Getting familiar with the K-1 lesson format makes it easier to plan your time and know what's coming next. Below, you'll find a quick breakdown of lesson length, structure, and available support resources, followed by a closer look at each part of the lesson in action.
Grades K–1 Lesson Basics
How long is a K-1 lesson?
Each lesson takes about 40 minutes.
How are grades K-1 lessons structured?
Each lesson includes three sections:
- Engage
- Build Knowledge
- Check for Understanding.
Do K–1 lessons include extensions or support resources?
Yes, grades K–1 SSE lessons include an Educator Support document focusing on key vocabulary and suggestions to help activate prior knowlege and make connections. They also include a graphic organizer designed for this grade band and a lesson assessment. Open our help article Social Studies Essentials: Finding and Utilizing Resources to learn how to find lesson resources and additonal SSE resources.
Grades K-1 Lesson Structure
Engage: Sparking Curiosity
Each lesson begins with a compelling question meant to draw students in. From there, students are invited to connect the topic to their own experiences and discuss their thinking with classmates before continuing.
Build Knowledge: Exploring New Content
Students engage with a short video or story to explore the topic, picking up one key vocabulary word along the way that carries through the rest of the lesson. After reflecting on and discussing what they watched or heard, they take part in a whole-class activity that puts the new content into practice.
Check for Understanding: Demonstrating Learning
To wrap up the lesson, students complete a closing activity independently. Since it mirrors the format of the whole-class activity from Build Knowledge, they already know what to expect.
Navigating Grades K-1 Lesson Pages
After opening a lesson page, teachers can:
- Hover over either side of the lesson slides to page through the slide deck.
- Click the Student toggle to see the lesson slides as the students will see them.
- Click the arrows next to each lesson section to see step-by-step instructions and suggestions.
- Click Curriculum Standards to see the lesson standards.
- In the Supporting Resources section, click a resource tile to open and review the resource.