This blog post is one in a series that breaks down one unit from each grade level of Inquiry Journeys, inquirED's core elementary social studies curriculum. For a trial account containing all lessons for the unit, click below.
Kindergarten Social Studies Curriculum Unit Launch
Navigating School
These two social studies lessons are designed to hook students into the Navigating School Kindergarten social studies curriculum unit, introduce the Inquiry Question, and prompt students to generate their initial Investigation Questions. Objectives include:
Identify some of the spaces, places, and norms at school
Consider another perspective
Recognize key vocabulary for the unit, with support
Lesson 1: Hook Activity: School’s First Day
Students read the book School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex and Christian Robinson in order to imagine first-day jitters from the school’s point of view. Considering another perspective supports students in developing empathy and prompts an investigation of the places, people, and norms of school. Check out the resources below to help you launch your unit!
A youtube read-aloud of School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex and Christian Robinson
A description of the Think, Pair, Share strategy used during the lesson.
Lesson 2: Generating Investigation Questions
Students are introduced to a modified version of the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) to generate Investigation Questions that will guide their exploration of how people can work together to make school a great place for everyone.
During this lesson, kindergarten social studies students watch a "What is school?" video from PBS
Students also participate in a modified version of the QFT for younger students. Find out more about the QFT!