Social Studies Essentials includes resources for you, for your students, and for both — spanning overall K-5 program guides, teacher planning tools, and individual lesson support.
Teacher Resources
These resources support your planning and teaching, from full-year pacing down to individual lessons. Click the curriculum level in the table below to learn more about each resource and where to find it.
| Program Level | Grade Level | Units | Lessons |
|
SSE Program Guide SSE Literacy Companion |
Scope and Sequence
|
Unit Outline Unit Assessments |
Teacher Notes Lesson Assessments Supporting Resources |
Program-level Resources
- Program Guide: An overview of Social Studies Essentials' key features.
- Literacy Companion: Strategies and scaffolds for reading, vocabulary, writing, and speaking/listening, intended for use throughout the year, not tied to a single lesson.
Opening the SSE Program Guide or Literacy Companion
- From the SSE landing page, select Program Resources.
- Select either the Program Guide or Literacy Companion tile.
(Jump back to Teacher Resources)
Grade-level Resources
Teachers can open a grade-level scope and sequence, showing the core understanding, guiding question, literacy skill focus, and framework standards for all of the grade level units.
Opening Scope and Sequence
- From the SSE landing page, select Scope and Sequence for any grade level.
(Jump back to Teacher Resources)
Unit-level Resources
Unit Outline
- Unit Outline: The compelling question, core understanding, and standards for a unit, plus a breakdown of its six lessons.
- Unit Assessments: Used to check understanding across a whole unit.
Opening the Unit Outline
- From the SSE landing page, select a grade level, then a unit.
- Next, select Unit Outline.
Opening the Unit Assessment
- From the SSE landing page, select a grade level, then a unit.
- Next, once you are inside a unit, scroll down to find the Social Studies Assessment.
(Jump back to Teacher Resources)
Lesson-Level Resources
- Teacher Notes: A slide-by-slide guide with timing, differentiation tips, and vocabulary.
- Lesson Assessments: Used to check understanding of a single lesson's learning target.
- Supporting Resources: Lesson vocabulary, background knowledge, and extension activities.
Opening Teacher Notes, Lesson Assessments, or Support Resources
- From the SSE landing page, select a grade level, then a unit.
- Once you are inside a unit, select a lesson.
- Lastly, once you're inside a lesson, scroll down to see Teacher Notes, Lesson Assessments, and Supporting Resources
(Jump back to Teacher Resources)
Student Resources
- Graphic Organizer: A note-taker for students to draw or write their thoughts; design varies by grade band.
- PDF Activity: A structured group activity for investigating a primary or secondary source (Grades 4–5 only).
- Reading Passage: A printable “Read and Think” / “Make Sense of It” passage (Grades 4–5 only).
Opening a Graphic Organizer, PDF Activity, or Reading Passage
- From the SSE landing page, select a grade level, then a unit.
- Once you are inside a unit, select a lesson.
- After you are in a lesson, scroll down to find Graphic Organizers, PDF Activities, and Reading Passages.
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Save this reading passage for later The “Make Sense of It” reading passage reveals information about the historical source students investigate in a PDF Activity. If possible, hold off on distributing this passage until after students finish the activity. |
Teacher and Student Resources
- Add to Favorites: A quick shortcut: saved items appear under the heart icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
- Save to My Content: Organizes lessons into folders by grade level, topic, class, or another designation.
- Print Lesson: Print full-page slides or save the lesson as a PDF.
How to navigate to Add to Favorites, Save to My Content, or Print Lesson
- From the SSE landing page, select a grade level, then a unit.
- Next, once you are inside a unit, click on a lesson.
- Once you are in a lesson, you will find a box that includes Add to Favorites, Save to My Content, and Print Lesson.
Related Resources
Click the article title below to learn more about how these resources fit into a unit or lesson plan?