Holidays and Traditions Unit
The Holidays and Traditions unit is used throughout the school year.
Grade 1 Social Studies Curriculum
Family-facing version of the grade 1 social studies curriculum
Quarterly Overview of Grade 1 Social Studies
The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning. The pacing by quarter and by week provides an example of how the curriculum can be organized throughout the year. Teacher teams may adjust the pacing or order of units to best meet the needs of students.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Quarter 3
Quarter 4
Units and Details
Students will be able to practice citizenship skills in the classroom by:
- Practicing honesty and showing kindness to oneself and others.
- Recognizing the purpose of rules and practicing self-control.
- Respecting others and celebrating differences in ethnic origins, customs, and traditions.
- Working respectfully with one another to achieve a goal.
- Contribute one’s time and talents to help others in their homes, schools, and communities through jobs.
- Participating in classroom decision-making by voting.
- Understanding that local and state government representatives are elected by citizens who vote.
Students will be able to describe the symbols and traditions that honor and foster patriotism in the United States:
- Learning the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem and the ways people express respect for the American flag.
- Explaining the symbolism of the colors, stars, and stripes of the American flag.
- Identifying the Virginia flag, the state capitol building, state bird, and state flower.
- Describing why people use symbols and have traditions.
Students will be able to develop geographic skills by:
- Identifying local cities or counties on a map of Virginia.
- Locating Richmond and Washington, D.C. on a United States map.
- Using basic map symbols, including references to land, water, cities, and roads.
- Recognizing the terms north, east, south, and west; and use them to determine location on simple maps.
- Locating Virginia, the United States, continents, and oceans on maps and globes.
- Constructing simple maps including a title, map legend or key, and compass rose.
- Identifying landforms and bodies of water of Virginia and describe how they affect the way people live.
- Developing a geographic understanding that the location of Virginia determines its climate and results in four distinct seasons.
Students will be able to connect geography to understand historic events of Virginia and the United States by:
- Locating the site of the Jamestown Colony.
- Identifying and describe important events and locations throughout the early history of the Commonwealth, including, but not limited to Werowocomoco and the first English colony in North America at Jamestown.
- Describing the stories and contributions of Chief Powhatan and Pocahontas to the history of Virginia and our Commonwealth.
- Describing the stories and contributions of John Smith and Christopher Newport to the history of Virginia and our Commonwealth.
Students will be able to understand Virginia’s history by:
- Describing how life in various Virginia communities has changed over time.
- Describing contributions of Virginia’s diverse people and the stories of changemakers in the history of Virginia and their contributions to our Commonwealth.
- Virginia Presidents
- George Washington
- Thomas Jefferson
- James Madison
- James Monroe
- Virginia Barrier Breakers
- John Mercer Langston
- Booker T. Washington
- Maggie L. Walker
- Barbara Johns
- Arthur Ashe, Jr.
- L. Douglas Wilder
- Virginia Presidents
Students will be able to explain how individuals make economic choices to meet their basic needs by:
- Identifying the difference between goods and services.
- Describing how people can be both consumers and producers.
- Describing ways people work to earn and save money to purchase goods and services.
- Describing goods and services produced in Virginia.
- Describing why people must make choices, prioritizing needs over wants.
Students will continue to develop geographic skills by:
- Use basic map symbols, including references to land, water, cities, and roads.
- Recognize the terms north, east, south, and west; and use them to determine location on simple maps.
- Locate Virginia, the United States, continents, and oceans on maps and globes.
- Construct simple maps including a title, map legend or key, and compass rose.
Students will be able to explain how communities honor local and national traditions and recognize designated Virginia holidays, including but not limited to:
- Labor Day
- Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- Yorktown Victory Day
- Election Day
- Veteran’s Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
- New Years Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Presidents’ Day
- Memorial Day
- Juneteenth
- Independence Day
- Rosh Hashanah
- Yom Kippur
- Diwali
- Hanukkah
- Kwanzaa
- Lunar New Year
- Ramadan
Assessments
Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.
- Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
- Check for understanding
- Gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
- Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for next steps in instruction.
For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.
In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), first grade tests focus on basic literacy and numeracy development.
