Let’s face it, early learners need a fun way to learn about geography! Years and years ago, I was a public school teacher before becoming a homeschooling parent. In ps, I taught 1st – 5th. As a homeschooling parent I taught all the way PreK-12th!
When we are teaching littles, here I’m talking K-2nd, it isn’t to early to begin our introduction of geography but it isn’t always easy to do. In my personal experience, giving them ‘projects’ to create something along side using a globe and perhaps recipes to create is always a hit!
That’s why My Teaching Library has created several mini-book projects to teach about many different countries! Early learners LOVE creating (and keeping to read again and again) these little minibooks. Plus, when you use these in conjunction with a globe and perhaps cooking activities or allow what is being learned to guide further research and projects, they won’t even realize they are learning!
Here are some of the resources that are ready to download and use on My Teaching Library…
Do one a week or one a month based on what you believe works best for your little! Also, My Teaching Library will be continuing to add NEW country study minibooks.
In this post, let’sreview the typical Math skills and concepts that are covered in 1st Grade! Here they are…
Adds and subtracts numbers 1-20, solves word problems by using objects, drawings and traditional equations with the plus and minus signs.
Adds 3 numbers that add to a number up to 20.
Solves addition and subtraction problems by adding up or subtracting smaller numbers, for example 10+4 = 10+2+2 and 15-6= 15-2-2-2.
Learns the relationship between addition and subtraction, for example 2+3=5 and 5-3=2.
Counts out and groups objects in order to solve single digit addition and subtraction problems.
Counts and writes the numbers 1 to 120, starting from any number less than 120.
Understands and creates numbers using 10 as a base, for example, 12 = 1 ten and 2 1’s.
Compares two 2 digit numbers using the <, >, and = signs.
Adds up to100 using objects and the concept of 10’s.
Subtracts or adds 10 to a 2 digit number in her mind, without counting, and subtracts by 10 from numbers 1-90, using concrete objects or tools.
Orders three objects by length.
– Begins to tell and write time using both digital and analog clocks.
– Understands data, specifically, the total number of data points, how many are in each category and how many more or less there are in a category.
– Understands the definition of and difference between shapes and creates shapes using this knowledge.
– Creates 2 and 3 dimensional shapes.
– Breaks up circles and rectangles into two and four equal parts, and understands that the parts are halves, fourths, and quarters, and that smaller parts make up larger ones.
NUMBER SENSE & OPERATIONS
– Name, model, write, compare, and order numbers to 200; identify place value and odd/even; skip count.
– Identify and model fractions (halves, thirds, fourths) as parts of wholes/groups.
– Identify coins and $1 bills; find value of collection of coins.
– Know addition and subtraction facts through 10; model, create, and solve addition and subtraction problems.
PATTERNS, RELATIONS & ALGEBRA
– Identify, create, describe, and extend simple rhythmic, shape, size, number, color, and letter patterns; skip count by 2s, 5s, 10s .
– Construct and solve addition and subtraction sentences.
GEOMETRY
– Identify, draw, describe, and compare 2-D and 3-D shapes.
MEASUREMENT
– Identify parts of the day, week, and month; tell time to half hour.
– Measure objects and use appropriate measurement tools; make and use estimates.
– Compare and order objects by length and weight
DATA ANALYSIS, PROBABILITY, & STATISTICS
– Gather, organize, represent, and interpret data using tallies, charts, pictographs, and bar graphs.
– Decide most likely outcomes.
This list is very long if I were to share all of the 1st grade Math products that are perfect to teach these skills, but here are just some of what you can find on My Teaching Library!
Add It Up and Shop: When you are in the store together, ask your child to add together different things, for example, how many fruits you bought, how many boxes of something or how many different types of fruit and vegetables.
Greater or Less Than? Make three cards, one with the <, one with > sign and one with an = sign. Then play a game in which you put down 2 numbers (also on papers). Ask your child to put the correct sign between the numbers and do this is as fast as possible, seeing how many rounds he can get correct in a certain amount of time. Track how many your child got right and ask him to beat his record another time in the future.
