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Crowded boardwalk lined with colorful shops and palm trees at Venice Beach, California, on a sunny day.
Social Studies Alive!

California's Communities

Every California community has a story that started before it did. Students meet the region's first people, follow the immigrants who came later, and explore the history, geography, civics, and economics of the place they call home.

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What Students Will Explore

Unit 1

Geography of the Local Region

Local geography starts from outer space and works back to Earth, picking up geography terms along the way. Students find their community on a map of California, see how near or far it is from famous places, and study the geography of four California places.

Unit 2

American Indians of the Local Region

California's first people are the focus here. Students learn about three groups of California Indians, how each group adapted to its environment, and how they interacted with the Spanish settlers who arrived later.Unit 3: Development of the Community: Change Over Time Community change over time begins with why and how immigrants come to California, where they settled, and the challenges they faced. A second lesson looks at how people improve their communities, including five people who practiced good citizenship and made a difference.

Unit 4

American Citizens, Symbols, and Government

Government and citizenship anchor this unit, from the levels of government to the roles people and departments play in a community. Students explore how citizens can affect government, examine three communities with pollution problems, and look into a local problem they care about.

Unit 5

Economics of the Local Region

Economics of the local region covers how buying and selling work and the choices people make when they purchase goods and services. Students learn how people and businesses earn money, why prices change in a market, and why saving money is useful.

Explore the Program

  • View the Scope and Sequence

    See every unit and lesson at a glance — compelling questions, objectives, and how content builds across History, Geography, Civics, and Economics.

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  • Review Correlations

    See exactly how the program aligns to your state standards, with direct links to the text, activities, and assessments tied to each one.

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Student Materials

  • Crowded street in California with palm trees, colorful buildings, and mountains in the background.

    Student Edition

    The Student Edition delivers standards-based content, rich primary sources, and stories that bring in multiple perspectives in a colorful, clean format that helps students build a deep understanding of the content. Also available in Spanish.

  • A crowded boardwalk in California, lined with shops and palm trees, under the title Interactive Student Notebook..

    Interactive Student Notebook

    The consumable Interactive Student Notebooks allow students to engage with their learning by expressing their ideas, completing graphically organized notes, and developing personalized responses. Also available in Spanish.

Teacher Materials

  • Crowd walking in a colorful city with palm trees, shops, and California signage; Social Studies Alive! book cover.

    Teacher's Guide

    Teacher's Guide supports everything from lesson planning to grading—step-by-step procedures, time estimates, differentiation strategies, and answer keys, ready to use offline or as a quick reference while teaching.

  • Teal cover of a Social Studies Alive! Picture Cards book, with Art and Photographs in faded text.

    Picture Cards

    The Picture Cards are laminated, reusable handouts for lesson activities that engage students in analyzing powerful images, graphs, maps, and primary sources. Also available in Spanish.

Reviews & Recognition

At TCI, we don't just say our programs work — we invite independent reviewers to put them to the test. Our social studies and science programs are reviewed by respected third-party organizations that analyze our resources for quality, effectiveness, and alignment with standards.

In addition to national recognition, our programs are reviewed and approved by individual states to ensure they meet specific requirements and standards. We also participate in landscape analyses that compare our offerings with those of other leading programs, so educators and districts can make informed choices.

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