Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000101

Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 1

Lesson 1: I am a Person

Big Ideas of the Lesson

Children are different in special ways.

Children are the same in special ways.
Everyone is unique.
We all have roles.

Lesson Abstract:
In this foundational lesson students explore their sense of self by discussing different roles they have
(sister, brother, son, kindergartner, twin, etc.) and things they like about themselves. The lesson
begins with a circle game called How Many of You? With students seated in a circle the teacher
asks a series of questions including: How many of you have a brother? How many of you have a
sister? How many of you are someones daughter? How many of you are a kindergartner? How many
of you are the oldest child in your family? Students stand up if the question describes them. The
teacher reminds students to look around to see who is standing and points out students who are the
same or different from themselves. Next, the teacher shares a book such as I Like Me! or ABC I Like
Me!. After reading the story, the teacher leads a sharing session in which students identify and share
something they like about themselves. Finally, the students begin a unit-long culminating activity by
tracing their body and adding a role they have as a person. This project is added to throughout the
unit and culminates in the last lesson.

Content Expectations
There are no specific social studies GLCE for this lesson. The lesson serves as a building block to
the remaining social studies GLCEs while it activates prior knowledge about self.

Integrated GLCEs
R.CM.00.01: Begin to make text-to-self and text-to-text connections and comparisons by activating
prior knowledge and connecting personal knowledge and experience to ideas in text
through oral and written responses. (English Language Arts)

Key Concepts
different
diversity
same

Instructional Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
Chart paper (butcher paper) or a chalkboard or dry erase board
Bulletin board paper (life sized), one for each student
Crayons, Markers, or Colored Pencils (classroom set)
Dry erase markers or markers for teacher use

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Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000101
Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 1

Student Resource
Carlson, Nancy. I Like Me! New York: Puffin, 1990.

Carlson, Nancy. ABC I Like Me! New York: Puffin, 1999.

Teacher Resource
Clark, Jennifer. Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 1). Teacher-made material. Michigan
Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum, 2009.

I'm a Special Person. Twin Sisters. 2009. Discovery Education. 12 August 2009
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>.

Im Special. Kinderplans.com. 12 August 2009

<http://www.kinderplans.com/admin/images/special.pdf>.

Lesson Sequence
1. To begin the lesson ask the students to think about and share something that describes them. If
necessary, describe yourself using things like eye color, hair length, things you like to do, etc.
Record student responses on one half of a piece of chart paper or chalkboard. Record as many
responses as possible. Save this sheet of paper for the end of the lesson.

2. Gather the students and arrange them into a circle. Explain to the students they are going to play
a game called How Many of You? To play the game, ask questions that describe aspects and
roles of the students. Some examples of questions to ask are the following:
How many of you are someones brother?
How many of you are someones sister?
How many of you are someones daughter?
How many of you are someones son?
How many of you are a kindergartener?
How many of you are the oldest child in your family?
More examples of questions to use for the game can be found on the Examples of Questions for
How Many of You? Game located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 1).

3. Explain that if they can answer yes to the question, they should stand up. After each question is
asked, have students look around the circle to see who is also standing. Explain that the students
standing share the same role, and the students who are sitting have different roles.

4. After the game, explain to students that every person has many roles. Explain that one person
might be a sister, a daughter, a cousin, a student, and the oldest in their family, while another
person might be a son, a brother, a student, and the youngest in the family. Share with students
roles that you have, then go around the circle and ask each student to share one role that they
have. If desired, make this part of the lesson into another circle game. Ask the students to stand
up again if they share the same role, and have them stay seated if they do not share that role.

5. As a take home assignment, have students and parents complete the My Roles sheet located in
the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 1).

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Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000101
Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 1

6. Next, read a book such as I Like Me! or ABC I Like Me! to the students. These books describe a
pig who shares things that she likes about herself. Help the students understand that everyone,
including this character, is different or unique, but everyone has many great qualities or traits that
they should like about themselves.

7. Next, return to the large piece of chart paper with students responses written on it from earlier in
the lesson. Guide the students to come up with ideas and examples or qualities that they like
about themselves. As the students share their responses, record their answers on the other half
of the paper.

8. If appropriate, ask the other students in the class to come up with positive traits and characteristics
that they like about other students as a means of supporting a positive classroom community.

9. Teach the students the Im Special Song located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson
1) or play the Im a Special Person song found on the Discovery Education website
http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/.

10. Next, provide each student with a piece of paper and crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc.
Using the sheet I Like Myself, located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson), ask
students draw a picture of something that identifies what they like about themselves on this sheet.
Help the students write a word or sentence to finish the phrase I like myself because on the
bottom of the page. If needed, review all of the examples shared by the students that were
recorded on the chart paper before the students start.

11. Students begin an activity called I Am a Person which concludes in the last lesson. Each student
lays down on a piece of butcher paper to have their body traced as a life sized figure. (This can be
done ahead of time with parent help if needed.) Upon completion, the student colors in the body to
look like them, adds something they like about themselves, and includes one role they have.
Example items are found in I Am a Person sheet located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1,
Lesson 1). Since students will use their life-sized drawings throughout the unit, store the students
bodies for the next lesson. Note these bodies make a great display for parent teacher
conferences or open house nights.

Assessment
The chart that the students create together can be used as an assessment to determine student
understanding in identifying what they like about themselves in the beginning and again at the end of
the lesson. The My Roles and I Like Myself worksheets located in the Supplemental Materials
(Unit 1, Lesson 1), are additional assessments. The I Am a Person also serves as an assessment
to see if students can identify roles they have. In addition, students can create vocabulary cards, or
picture cards, similar to the Word Cards located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 1).

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