if your main need is Grades 3 and 4 and the national story behind Missouri history; buying its eight units one by one would cost $199.92. If you also teach ancient history to younger students or run a multi-grade or homeschool program, the Elementary History Curriculum holds all 20 elementary history units for $169.99 instead of $499.80. The Ancient Civilizations Bundle ($99.99) is the other half of that set. A Grade 4 teacher who wants civil rights and voting lessons can look at the Civics & Civil Rights Bundle ($54.99), which is written for Grades 5–9.
Honest limits
What you will still have to supply
The bundle is not written for Missouri. It has no lessons on the Louisiana Purchase, Missouri statehood or Missouri place names, and it carries no Missouri Learning Standards codes. Check each unit against your grade-level standards and your district's map before you teach it. You supply the Missouri content and printing. The licence covers your own teaching; if your grade-level team wants to share it, send Teach Lessons a short message first. If the bundle turns out not to fit, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value. There is no cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is this aligned to the Missouri Learning Standards for social studies?
No. It is not aligned to, approved by or written for the Missouri Learning Standards, and it makes no such claim. The units cover national early American history and source skills. Read the unit overviews against the grade-level standards your district uses, and decide which lessons you keep, which you shorten and where you add Missouri material.
Does it include the Louisiana Purchase or Missouri statehood?
No. Neither topic is in any of the eight units. The Explorers and Pioneers units give students the background, and you add the Missouri lessons for your Grade 3 block yourself, often from local sources, a field trip or a guest speaker, which suits a state topic well.
Can I use it with Grade 1 and Grade 2?
Yes, the bundle is written for Grades 1–4. Younger classes usually get the most from the then-and-now units, Timelines & Measuring Time and the historical sources unit. Each worksheet is differentiated and has a reading passage with a word bank, so you can read aloud with early readers.
How are Native Americans and the Pilgrims handled?
Factually and respectfully. The units present Native Americans as the first peoples of North America with their own ways of life, and the Pilgrims unit uses source work rather than a holiday story. Preview the slides and passages first, as with any material on these topics.
We homeschool in Missouri. Does this count toward our required hours?
Missouri law lists social studies among the core subjects for home school hours, so history lessons count as time in that subject. Keeping your records in order is your responsibility; check current law with the state or a homeschool legal resource. The bundle is one piece of a social studies plan, not a full program.
When do I get the files?
Right after purchase. You receive a download link by email, and the files also stay in your customer account under Orders. There is nothing to ship, so you can print the worksheets or project the slides the same afternoon and teach the first sub-unit the next morning.
The national story planned, the Missouri chapter yours
Open the product page to see all eight unit titles and what each sub-unit contains before you buy.
See the 8 early American units