Citizenship activities for first grade including characteristics of citizenship, rules and government, voting and USA symbols and more.

Citizenship activities for first grade including characteristics of citizenship, rules and government, voting and USA symbols and more.

Citizenship activities for first grade including characteristics of citizenship, rules and government, voting and USA symbols and more.

Citizenship activities for first grade including characteristics of citizenship, rules and government, voting and USA symbols and more.

Citizenship activities for first grade including characteristics of citizenship, rules and government, voting and USA symbols and more.

Comprehensive resource for a First Grade Community & Civics unit. Covers citizenship, rules, community helpers, and rights & responsibilities. No prep activities to make your job a little easier!!

My goodness I have so much to share with you! Sorry for being MIA for the past month....I have been on fall break AND I was moving to a new apartment so life has been crazy! Before we went on break we did so many wonderful things that I can't wait to share with you: Mo Willems Author Study, fiction writing and learning about good citizens. I won't bombard you with all of that today so I'll start with our citizenship unit. After I saw the AMAZING clipart from Melonheadz of so many amazing heroes from our country's past, I knew I wanted to make a citizenship unit. I wanted to first talk about how we can be good citizens and then move toward learning about good citizens from our country's past. First we brainstormed ideas of what good citizens can, have and are. I wrote down the kids' ideas and they were able to use these or add their own to their own recording sheet: On the back they filled in a web where they wrote (or drew) about what makes a good citizen: The next day was Tuesday, September 17th or Constitution Day! It was perfect timing for talking about good citizens from our country's past. I got a wonderful ideas from Deanna Jump's blog on celebrating Constitution day. First I read the kids the book John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith. No, this is not a story about the Beatles where Ringo's name is Ben...it's about some of our founding fathers! :) We talked about what each of these men did to help start our country and this led into talking about the constitution. We talked about how the constitution was a list of rules are country created that we were to follow. Next, I had the kids brainstorm what we would write on our own classroom constitution. I wrote down their ideas and they drew a self portrait that I used to decorate our room with. It turned out adorable. Thanks Deanna! :) And we ended our lesson by watching School House's Rock Preamble video...which I can still recite perfectly thanks to the catchy music! The rest of the week was spent reading books, books and books! We read books on some of the presidents, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, Neil Armstrong and more! Some of the books we read all the way through while in others we just skimmed and mainly looked at pictures. The kids enjoyed learning about new people in history. On Wednesday I had the kids choose one example of a good citizen and illustrate them: On Thursday the kids filled out their book about good citizens by writing why each example was a good citizen. On the last page they got to choose their own example: (he was a president) (he was the first man on the moon) (he was a good inventor) (he stopped slavery) The Friday before we started this unit, I sent home a little homework project for my kids to complete. They could choose a person to research and present to the class. I gave the kids different graphic organizers to choose from and they could do one or more by the following Friday. I was BLOWN AWAY by how hard my kids worked. Many of them chose to do all four pages. The week after our unit was over, I had four or five kids stand up in front of the class and teach us about their person. We learned so much! We had a variety of people chosen including President Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, George Patton, President Theodore Roosevelt, Neil Armstrong, Rosa Parks, President Washington and many more! The first choice of activities I gave was to fill in a web: The next choice was to write about their person's childhood and adult life and include real or drawn pictures: Their next choice was to fill in a timeline with five key events: Their final choice was to simply write about their person and include a picture: Hope you enjoyed our learning! If you are interested in this unit, please click on the picture below! First three people to comment with their email will get a free copy!

