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First Grade Core Knowledge History and Geography Organization Guide
First Grade

First Grade Core Knowledge History and Geography Organization Guide

January 2, 2022

This information will help you get organized and prepared to homeschool your child using the Core Knowledge First Grade History and Geography curriculum.

Download This Guide

Free Resources

How-to Videos: Watch the videos to learn to use the CKHG curriculum to homeschool first grade.

Unit-Specific Prep Checklist: Review and download the CKHG First Grade Unit-Specific Prep Checklist. Includes notes for each unit of the curriculum including which activity pages to print, library books that may be needed, required advanced preparation broken out by lesson, as well as a list of additional unit-specific supplies.

Daily Schedule: Review and download a free daily schedule for homeschooling first grade using Core Knowledge and MEP Math curriculum.

Primary Materials

Units: There are 9 units in the Grade 1 CKHG curriculum. All students start with Unit 1 and progress through the units in order. You will download each unit separately from the CK website. Each unit will be downloaded as a file folder containing multiple files including the Teacher’s Guide and Student Reader.

First Grade CKHG Units:

  • Continents, Countries, and Maps
  • Mesopotamia
  • Ancient Egypt
  • Three World Religions
  • Early Civilizations of the Americas
  • The Culture of Mexico
  • Early Explorers and Settlers
  • From Colonies to Independence
  • Exploring the West

Teacher’s Guide: This is the primary resource for history and geography lessons. When you are ready to start a lesson with your student, you will simply open the PDF file for the Teacher’s Guide on your tablet or laptop, navigate to the lesson indicated on the daily schedule, and work through the instructions in the Teacher’s Guide for that lesson.

Student Reader: This reader contains both images and text and is used on most school days. This reader can be accessed as a PDF file on your student’s device.

Online Resources Website: Most lessons call for accessing this website which contains additional lesson resources:
https://www.coreknowledge.org/curriculum/history-geography/ckhg-online-resources/

To find a specific resource, click on the name of the unit and click on the chapter number. Save this website so you can access it easily during lessons.

Getting Organized

Activity Pages: Activity pages (and the answer key) for each unit are found in the back of the Teacher’s Guide for each unit. More information will be available in the unit specific prep checklists. Activity pages are often used over multiple school days. Save all activity pages until you have completed the unit.

Assessment Documents: Each unit ends with a day for student assessment. The assessment document and answer key are found in the back of the Teacher’s Guide in the Teacher Resources section. You will need to print the assessment pages. While homeschooling parents typically have a wide range of opinions on the value of formally assessing what their student has learned, I would encourage you to give the domain assessments a try. They are well designed, typically fun for the student, and they do help you double check your student’s strengths and weaknesses related to the material. This information can then be helpful when choosing which cumulative activities to use (see below) and/or can be used as items to review with the student as they move into the next unit.

Culminating Activities: 1-2 days at the end of each unit is set aside for culminating activities. Please review the culminating activities when first starting a unit so you can gather any needed supplies in advance. The CA section of the Teacher’s Guide will guide you through a number of options. Remember you only need to choose one or maybe a handful of these activities. Alternatively, these days can be used to catch up on lessons. Completing the culminating activities is not required for your student to move on to the next unit.

Please note, most unit’s culminating activities include a day for making a booklet where the student can document what they have learned. There are colored pages in the back of the Teacher’s Guide that may be printed for this task. However, if printing those pages is not an option, have your student make a booklet on their own using folded paper and illustrating each page (a list of possible topics for pages is listed in the activity).

Performance Activity: Each unit’s Teacher’s Guide contains an opportunity for students to work on a Performance Activity at the end of the unit. This activity is not scheduled but can be used if your student needs additional reinforcement of the material.

Time Traveler Passport Files: Each unit folder contains Time Traveler Passport activity files. The back of each unit’s Teacher’s Guide lays out how to use these files. These tasks are not scheduled but you can use them to further reinforce unit content if desired.

Important Tips

Library Books: Whenever possible please select several of the recommended books from the unit’s resource list (located in the introduction section of the Teacher’s Guide) and request them from the library in advance. These books can be used as time allows, when specifically called for in a lesson, or can be left out for your child to read on their own in their free time. If library books are not an option, YouTube often has videos of books being read aloud and these can be used as an alternative.