Build Things: Use blocks or other building toys to construct houses, towers, vehicles etc. As you build, count pieces by tens, add and subtract pieces and pay attention to the different shapes you use.
Take a Poll: Ask family members a question and create a graph of the answers using numbers and pictures. Ask your child questions about the different “data” you collected.
Order Up: Compare the sizes of different objects. Ask your child which object is larger, smaller and smallest. Ask your child to order some of his toys in size order. Time him to see how fast he can do this!
Set the Table: Setting the table for meals can include lots of math as you and your child add the total numbers of utensils, plates, chairs, etc.
Guatemala is the fifth largest country of the North American continent. It is a mountainous country belonging to a region referred to as ‘Central America’. With almost 20 million people, Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America.
Guatemala shares both a Pacific Ocean and an Atlantic Ocean coastline and borders four countries: Mexico in the north and west, Belize in the north east, Honduras to the east and El Salvador in the southeast of the country. The longest border is shared with Mexico.
If you are studying world cultures or geography with kids in Kindergarten, 1st or 2nd grades and you want to teach them about this beautiful country and a little bit about the culture, here is a fun project from My Teaching Library!
The teaching resource will help students (K-2nd grade) learn about the culture of this Central American country while they create a 12 page mini-book!
Students will learn about the country’s location, official language, traditional clothing, national symbols, food and more! There are two pages of copy work to practice handwriting and plenty of pictures to color while they are learning about the cultural highlights of the country.
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America. It is smaller than the state of Massachusetts. The country is very mountainous and bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Known as the Land of Volcanoes, El Salvador has frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. It is the only country in Central America that does not have a coastline on the Caribbean Sea.
If you are studying world cultures or geography with kids in Kindergarten, 1st or 2nd grades, here is a fun project from My Teaching Library!
This resources has been designed to help students K-2nd grade learn about the culture of the Central American country of El Salvador while they create a 12 page mini-book!
Students will learn about the country’s location, official language, traditional clothing, wildlife, food and more! There are two pages of copy work to practice handwriting and plenty of pictures to color while they are learning about the cultural highlights of the country.
This MATH CENTER resource has a St. Patrick’s Day theme and provide students practice with addition, subtraction, early multiplication/division, time, money, shape recognition, number patterns skills!
It includes: 64 task cards, math center sign, student worksheet and an answer key. Tasks center around 1st and early 2nd grade skills.
** Critical thinking skills will definitely be used! **
If you teach students learning and needing to practice their basic addition and subtraction facts and are looking to have at least one themed math center for the month of March, check out this product from My Teaching Library!
Hands Off Me Gold is a FUN March Math file folder game! Your student are going to LOVE this St. Patrick’s Day themed math center with leprechauns, pots and gold coins!
Included: Gold coins with over 720 addition and subtraction problems (numbers used are from 0 – 30) Also included are blank gold coins and pots so that you can design the game even further. Can be used with PreK to 2nd grade because you choose the difficulty level.
Wanting to add some presidential learning activities into your Kindergarten or 1st grade classroom? Here is the perfect solution!
With this resource, students will learn about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, money (penny, quarter, $1 and $5 bills), the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial!
You’ll find activity pages appropriate for both Literacy and Math centers and there’s even a mini-book for students to create. This unit can be used at any time of the year or around the Presidents’ birthdays in February as well as Presidents Day!
Puzzles are an opportunity for young children to explore early math concepts, including shapes, sizes, and how and where one puzzle piece fits with another to make pictures or designs. This type of math involves spatial reasoning.
My Teaching Library has created 6 George Washington picture puzzles which will give students the ability to practice and grow their spatial reasoning skills. These puzzles can be used at any time during the year or to celebrate Washington’s birthday or even Presidents Day!
This U.S. Presidents bundled resource has been designed for early learners (Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade). Kids will begin learning U.S. History and the men who lead the country with these fun notebooking pages and mini-books!
EACH president section contains 5 student pages:
Coloring page
Color & Trace page with basic facts
Color & Write page for students to complete the name of the president, his birthday and 2 facts about him
Color & Write page for students to create a short report
Mini-Book for students to complete about the president
Library of Learning Resources 