This social studies unit is perfect for teaching GREAT Citizenship in your first grade classroom. In fact, it contains all the lessons and activities you will need.   12 GREAT Citizen traits are taught that will help your students become responsible, respectful members of their school, home, and neighborhood communities.   The results are AMAZING!   ABOUT THIS UNIT There are 13 lessons. The first lesson is an introduction and gets students excited to learn. The remaining 12 lessons each focus on one of the following GREAT citizen traits. Obey Rules Listen & Follow Directions Work & Play Nicely Together Have Self-Control Help Each Other Make Great Decisions Be Kind Solve Problems Work Hard Persevere Be Honest Have Good Manners   GREAT CITIZENSHIP LESSON FORMAT To help minimize the amount of planning time needed, each of the 12 GREAT citizenship lessons follow this format. Read Aloud: Read and discuss the digital (or printed) informational book about the targeted trait of a GREAT citizen. Student Book: Students read a simple text with picture clues included and complete the fun practice activity in the booklet. Activity of the Day: There are two activities to choose from for each GREAT citizen trait... but you can do both. Journal Writing: Students draw themselves showing the targeted citizenship trait, then write about it. Poem/Chant: Have fun reading a poem or chant... and add some movements to go with it. T-Chart: Complete an anchor chart of what each citizenship skill would look and sound like. Coloring Page or Craft   INCLUDES 12 Observation Charts 13 Read Aloud Informational Texts (DIGITAL & Printable Versions) (1 for each trait, plus 1 for an introduction) 1 Fictional Story, Mrs. Smith's Terrible, Awful, Very Bad Day (Digital & Printable Versions) 12 Student Books with Interaction Built In (one for each trait) 28 Activities of the Day (at least 2 for each trait) 12 Journal Pages with Prompts (1 for each trait) 12 Unique Poems and Chants (1 for each trait) 12 Blank T-Charts (1 for each trait) 12 Coloring Pages/Crafts (1 for each trait)   BENEFITS Student engagement is high. Students truly begin to learn what it means to be a GREAT CITIZEN. Students connect with lesson concepts and begin using the vocabulary associated with being a GREAT CITIZEN. This unit is easy to teach because the lesson format for each trait is the same.   OUR STORY We have taught first grade for quite a few years and, although we know there is so much to teach in first grade, a top priority of ours is to help students truly understand what it means to be a GREAT CITIZEN.   However, it hasn't been easy for us to find quality resources to thoughtfully teach GREAT citizenship skills. We found ourselves scrounging for ideas each year. We finally decided to create a rich, comprehensive citizenship unit. Our students LOVE it and we hope yours will too.   FAQ How long does each lesson take? Each lesson takes between one and two days. However, if you choose, you can always go at a slower pace depending on your schedule. What is the best time of year to teach this unit? This citizenship unit can be taught anytime during the year. Even though many teachers like to establish a respectful and caring environment right from the "get go" of school, it is never too late to teach these important skills.   Is it important to teach the lessons in order? The only lesson that needs to be taught at a certain time is Lesson 1 because it is an overview of the unit. The GREAT citizen traits can be taught in any order.   Is it essential that students engage in ALL the components of the lesson? If you are in a time crunch, please feel free to pick and choose activities that you feel your students need. The must-do's for us are the Read Alouds, Student Books, Activities of the Day, and Poems.   Have a wonderful day! Becky and Cindy at Primary Bliss Teaching - Where fun and learning collide!

I created this sorting activity as a follow-up to our discussion on school and class rules as well as respect. For this activity, students read each scenario and decide if it is an example of being RESPECTFUL or DISRESPECTFUL. Great independent seatwork following a mini-lesson. ...

The students used the Pixie App to label the seven continents and draw a simple picture of themselves. They saved each picture and then put them into the Superimpose App. It's kind of hard to see but the Superimpose app gets rid of the white background and the students were able to place their pictures on the continent where they live. These are the two pictures we used to Superimpose. This is a closer look. They loved it! Superimpose Preview

Building a classroom community where kids feel encouraged and safe is an important part of the start of the year. Read these 4 tips to get started today.

How do you encourage positive student behavior in your classroom? I have tried too many behavior systems to count - clip charts, flipping cards, behavior contracts… you name it and I have tried it. What I have found over the years is that no matter what, students genuinely want to do well and

Read a few ideas for civics and government activities. There are free lessons and activities as well as other fun hands-on, engaging ideas.

President’s Day is the perfect time to learn about what is means to be a good citizen! This is truly a must-have unit for all kindergarten and first grade teachers. Citizenship, expectations at school, social skills, friendship, and behavior are all tied together. I am so excited to teac

Looking for some easy to prep digital learning activities? There are many engaging, yet purposeful activities students can do independently. These projects are easy to share on Google Classroom, and you can even grade digitally! If you have a student that can not go on the computer, you can download the lessons and print them ... Read more

This is an awesome activity to use during the first week of school. You can use it as morning work or as a group activity as you are going over school rules for your class. Be sure to download it here! You Might Also Like:Gingerbread on the Run Class BookCat in the Hat Place Value ... Read More about School Rules Freebie!

These interactive cards help students understand and recognize the difference between rules and laws at school, at home, and in the community. Perfect for your back to school Citizenship activities. Your students will have fun as they practice learning essential citizenship concepts of rules and laws in their school, community, state, and country. Primary kids think in pictures. These cards are the perfect introduction to your Citizenship Unit in Social Studies. They can be used in many ways in your primary classroom. What's Included: ⭐ 40 Rule/Law cards in color ⭐ 40 Rule/Law cards b/w ⭐ Definition Posters ⭐ Pocket chart headings ⭐ Venn Diagram response sheet ⭐ 2 response sheets ⭐ choice box This resource is great for: ❤️ Back to School ❤️ Social Studies ❤️ Whole Group ❤️ centers ❤️ small group National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (NCSS) Learners in the early Grades will understand: How the rules and norms of groups to which they belong impact their lives; Rules and laws can serve to support order and protect individual rights; Fundamental ideas that are the foundation of American constitutional democracy, including those of the U.S. Constitution, the rule of law, the separation of powers, checks and balances, minority rights and the separation of church and state; Click on the star to follow me. You’ll get notified when I put up a new resource. It will be half price for 48 hours. Don’t forget to earn credit toward your next TPT purchase! All you need to do is click on the blue “Leave a Review” button after you download and look at the product. You can rate my and my products. You get credits for every review you leave! If you like what you see, visit my store for more resources: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Jacque-Jones Copyright © 2021 Jacque Jones All rights reserved by the author. Permission to copy for single classroom use only.

Teaching citizenship is one of my favorite things about being a first-grade teacher. This essential lesson is not only helpful for the class...