British Columbia · Grade 1
Social Studies 1
British Columbia’s Grade 1 social studies course, from Our Community to Community and Environment.
- Units
- 3
- Lessons
- 6
- Skills
- 6
- Provincial exam
- None
- Official curriculum
- Province of British Columbia
Unit by unit
Every skill in the course, numbered by unit.
Unit 1 · 2 skills
Our Community
What Makes Our Community Work
What our community has and needs
I can name places and helpers in our community and tell how they help us.
Skill 1.1
Everyone Has a Job to Do
My roles, rights, and responsibilities
I can name a role, a right, and a responsibility in my community, and say who helps make decisions.
Skill 1.2
The official wording · 2 outcomes
- 1.1
- characteristics of the local community that provide organization and meet the needs of the community
- 1.2
- roles, rights, and responsibilities in the local community
Key ideas
A community has special places and services — like a local government, emergency services (fire, police, ambulance), public utilities (water, electricity), transportation, stores, parks, and financial services (like a bank) — and each one meets a need people have.
A role is the part someone plays, like student, teacher, helper, or family member.
People in a community work together so everyone can get what they need, like food, safety, learning, and a place to play.
A right is something everyone should have, like being treated kindly and being safe; a responsibility is something we should do for other people and for the environment, like sharing, listening, and cleaning up.
Policing and emergency services keep people safe; stores and financial services help people get and manage what they need; parks give people a place to rest and play.
Watch out for
- Thinking a community is just the houses, and not noticing the helpers, services, and buildings that meet needs.
- Thinking rights are things you have to earn instead of things everyone should already have.
- Mixing up which place meets which need (thinking the fire hall sells food, or that a park is a store).
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 2 · 2 skills
People, Cultures, and Events
Many Cultures, One Community
People are different and that is good
I can notice that people in my community come from many backgrounds and have different ideas.
Skill 2.1
Our Community's Story
Important happenings, then and now
I can tell about important happenings in our community's story, including the local First Peoples community.
Skill 2.2
The official wording · 2 outcomes
- 2.1
- diverse cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives within the local and other communities
- 2.2
- key events and developments in the local community, and in local First Peoples communities
Key ideas
People in our community and in other communities come from many different backgrounds and cultures.
Communities have a story — milestones like when the community was first started, businesses opening or closing, new buildings being built, and times the community grew bigger or smaller.
Different families can have different languages, customs, art, music, traditions, holidays, food, and clothing — and that makes our community richer, not wrong.
Communities also have celebrations, holidays, and cultural events that are part of their story, not just building and growing.
Not everyone's family or community looks the same as mine, and that is normal — there is no single 'right' way for a family or community to be.
Watch out for
- Thinking that 'different' means 'wrong' or 'strange' instead of just 'different'.
- Thinking the community has always looked exactly the way it does now.
- Assuming every family and community looks and lives like mine, and being surprised when another family's language, food, or traditions are not the same.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 3 · 2 skills
Community and Environment
Our Community and the Land Around Us
How our community and nature connect
I can tell how our community and the environment around it connect.
Skill 3.1
What Nature Made and What People Made
Nature-made and people-made
I can tell apart features nature made from features people made in our local area.
Skill 3.2
The official wording · 2 outcomes
- 3.1
- relationships between a community and its environment
- 3.2
- natural and human-made features of the local environment
Key ideas
Our community uses things from the environment, like natural resources (wood, fish, minerals), parks and natural areas, and clean water — our water and sewage systems treat the water we use every day.
Nature-made (natural) features — like mountains, forests, waterways, and the local plants and animals living there — were not built by people.
As a community grows — with population growth and new buildings — that can change the land and nature around it.
Human-made features — like buildings, bridges, dams, and dykes — were built by people to help the community.
What our community does can affect the environment, so we also need to take care of the land, water, plants, and animals.
Watch out for
- Thinking the community and nature are completely separate, with no connection between them.
- Thinking a park is only human-made and forgetting the trees and land inside it are natural.
- Thinking only grown-ups can help take care of the environment, or that a growing community has no effect at all on the land and water around it.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Plan the term
Pick your term and the days you study. Each unit gets its share of the weeks and comes back a week later for a review. The last two weeks go over the whole course.
The official curriculum
This page follows British Columbia’s own curriculum for Social Studies 1.
Textbooks
In British Columbia, each school district chooses its own textbooks: the ministry no longer recommends them. The ministry’s page
Study it in MapleMind
MapleMind teaches Social Studies 1 one skill at a time. Each skill gets a short lesson, practice as you go and a check worth up to three stars. It remembers where you stopped.
Course Companion
Your year in one workbook
A fun way to keep Social Studies 1 organized, get to know your child better and see early when they need a hand. Fill it in on a screen, or print it.
- Pages
- 23
- Fillable fields
- 998
- Price
- $4.99
Questions about Social Studies 1
What is Social Studies 1?
British Columbia’s Grade 1 social studies course: 3 units and 6 skills, from Our Community to Community and Environment.
What units are in Social Studies 1?
1. Our Community, 2. People, Cultures, and Events and 3. Community and Environment.
Is there a provincial exam for Social Studies 1?
No. British Columbia gives no provincial exam for Social Studies 1.
What textbook does Social Studies 1 use?
Each school district in British Columbia chooses its own textbooks, so ask your teacher which one your class uses.
What comes after Social Studies 1?
Social Studies 2.
Can MapleMind help with Social Studies 1?
Yes. MapleMind teaches every skill of Social Studies 1, step by step, with practice and checks, and its tutor answers questions about any of them. It’s free with daily limits, on iPhone, Android and the web.
Get ready for Social Studies 1
Practise every skill of Social Studies 1 in MapleMind, free with daily limits.
