Preschool - 4th Grade Common Core Social Studies Lesson Plans

In this lesson, students will develop an understanding of communities and will learn how to locate their communities on a map.

Use this lesson to show your students that dreams can become reality with dedication and determination. This lesson will teach them about a man who made his dream come true by standing firm in front of the most challenging obstacles.

Mae Jemison was the first African American female astronaut to enter space! Use the Who Is Mae Jemison? lesson plan to get to know this prominent scientist and entrepreneur. Students will read about Mae and then answer questions about her.

How? In this lesson, your students will become familiar with using this question word to investigate how things work.

Let's scout out the states in the United States! In this jigsaw lesson, students will explore individual states, create a state collage, and share their knowledge with other students in the class.

This lesson plan teaches kids about W.E.B. Du Bois through video and a short informational text. Students will compare/contrast their findings and create a poster in small groups showing what they learned.

Society and classrooms both require special helpers to keep things running smoothly. In this lesson, students will explore the people that help their community operate and take on some special jobs of their own to help in their classroom.

Can your students call out the names of the continents? In this exciting lesson, students will learn the names of the major continents through an interactive process of word and map identification.

What's the difference? In this lesson, your students will learn to describe what living in an urban, rural, and a suburban area is like.

What kinds of homes do we live in? In this lesson, students will explore and describe different types of homes. By the end of this lesson, students will have created a visual of their own homes and write about them!

Use this lesson plan as an introductory activity to kick-off a short, project-based learning unit where students will research black visionaries and share what they learned.

It’s not a bird! It’s not a plane! It’s a Super Citizen! In this superhero lesson on citizenship, students will learn about the concepts of good citizenship while simultaneously getting a lesson on positive behavior!

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a 17th century writer and philosopher who today is considered one of the first documented feminists and advocates for women’s education. In this lesson, students will read two nonfiction texts about Sor Juana and discuss her life and accomplishments before writing an opinion piece about her.

Help your kids learn about landmarks with this lesson that takes them on a field trip around the school and has them record their findings in writing.

Who is who in your school community? In this lesson, students will learn about the people who work at their school and how everyone helps each other to keep the school running safely.

Through creative and engaging activities, your students will explore and learn about landforms. In this lesson, they will make their own mini dictionary of landforms.

In this lesson, Significance of "Let Freedom Ring" in MLK, Jr.'s Speech, students will be able to understand the allusion Martin Luther King, Jr. makes to the song "My Country 'Tis of Thee." Have students discuss allusions in this speech.

Mae Jemison was the first African American female astronaut to enter space. Use the Get to Know Mae Jemison lesson plan to learn more about this famous scientist. Children will then read and write about her, and create their own paper rocket.

Do your students respect their peers' opinions? This lesson teaches first graders that their opinions matter by encouraging them to write out opinions and back them up with reasons.

This engaging lesson plan provides students with an opportunity to learn all about America's prima ballerina, Maria Tallchief.

Spirituals have a long history in the United States, and often serve to strengthen and motivate people. Students will compare three types of spirituals from different time periods and share their understanding with their peers.