Appendix For Implementing District Standards
1.3: “Explain the ways in which different populations, including but not limited to Latinx, Black, Asian, white, immigrant, religious, LGBTQ+ and indigenous communities, have shaped and defined the community of Washington, D.C.”
In first grade, students are expected to understand what different groups of people and communities contribute to D.C. and how they have helped define the city. They are expected to meet Social Studies Standard 1.3. where they “Explain the ways in which different populations, including but not limited to Latinx […] communities, have shaped and defined the community of Washington, D.C.” Homing in on one community, people of Latin American descent, makes this standard—composed of many groups of people—more digestible. Because this is a two-week unit, it lends itself to depth rather than breadth. Ultimately, students will understand that people with backgrounds similar and different from their own are part of our community, and that everyone has something to contribute.
“Driving Concept 2: In This Space”[206]
According to the DCPS Social Studies Standards guidebook, the second DCPS social studies concept asks first-grade students to: “analyze what makes their space in Washington, DC unique, using map skills and historical sources to clarify how humans changed the landscape of the city over time.” By embedding the history of Central American immigration in our unit on maps, students can visualize the routes people took to arrive in D.C. They can also analyze their space in D.C. by noting its location relative to Central American countries, the places of origin of many Bancroft students and their classmates.
1.21: “Construct a simple map of the classroom, school or local community, using cardinal directions, physical features and map symbols.”
Another first-grade DCPS Social Studies standard related to maps is 1.21, in which students are expected to: “construct a simple map of the classroom, school or local community, using cardinal directions, physical features and map symbols.” While this unit doesn’t ask students to draw a map of their classroom or school, it does teach students how to use cardinal directions—to get from one place to another—on a map of the world. As students use maps, they will notice physical features, such as oceans, and come to identify map symbols. Lastly, students will apply their knowledge of cardinal directions as they draw and label their routes.
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