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Social Studies Alive!

My School and Family

Two worlds shape a young student's life: school and family. Students explore both up close, learning how rules, roles, and responsibilities help a community work and how they connect to the wider world.

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What Students Will Explore

Unit 1

The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship

Citizenship starts at school, where students learn how to get along by talking, listening, sharing, and taking turns. Lessons cover why each person is special, why schools have rules, who works at a school, and how children can be good helpers by respecting others.

Unit 2

Geography of the Community

Community geography centers on maps and what they show. Students learn that a map is a drawing of a place, that maps use symbols, and that a map has a key.

Unit 3

Life Today and Long Ago

School long ago is the subject here, in a comparison of past and present. Students see how both the schoolhouse and the classroom looked different long ago from the ones they know today.

Unit 4

Cultural Literacy: One Nation, Many People

Groups and families anchor this unit. Students name the school, family, and community groups they belong to, and see how families differ in their members, their homes, and the activities they enjoy.

Unit 5

Economics: Goods and Services

Needs and wants open the economics unit, with families needing and wanting many things and buying them. Students look at how family members care for each other by helping out and spending time together.

Unit 6

Applying What You Know: Life Today and Long Ago, and Geography of the Community

Change over time is the focus, as students see how families grow older, get bigger, or move. Students look at where families live, in places that may be small or large and hot or cold.

Unit 7

Symbols, Icons, and Traditions of the United States

Traditions close the program, starting with the special ways families mark important days. Students consider neighbors as the people who live and work nearby, and look at how good neighbors help each other and get along.

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.

    View the Scope and Sequence

  • Review Correlations

    See exactly how the program aligns to your state standards.

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Student Materials

  • Three children run on a playground, playing a game on colorful, curved shapes drawn with chalk on the ground.

    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.

  • Two children run on a hopscotch court on a playground; text reads 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

  • Two children run across a playground with a hopscotch pattern, cover of a Social Studies teachers guide.

    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.

  • Orange cover with white and blue text that reads Picture Cards, and the words Art and Photographs in different fonts.

    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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