Being a Good Citizen – Social Studies Ideas

Social studies is a subject that can tend to get overlooked in the early grades. Often we just focus on reading and math and IF we have time at the end of the day we try to squeeze something in. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Integrating social studies into other parts of your day can be an efficient and engaging way to help fit it all in! Here are a few ideas to get you started!

• Learning about being a good citizen is all about being a helpful part of a community or country. Good citizens follow the rules, are respectful to people and things around them, are honest and responsible, and cooperate with others. These ideas are natural to teach in the classroom, as it helps things run smoothly when students have these characteristics. Any time you are teaching class rules, helping kids learn to be responsible, and doing cooperative projects, you can talk about how these are characteristics of a good citizen. Boom! Social studies concept taught! 🙂
• Another way to incorporate social studies is by choosing to read books that incorporate lessons. When teaching about being a good citizen, I love using books like “What if Everybody Did That?” by Ellen Javernick. It is a fun read that will have kids giggling, but it also helps us understand why it’s important that we follow the rules and are good citizens.
• Create a class anchor chart about being a good citizen. Display it so you can refer back to it throughout the year.

• Get involved in a community project such as collecting canned goods, or donating gently used clothes, toys, and books. Work together to clean up a park or plant trees. Make cards to send to the elderly or sick children in the hospital. Show your students how easy it is to make a difference!

For more fun activities to integrate social studies with reading comprehension and writing, you may like this resource.

It includes anchor texts, emergent readers, graphic organizers, sorting activities, listening and reading comprehension, writing response activities and more for a K-1 Social Studies.