Art History: Several lessons call for displaying and discussing a piece of art with the student. These art images can be Googled or if you prefer a hard copy, Core Knowledge sells an art pack for each grade level that includes high quality prints on card stock.  

Globe and Maps: Many lessons suggest using a globe, world map, and/or US map. If you do not have one, most CKHG Teacher’s Guides have at least one world map in the back with the student pages. Units covering US history typically have a US map in the back of the Teacher’s Guide. Alternatively, you can Google map images and save the links for future use.

White Board: Many lessons suggest using a white board, chalk board, or board/chart paper. If you do not have one available, you can use a plain piece of paper to write out or draw the information called for in the activity.

Classroom-Based Activities: Some activities in this program are clearly designed for a classroom setting. Please adjust the activity as needed for your situation. For example, for an activity that suggests students work in teams, you can act as your student’s teammate. For activities that involve putting on a play or presentation, your student can present one part of the information or you can make the activity a family activity and involve siblings, etc.

Topic Duplication: You may notice what appears to be duplication between topics in the CKHG lessons and the CKLA lessons. This is intentional and provides the opportunity to reinforce key concepts by approaching them from multiple perspectives. For example, a student will have a history lesson about Martin Luther King Jr. one day and then maybe a week later will also study Dr. King in a CKLA lesson.

First Grade CKHG Unit-Specific Prep Checklist

This checklist will help you prepare for each new unit of the Core Knowledge First Grade History and Geography curriculum. Please refer to the specific unit list prior to starting a new unit. It will guide you through what what documents to print, when a library book is needed, unit-specific supplies that should be gathered, and special notes for lessons in that unit.

Download This Checklist

Unit 1: Countries, Continents, and Maps

  • Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-11
  • Print the Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 127-143
    • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 144
  • Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
    • Compass—a compass app can be found on many smart phones (Chapter 1, optional)
    • Samples of different paper road maps, preferably your state, regional, and multi-state maps—available from AAA or access via Google Maps (Chapter 1)
    • Two special objects to hide (Chapter 1)
    • Examples of spheres, cubes, and cylinders (Chapter 2)

Unit 2: Mesopotamia

  • Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-11
  • Print the Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 67-70
    • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 71
  • Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
    • Modeling clay (Chapter 3)
    • Toothpicks (Chapter 3)
    • Beads or other colorful small objects in a variety of colors (Chapter 3, optional)

Unit 3: Ancient Egypt

  • Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-11
  • Print the Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 86-91
    • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 92
  • Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
    • Chapter 1: If possible, please preview the video clip (0:00 to 3:10) found on the CKHG online resources website for this unit. You will be showing it to the student during the core lesson for this chapter.
    • Chapter 2: If possible, please preview the video clip (4:40-5:25) found on the CKHG online resources website for this unit. You will be showing it to the student during the core lesson for this chapter. Also preview the video clip (13:00-13:55) which will be used for both days of additional activities.
    • Art images referenced can be accessed on the CKHG online resources website, Googled or an Art Pack can be purchased from the Core Knowledge website.
    • The culminating activity (Make a Mural) is designed for use in a classroom. You can choose to work as a team with your child or use this activity with siblings. You could also spread this activity over several days.
  • Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
    • Yarn or string (Chapter 4)

Unit 4: Three World Religions

  • Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-14
  • Print the Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 91-98
    • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 99
  • Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
    • Chapter 3: You will need to access the movie The Prince of Egypt. It may be available to stream through Netflix, Amazon Prime, iTunes, etc. Or it may be available through your local library if they subscribe to a service such as Hoopla.

