Resources for Teaching Elementary Social Studies
Resources for Teaching Elementary Social Studies
Elementary students can develop an age-appropriate understanding of civics, geography, history, and more with iCivics’ elementary resources. From mystery-based units to videos with catchy pop songs, these standards-aligned K-5 social studies resources are designed to help students develop critical thinking skills and content knowledge.
The best part? They’ll have fun along the way!
Private i History Detectives
The whole class will work together to get to the bottom of these mystery-themed units! Private i History Detectives is our K-5 curriculum that teaches social studies while developing inquiry skills and civic dispositions.
How Can Being Civic-Minded Help Me Be a Good Citizen?
In this inquiry-based unit, students will explore the lives of civic champions to understand how being civic-minded can help to make thoughtful decisions.
Why Do We Need Maps?
Introduce students to key vocabulary and primary source information, providing the necessary tools to analyze different maps and how they have evolved.
Why Do We Have So Many Governments?
Local, state, and national governments are a lot to wrap your head around! This unit introduces them and shows students how to navigate their local government.
What Is "Free Speech" and Why Does It Matter?
Students will learn about free speech using the Bill of Rights and its history, and put their newfound knowledge to the test with school-based scenarios.
Educational Games for Elementary Learners
Learning through gameplay is an opportunity to build students’ future civic and community engagement, media literacy, and more.
Uncovering Loyalties
It’s 1774 in Colonial Williamsburg, can you uncover the town’s loyalties?
Neighborhood Good
Meet with your neighbors, make a plan, and do some Neighborhood Good.
Well Versed
Get students moving and grooving in the classroom with Well Versed – a collection of award winning, short, animated music videos. Each video explores a civic topic to inspire an interest in government, community, and their rights and responsibilities.
Each video is complete with a viewing guide that includes discussion questions, activity ideas, and a lyrics sheet.
The Branches of Government
Students will hit the court to learn about the three branches of government, and how they keep one another in check.
Rules and Laws
Learning about rules doesn’t have to be a drag! This Well Versed music video teaches how and why rules keep everyone safe.
Disagreements
Disagreements are bound to happen every so often, so how we learn to handle them matters!
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Discover lessons designed to meet all of your instructional needs. Our nonpartisan classroom resources engage students with complex concepts in ways they can understand and relate to.