Astor Academy Methods - Kindergarten Social Studies

Sample day 1 - October, Unit 2 (Week 6: making class rules)

• Gather (5 min). Read two pages of What If Everybody Did That? 'What would happen if everybody left toys on the floor?'
• Think (10 min). Children turn and talk: 'What is one rule that would keep our class safe?'
• Make (15 min). The class agrees on four rules; each child draws one rule poster (K.5c).
• Share (5 min). 'Why does this rule keep us safe?' (K.5a)

Sample day 2 - December, Unit 3 (Week 15: the flag)

• Look (5 min). Show a U.S. flag. 'What do you notice?'
• Count (10 min). Count the stripes together: 13. Red and white. Read the USAGov line: the 13 stripes stand for the 13 original colonies; the 50 stars stand for the 50 states.
• Make (15 min). Children glue red strips on white paper to make 13 stripes and add a blue box with star stickers (Math link: count to 13).
• Respect (5 min). Practice standing quietly and facing the flag (K.3b).

Sample day 3 - April, Unit 6 (Week 29: neighborhood map)

• Walk (20 min). Walk the block with clipboards. Spot the school, a store, and a bus stop or train entrance.
• Build (15 min). Back in class, place blocks for each place on a big paper street (K.6b).
• Talk (5 min). 'Is the store near or far from school? What is next to it?' (K.6c)

1. Unit books

Each unit ends with a child-made book or chart (the culminating task) and a short conversation check.

2. End-of-year checklist (every Key Idea)

• Multilingual learners. Use real objects, gestures, picture word cards, and home-language words next to English; let children show what they know by pointing, sorting, drawing, or acting it out.
• Students with disabilities. Follow each child's IEP; offer larger materials, fewer choices at once, visual schedules, and extra time; give a quiet spot for children who find noise or crowds hard.
• Children ready for more. Add a second map, interview a second family member, or compare two holidays on a chart.

● = in focus (taught and checked); ○ = practiced. Every Key Idea and Conceptual Understanding is in focus in at least one unit.

From NYSED, NYS K-8 Social Studies Framework, Grade K: Self and Others.

• K.1: Children's sense of self is shaped by experiences that are unique to them and their families, and by common experiences shared by a community or nation.
• K.1a: A sense of self is developed through physical and cultural characteristics and through the development of personal likes, dislikes, talents, and skills.
• K.1b: Personal experiences shape our sense of self and help us understand our likes, dislikes, talents, and skills, as well as our connections to others.
• K.2: Children, families, and communities exhibit cultural similarities and differences.
• K.2a: Each person is unique but also shares common characteristics with other family, school, and community members.
• K.2b: Unique family activities and traditions are important parts of an individual's culture and sense of self.
• K.2c: Children and families from different cultures all share some common characteristics, but also have specific differences that make them unique.
• K.3: Symbols and traditions help develop a shared culture and identity within the United States.
• K.3a: Diverse cultural groups within the community and nation embrace unique traditions and beliefs, and celebrate distinct holidays.
• K.3b: The study of American symbols, holidays, and celebrations helps to develop a shared sense of history, community, and culture.
• K.4: Children and adults have rights and responsibilities at home, at school, in the classroom, and in the community.
• K.4a: Children have basic universal rights or protections as members of a family, school, community, nation, and the world.
• K.4b: Children can be responsible members of a family or classroom and can perform important duties to promote the safety and general welfare of the group.
• K.5: Rules affect children and adults, and people make and change rules for many reasons.
• K.5a: Children and adults must follow rules within the home, school, and community to provide for a safe and orderly environment.
• K.5b: People in authority make rules and laws that provide for the health and safety of all.
• K.5c: Children and adults have opportunities to contribute to the development of rules and/or laws.
• K.6: Maps and globes are representations of Earth's surface that are used to locate and better understand places and regions.
• K.6a: A globe represents Earth, and maps can be used to represent the world as well as local places or specific regions.
• K.6b: Places and regions can be located on a map or globe, using geographic vocabulary.
• K.6c: Places, physical features, and man-made structures can be located on a map or globe and described using specific geographic vocabulary.
• K.7: People and communities are affected by and adapt to their physical environment.
• K.7a: Climate, seasonal weather changes, and the physical features associated with the community and region all affect how people live.
• K.8: The past, present and future describe points in time and help us examine and understand events.
• K.8a: Specific words and phrases related to chronology and time should be used when recounting events and experiences.
• K.8b: People use folktales, legends, oral histories, and music to teach values, ideas, traditions, and important events from the past.
• K.9: People have economic needs and wants. Goods and services can satisfy people's wants. Scarcity is the condition of not being able to have all of the goods and services that a person wants or needs.
• K.9a: A need is something that a person must have for health and survival, while a want is something that a person would like to have.
• K.9b: Goods are objects that can satisfy people's needs and wants; services are activities that can satisfy people's needs and wants.
• K.9c: Scarcity is the condition of not being able to have all of the goods and services that a person wants or needs. (printed as "K9.c" in the NYSED PDF)

