Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Grade 1 Social Studies Curriculum

This curriculum is based on the OECS Primary Grades' Learning Standards for Social Studies.

Personal/Individual Identity

• Students will develop knowledge of self and family characteristics explored in Kindergarten (gender, height, ethnicity). They will talk about themselves by name, gender, and relation to family members, and talk about themselves by personal characteristics such as height, weight, and ethnicity.

Group Identity

• Students will use all sensory stimuli to develop the concept of group identity and identify examples of diversity (particularly health-related) among pupils. They will talk about groups to which they belong (family, peer, classroom) and their marks of identity (uniform, badge). They will identify group characteristics in a variety of media (visual, auditory, touching), draw family members and peers, and respect all pupils, including the differently abled.

Community Identity

• Students will explore community identity through three-dimensional media and identify community landmarks as a component of identity. They will name their community (village, town), recall the origin of the community's name, recognize a picture/model of the community, locate the community on a chart map (3-D), name streets in the community, recognize landmarks in the local community (pictures, visits), talk about landmarks in the community (size, shape, significance), draw landmarks in the community, and complete a large-scale jigsaw map of the local community.

National Identity

• Students will reinforce and practice knowledge and actions that signify national identity, linking symbols with attachment to geographical space (country). They will recognize symbols of nationhood, name national symbols, draw and color the national flag, show respect for symbols of nationhood, recite the national pledge, sing the national anthem, recognize the composition of the Coat of Arms, name the national identity of self and classmates, and identify aspects of culture that are unique to their country.

Civic Responsibility

• Students will display emotional attachment to the nation and begin to develop personal responsibility for caring for persons and respect for institutions. They will identify themselves as citizens of the country, display pride as citizens, display love for people of the country, display grade-appropriate responsibilities of citizens, show respect for adult, differently-abled, and elderly members of the community, show respect for rules and practices in the community, show responsibility for proper sanitation in school, demonstrate responsibility for care of school property, show responsibility for proper sanitation at home, show respect for persons who hold important positions in the school (e.g., janitors, principals, cooks), show respect for persons who hold important positions in the community (e.g., garbage collectors), and name major historical figures in the development of the nation.

Morals, Ethics, and Values

• Students will develop elementary standards of etiquette and display characteristics of honesty and tolerance among themselves. They will display appropriate standards of etiquette (please, thank you, excuse me), demonstrate respect for order, distinguish between correct and incorrect behavior in school, distinguish between correct and incorrect behavior in social settings, demonstrate tolerance through taking turns, demonstrate fairness in work and play, and talk about situations where honesty is a value.

Communication and Interaction

• Students will continue the development of skills in communication and interaction, sharing ideas and learning aids. They will speak courteously, listen politely without interrupting, follow oral instructions, demonstrate appropriate signs/signals for come, go, here, there, etc., trace letters/words legibly at the appropriate level, share toys and tools with other pupils in the group/class, share ideas with other pupils in the group/class, and participate in group activity willingly.

Resources, Production, and Services

• Students will identify local resources and form connections between resources and products. They will identify workers (human resources) used in the production of goods and services, name things that are resources, identify real natural resources in the community (land, soil, water, trees, animals), identify natural resources in the community from pictures, photographs/videos, talk about the use of natural resources in the community, identify people as a resource, name people as resources (teacher, farmer, fisher, sales clerk), recognize products/services produced in the community, talk about goods/services produced in the community, name family members who work in local industries, name workers who provide services (postal worker, teacher, health worker, transportation worker, police officer, shopkeeper), name major goods produced in the nation, and name major areas of the economy (tourism, agriculture, fishing).

Sustainability of the Environment

• Students will develop an appreciation for the natural environment as an aesthetic experience and develop responsibility for caring for the environment. They will appreciate the natural environment of the community, identify aesthetic features of the natural environment through nature walks, pictures, photographs, and videos, talk about caring for the natural environment (sea, beaches, trees/forest, mountains, and hillside), recognize that careless use can cause damage to the environment, talk about ways in which people can improve the quality of the environment, and talk about personal responsibility in improving the quality of the environment.