Vermont 1st Grade Social Studies: Then and Now Units for Grades 1–3
Vermont 1st Grade Social Studies: Then and Now Units for Grades 1–3
For a Vermont first grade teacher whose social studies year starts with past and present, the Then and Now Social Studies Bundle has six ready units on school, family, old trades, inventions, timelines and sources for $89.99. It also stretches into second and third grade. Vermont sets no statewide grade-by-grade sequence, so check first how your district places these topics.
See the Then and Now unitsIf your Vermont district has first graders comparing life long ago with today, the Then and Now Social Studies Bundle ($89.99) gives you six full units for it: School Then and Now, Family & Daily Life Then and Now, Old Trades & Crafts, Inventions That Changed the World, Timelines & Measuring Time, and a unit on historical sources. It is not written for Vermont and has no Vermont history in it.
The resources
Then and Now Social Studies Bundle, Grades 1–3
6 resources in one download: $89.99 instead of $149.94 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Then and Now Social Studies Bundle | School, Family, Trades, Inventions, Timelines & Sources | 6 Units | Grades 1–3
Elementary History Curriculum | All 20 History Units | Grades 1–4
Early American History Bundle | Native Americans, Explorers, Pilgrims & Pioneers | 8 Units | Grades 1–4
Thanksgiving and Fall Bundle | Pilgrims, First Peoples, Autumn Crafts | Grades K–4
The real problem
No state map for first grade, so the district decides
Vermont does not hand teachers a grade-by-grade social studies sequence. Under the Vermont Education Quality Standards, districts work from state-identified standards resources, and for social studies that is the C3 Framework, adopted in 2017. The C3 is built around inquiry: asking questions, using sources, explaining change. What a first grader studies in a given month is set by your district or supervisory union, so two teachers an hour apart may plan quite different years. That leaves a lot on the classroom teacher. Then-and-now work suits six-year-olds because they can hold a slate, a washboard or an old school photo and ask what changed. Building each lesson around that, with a reading level first graders can handle, a worksheet that works for mixed readers and slides for the carpet, takes hours you rarely have. In small rural schools it can be harder still. Vermont districts have relied on provisional and emergency licenses when no licensed candidate applied, and the Vermont Rural Education Collaborative runs a teacher apprenticeship program, so the person teaching first grade may be in their first year and planning alone.
Why it fits
How the six units support inquiry in a Vermont classroom
Each unit has an overview and three sub-units, and every sub-unit comes with a lesson plan, a differentiated worksheet with reading passage and word bank, a project or source activity, an answer key and slides.
- School Then and Now lets first graders compare their own classroom with schools long ago.
- Family & Daily Life Then and Now invites questions students can carry home to grandparents.
- The historical sources unit gives young children an early version of the source work the C3 Framework values.
- Timelines & Measuring Time builds the sense of order that every later history unit relies on.
- Old Trades & Crafts, from smith to baker, links easily to local trades you can add yourself.
- Full lesson plans and answer keys help a first-year or provisionally licensed teacher plan ahead.
Getting started
A possible year across Grades 1–3
Only a suggestion; your district's curriculum decides which topic goes in which grade.
- First grade fall: school then and nowOpen the year with School Then and Now. Students know their own classroom well, so comparing it with an older one gives them an easy first question to investigate.
- First grade winter: family and daily lifeTeach Family & Daily Life Then and Now and ask students to bring one question home. Their answers can become a class display next to the worksheet pages.
- Second grade: timelines and sourcesUse Timelines & Measuring Time first, then the historical sources unit, so students can place an object or picture on a timeline and say how they know its age.
- Third grade: trades and inventionsOld Trades & Crafts and Inventions That Changed the World ask older students to explain why work and tools changed, an early step toward cause and effect.
- Add your Vermont layerWherever your district calls for local or state history, add your own Vermont material, such as old town photos or records, next to the units. The bundle leaves that part open.
What to buy
Which bundle fits a Vermont K–3 teacher
For Grades 1–3 social studies built on past and present, the Then and Now Social Studies Bundle at $89.99 is the closest fit; the six units cost $149.94 separately. If your school's history also covers ancient peoples, explorers and the Middle Ages, the Elementary History Curriculum ($169.99, parts $499.80) includes all 20 elementary history units, these six among them. The Early American History Bundle ($99.99, parts $199.92) adds Native Americans, explorers, Pilgrims and pioneers to several then-and-now units. For November, the Thanksgiving and Fall Bundle ($49.99, parts $69.96) pairs two history units with two fall art activities.
Honest limits
Where you still do the work
The bundle is not written for Vermont and contains no Vermont history, no C3 Framework codes and no district curriculum references. Check each unit against the C3 Framework and your district's social studies plan before you schedule it. Objects, family interviews and anything local are yours to supply, along with printing. The licence covers your own teaching; a grade team or school that wants to share it should send Teach Lessons a short message first. If it turns out not to fit, you can exchange it for store credit of equal value within 7 days. That is not a cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is this aligned to the C3 Framework or Vermont's standards?
No. The units were not written for Vermont and are not aligned to, approved by or endorsed by the Agency of Education or any district. Vermont uses the C3 Framework for social studies and leaves the curriculum to districts, so compare each unit with the C3 Framework and your district's plan yourself before you use it.
Is it right for kindergarten?
The bundle is written for Grades 1–3. Some kindergarten classes could use parts of School Then and Now or Family & Daily Life Then and Now with a lot of reading aloud, but the worksheets expect beginning readers. For kindergarten, start with discussion and pictures and save the worksheets for later in the year.
How much reading do the worksheets need?
Each worksheet includes a detailed reading passage and a word bank, and the worksheets are differentiated. First graders early in the year will need you to read passages aloud and work as a group. By spring, many can manage the easier version with some support from you or a classroom aide.
I teach a combined 1–2 or 2–3 class. Does that work?
Yes, that is a good use of it. All six units are written for Grades 1–3, so a combined class can study the same unit together while you hand out different worksheet versions. The project and source activities suit mixed-age groups. Decide ahead of the lesson who works on which version.
Can I add our town's own history?
You should. The units teach the general idea of change over time and contain nothing about Vermont. Add local photos, a story from someone in town or records from your library next to the worksheets, and use the timeline unit to place them in order with the rest of the year's work.
When do I get the files?
Straight after checkout. The download link arrives by email and is also saved in your customer account under Orders. You can print worksheets or show slides on a classroom screen. Nothing ships, and no software or accounts are needed beyond what your classroom already has.
Start your first social studies unit this month
Open the product page to see the six units and their sub-units.
See the Then and Now units