Social Studies Practices (Kindergarten)

• A. Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence: (A1) Ask questions. (A2) Recognize forms of evidence used to make meaning in social studies. (A3) Identify the author or creator of a book or map. (A4) Identify opinions expressed by others.
• B. Chronological Reasoning and Causation: (B1) Retell an important life event in sequential order. (B2) Understand the concept of time measurements, including days and weeks. (B3) Identify causes and effects, using an example from his/her family life. (B4) Identify change over time in his/her life. (B5) Identify events of the past, present, and future in his/her life. (B6) Identify routines and common occurrences in his/her life.
• C. Comparison and Contextualization: (C1) Identify similarities and differences between home and school. (C2) Identify similarities and differences between him/her and others. (C3) Describe an event in his/her life.
• D. Geographic Reasoning: (D1) Ask geographic questions about where places are located and why they are located there, using location terms and geographic representations, such as maps, photographs, satellite images, and models. (D2) Identify natural events or physical features, such as land, water, air, and wind. (D3) Describe how environment affects his/her activities. (D4) Identify a pattern. (D5) Identify a human activity that changed a place.
• E. Economics and Economic Systems: (E1) Identify examples of scarcity and choices made due to scarcity. (E2) Identify examples of goods and services. (E3) Identify what money is and how it is used in society.
• F. Civic Participation: (F1) Demonstrate respect for the rights of others. (F2) Participate in activities that focus on a classroom or school issue or problem. (F3) Identify the role of the individual in classroom participation. (F4) Show respect in issues involving difference and conflict. (F5) Identify situations in which social actions are required. (F6) Identify the school principal and his/her role within the school. (F7) Identify and follow rules in the classroom and school.

• K.1 to K.9 only. The Framework's kindergarten section has nine Key Ideas; nothing labeled K.10 or K.11 exists, so none is used.
• The PDF prints 'K9.c' for the scarcity understanding; this plan writes K.9c.
• Holidays. The Framework asks students to explain when and why national holidays are celebrated. Holiday dates in this plan come from the NYCPS calendar. The only holiday reason stated here is for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, from the National Park Service. Astor did not state reasons for other holidays without a source; teachers should use an official source for each one they teach.
• Symbols. Flag facts and the bald eagle come from USAGov; the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell come from the National Park Service.
• No NYC social studies curriculum is mapped; Astor did not check one.
• Astor's own choices: unit order, timing, minutes, activities, sample days, and checklist tasks.

All links were opened or downloaded on October 20, 2026 (America/New_York). Standard codes and wording were copied from the NYSED documents (local copies in src-cache/). Numbers continue the English and Math source list (1-23).

25. NYSED. NYS K-8 Social Studies Framework (revised; PDF created Feb 2017). Kindergarten: Social Studies Practices, p. 15; Grade K: Self and Others (Key Ideas K.1-K.9 and conceptual understandings), pp. 16-18. https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/standards-instruction/ss-framework-k-8a2.pdf
26. USAGov. The American flag and other national symbols: 13 stripes for the 13 original colonies, 50 stars for the 50 states; the bald eagle designated the national emblem by Congress in 1782. https://www.usa.gov/flag
27. National Park Service. Statue of Liberty Facts: on Liberty Island in New York Harbor; dedicated October 28, 1886; proposed as a gift celebrating friendship between the United States and France. https://www.nps.gov/stli/learn/statue-of-liberty-facts.htm
28. National Park Service. Visiting the Liberty Bell Center, Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia. https://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/libertybellcenter.htm
29. NYC Emergency Management. Be Ready NYC: New York City hazards include extreme heat, heavy rain and flash floods, coastal storms and hurricanes, winter weather, and earthquakes. https://www.nyc.gov/site/em/ready/be-ready-new-york.page
30. NYC Public Schools. 2026-2027 School Year Calendar (holiday names and dates used in the Social Studies plan: Yom Kippur Sept 21; Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples' Day Oct 12; Election Day Nov 3, remote; Veterans Day Nov 11; Thanksgiving Recess Nov 26-27; Winter Recess Dec 24-Jan 1; Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan 18; Midwinter Recess Feb 15-19; Eid al-Fitr Mar 9; Good Friday Mar 26; Spring Recess Apr 22-30; Eid al-Adha May 17; Memorial Day May 31). Same document as source 13. https://www.schools.nyc.gov/calendar/2026-2027-school-year-calendar
31. Open Library search API, checked October 20, 2026, for every new read-aloud title and author pair (titles not found there were dropped). https://openlibrary.org/search.json
32. National Park Service. Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (NPS Commemorations and Celebrations): the third Monday of January is a federal holiday to honor his life and legacy; it is also a national day of service. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/mlk-day.htm