Throughout the year, Grade 1 social studies focused on community through the lenses of history, civics, economy, and geography. This tied in directly with their year-long theme and question: “Why does one need a community, and what is the role of communication?” Together with specialists and fellow students, the children applied their learning across disciplines to do a deep-dive into the ins and outs of community building through writing, science, art, and SEL (social-emotional learning).
Grade 1 students began by learning about the resources a community may require, and how to cooperate with one another to ensure everybody has what they need both as individuals, and a unit. Then the class was split into pairs, with each partnership being assigned an entity within Rashi’s own local community, the town of Dedham. The “entities” included everything from the school to the post office, the fire station to the library, and many others.
To get to know these local entities, students took a trip to Dedham Center and explored them in person. They took notes on features such as signage, equipment, the types of people there, and what they were doing. “I looked at the library, and there were a lot of nice kids and grown-ups there to help them,” said Harper D. “The library is important because people can go and learn from the books they read.”
“My entity was the movie theater,” said Leo S. “It looked very old, because it was! If a family doesn’t have a TV, or wants to watch something new, they can go there to have fun.”
The class then visited the Dedham Historical Society to see what their locations looked like years ago, comparing the differences and similarities between the images and what they had just observed.
After their trip to Dedham, the first graders returned and began brainstorming, planning, designing, and building models of their entities. In the Kol-lab: Rashi’s Innovation Lab, they wrote out lists of items needed, possible supplies they could use, and then got to work with their Grade 4 buddies to complete the models!
The children’s hard work paid off in a culminating celebration in which they presented their entity models, explaining to friends and family what they learned and why it’s important to a community. Some stations had special treats relating to their entity (munchkins at the bakery, anybody?). Others, like the library, displayed relevant student work from earlier in the year, such as their scientific dinosaur books. The class was even treated to a special appearance by members of the Dedham Fire Department, which was one of the entities studied, and students were allowed to explore the truck inside and out.
We are so proud of all the hard work our first graders put forth! They were deeply engaged in their learning, and will carry the skills built during this unit into Grade 2 and into their lives outside of school as they become strong, mindful members of their own communities.