Grade 1
K12’s History 1 program provides step-by-step guidance in each lesson.
You may choose to print the entire lesson, or you may follow the lesson
from the computer screen. Typically, you will spend part of the lesson
online at the computer, but more of the time away from the computer. Some
lessons have features only available online, such as color illustrations,
animations, and slide shows.
K12’s History program for grades 1–4 is a program in world history.
Western civilization and the American experience, with their vital strengths
and unique contributions, are fully developed in our program, but we recognize
that a quality education for the twenty-first century must take the broad
view. Today, when a message from Buffalo can reach Burundi in seconds,
when Peoria communicates instantaneously with Pretoria, it is important
that children understand a human past that is global, multicultural, and
millennia old.
Organizing Themes of the History Program
The K12 History program explores our rich human past, focusing on aspects
that are key to understanding human civilization. “Civilization,” as distinct
from “pre-history,” begins with the building of cities and the development
of writing. Civilization around the world has taken many different forms
over the past several thousand years. To understand these variations,
one needs to understand certain major themes, including:
How geography influences settlement How human beings have ruled and organized themselves What people have believed about the divine What stories they tell in literature and myth What they have accomplished in science and technology
The perennial staples of history—geography, government, politics, religion,
community organization, mythology, literature, art, science, and technology—are
all part of the K12 program. We have showcased aspects that are universal
as well as those that are distinctive to each civilization.
Geography in the History Curriculum
The main themes of geography—location, place, movement, regions, and
human interaction with the environment—deeply inform the study of History
in the K12 program.
In grades 1–4, children frequently focus on major geographical themes
as they apply to various civilizations. For example, they become aware
of the relation between geography and settlement as they recognize an
emerging pattern in the development of early civilizations in Mesopotamia,
Egypt, and China—that is, the human reliance on rivers that regularly
flooded and made farming possible.
Many lessons ask your child to use a map or globe. (K12 provides a simple
inflatable globe and a world map.) Maps help children learn direction,
the distance between two points, the names of places in our world, and
the locations of countries and regions. Maps specifically relevant to
the content of particular lessons are provided as files to be printed.
In specific lessons, maps created for the K12 History program may show,
for example, how nomads settled near major rivers where farming was possible,
how trade routes developed across bodies of water rather than land masses,
and how empires rose and fell.
History and Literature
While K12’s Language Arts program offers a comprehensive and systematic
study of literature, our History program also integrates key myths, stories,
and legends from the time period or civilization under study. For example,
when students study ancient Greece in grade 1, not only do they learn
about Athenian democracy and the Olympic games, but they are also introduced
to Homer’s Odyssey with a tale
from the adventures of Odysseus.
The intent of these lessons is to bring to life the imaginative world
of the time. Stories invite children to consider what was going on in
the minds of people who lived long ago. They help children see what people
of other times and places valued. For example, the adventures of Odysseus
convey the importance of physical and intellectual courage in Greek culture,
while stories from the Knights of the
Round Table dramatize the importance of chivalry in medieval Europe.
By showcasing such stories, we hope to provide both enjoyment and a deeper
understanding of the past.
Religion in the History Curriculum
Religion, the human quest to understand the divine, has been a shaping
force in human civilization for millennia. Knowledge of religion is often
necessary to understand why great literature, works of art and architecture,
forms of government, types of learning, and major events developed as
they did. We cannot understand Egypt’s pyramids or Mesopotamia’s ziggurats,
Homer’s Odyssey or Virgil’s Aeneid without understanding ancient
beliefs about the divine. We cannot make sense of medieval Europe or tenth-century
Arabia if we know nothing about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In like
manner, the entire history of India and much of the Far East will be unintelligible
without at least a basic understanding of Hinduism and Buddhism.
Similarly, in American history, the founding of the 13 colonies cannot
be understood without an appreciation of the religious motives that, as
much as the hunger for riches, prompted thousands to undertake the dangerous
transatlantic voyage.
To provide this essential knowledge, the K12 History program tells the
stories of the major faiths that have influenced human history and tells
them in historical context. Our object is not to promote a specific religion,
nor to promote religion in general, but to help children understand the
human experience. It is, of course, the choice and responsibility of parents
or other caregivers to explain and nurture personal religious beliefs
in the home.
Dealing with the Dark Side of History
The K12 History program strives to present a truthful, balanced, and
age-appropriate understanding of the human past. Sometimes that story
is elevating and inspirational. History is filled with people and events
that testify to “the better angels of our nature.” High ideals and lofty
visions have motivated many, and in our program we draw attention to the
noble deeds and the great advances human beings have made over time.
But history is also the record of tragedy and human failing. In some
cases, children are not prepared to understand great accomplishments unless
they first understand the tragedy or suffering that elicited greatness
in response. For example, it is impossible to tell the story of Harriet
Tubman or Abraham Lincoln without first telling the story of slavery.
We cannot sing the praises of Jane Addams without describing the plight
of urban poor long ago. As we look even further back in time, we cannot
fully appreciate the contributions of monastic scribes unless we understand
the threatening raids of the Vikings.
Still, we must be especially sensitive to the child’s emotional needs
during the early years. All children need to believe they live in a world
that is orderly and has meaning and hope. Thus, in the K12 program, particularly
in the early grades, we believe it is sufficient to explain the historic
existence of a tragic reality (for example, slavery), without presenting
it in ways that are graphically horrific or emotionally traumatizing.
Young children do not need all the terrible details. They should, however,
begin to understand the shape of human reality, and they do profit from
knowing that resourceful and courageous people have looked evil in the
eye and worked to end it.
Your Historical Background Knowledge
If it has been a while since you’ve studied ancient Egypt or Greece,
or if you’ve never studied much history at all, don’t worry. The K12 program
does not assume that you have extensive preparation in either world or
American history. Rather, lessons are designed to provide background knowledge
as you proceed.
Each History 1 unit ends with an assessment. In most cases, you print
the assessment, your child completes the assessment on his or her own,
then you check your child’s work and enter the results. Questions on the
unit assessment are similar to those on earlier lesson assessments. The
unit assessment allows you to check whether your child is retaining important
concepts and skills from the lessons.
You can use the results of these assessments to guide your review or
additional practice. If your child misses any items, we suggest that you
go back and briefly review the relevant material in the lessons.
Total lessons:
72. If you teach History twice a week, you can comfortably complete the
program within a typical school year. Lesson time:
60 minutes. You might choose to split the lessons into smaller segments
(for example, from 25 to 35 minutes). K12’s online lesson tracking system
allows you to pick up wherever you left off in any given lesson.
Each History 1 lesson includes these activities:
Materials to Have on Hand
Arts and crafts supplies
for projects A three-ring binder
to serve as the History Record Book, in which to keep work samples to
document what your child has learned
|