Unit 5: Early Civilizations of the Americas

  • Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-12
  • Print the Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 101-104
    • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 105
  • Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
    • Lids from widemouthed jars (Chapter 2)
    • Paper towels (Chapter 2)
    • Corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, or bean seeds (Chapter 2)
    • Sponge or small watering can (Chapter 2)
    • Basketball or soccer ball (Chapter 3)
    • Modeling compound such as clay or play-dough (Chapter 3)
    • Thick, firm piece of cardboard to use as a base (Chapter 3)
    • Plastic knives (Chapter 3)
    • Paper plates (Chapter 4)
    • Ingredients to make hot chocolate from recipes found on CKHG online resources website (Chapter 4)
    • Small cups (Chapter 4)

Unit 6: The Culture of Mexico

  • Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-12
  • Print the Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 90-94
    • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 95
  • Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
  • Art images referenced can be accessed on the CKHG online resources website, Googled or an Art Pack can be purchased from the Core Knowledge website.
  • Chapter 3: In the additional activities your student will build a pinata. Save the piñata for the Mexica Fiesta in the culminating activities at the end of the unit.
  • Chapter 4: You will need a video retelling of “Medio Pollito” or a copy of Eric A. Kimmel’s picture book version (see the suggested book list on pg. 11).
  • Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
    • Paper lunch bags (Chapter 3)
    • Masking tape (Chapter 3)
    • Newspaper (Chapter 3)
    • Colorful tissue paper strips (Chapter 3)
    • Treats to fill the piñata (Chapter 3)
    • String (Chapter 3)
    • Mexican foods, such as tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, tacos, enchiladas (Culminating Activities)
    • Maracas and tambourines (Culminating Activities)
    • Piñata from earlier activity (Culminating Activities)
    • Broomstick or yardstick (Culminating Activities)

Unit 7: Early Explorers and Settlers

  • Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-12
  • Print the Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 111-115
    • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 116
  • Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
    • Chapter 5: You will need several library books for the additional activity “Talking More About Slavery”. Two days are scheduled for this activity and it is recommended that you have 2-3 books on hand. Specific suggestions can be found on pg. 55 and more information on those titles can be found on pg. 9-10.

Please note: If you were unable to obtain the library books for the two days scheduled for “Talking About Slavery” and the one day scheduled for “Moving Past Being Different” in Unit 7, you will have another opportunity during Chapter 1 of Unit 8. If you have completed both those activities previously, you can substitute three library books (see Unit 8 TG pg. 10) for the days scheduled in Unit 8, Chapter 1 Additional Activities. Please request the library books a week in advance so they arrive on time.

Unit 8: From Colonies to Independence

  • Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-12
  • Print the Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 128-134
    • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 135
  • Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
  • Print excerpts found on the CKHG online resources website:
    https://www.coreknowledge.org/curriculum/history-geography/ckhg-online-resources/
    • Chapter 7—“Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography” (NFE 1)
    • Chapter 7—”Poor Richard’s Almanack” (NFE 2)
  • Note, students should be familiarized with the following songs during this unit:
    • “America the Beautiful”
    • “Yankee Doodle”
  • Chapter 1: You will need the two library books listed on pg. 23 (same books called for in Unit 7) or if you’ve previously read those books, choose three other library books (see the list on pg. 10) to complete the additional activities.
  • Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
    • Loose tea or open and empty multiple tea bags into a plastic container (Chapter 2)
    • One-dollar bill (Chapter 8)
    • Unsharpened pencils or popsicle sticks (Culminating Activities)

Unit 9: Exploring the West

  • Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-11
  • Print the Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 80-86
    • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 87

Please Note: The library book suggestions listed in the introduction of each Grade 1 Teacher’s Guide are excellent options for reviewing this school year’s material over the summer break.

The Core Knowledge Foundation is a non-profit organization and has generously made their curriculum free to download. If you are able to, please consider making a donation to support their ongoing curriculum development efforts.

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Core Knowledge, CKLA, CKHG, and CKSci are registered trademarks of the Core Knowledge Foundation.
Amplify is a registered trademark of Amplify Education, Inc.
MEP Math has been made available through the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching.

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About The Author

Julie

Welcome! My name is Julie and I'm a homeschooling mom with 4 kids ranging from kindergarden to high school. Over the last 11 years I've talked to so many friends and family members who needed advice on homeschooling. With this website, my goal is to take the guesswork and expense out of providing your kids with a high-quality education at home. I've put together how-to videos, organization guides, supply lists, and detailed daily schedules to get you up and running using the free, high-quality Core Knowledge curriculum and MEP Math curriculum.