Alaska
'There are 48 states that are close together and 2 that are far away. Today we are going to learn about Alaska, one of the states that is further away.' - Kindergarten Mentor Teacher
In Kindergarten, there is a real art to simplifying ideas and concepts for 5 and 6 year olds and I wanted to showcase how well my mentor teacher makes learning accessible to her students.
This past week, Kindergarteners began learning about Alaska and what makes it a unique place to live.
Topics we covered:
- Alaska's culture
- History including the Inuit people
- Animals
- Things to do
- Nature
The lesson began by building students knowledge around the geographical locations of Colorado, Alaska and Hawaii. Together, the teacher and students colored and labeled each state. Kopp wrote ' Note taking may begin in kindergarten with the recording and posting of information on anchor charts, drawing paper, and personal learning journals' (Kopp, 2017, p. 77). This lesson is a perfect example of how combining writing and social studies together help both academic areas. The students practiced their writing skills by labeling their maps and connected to the lessons' content by doing so.
Further into the lesson, the students started creating an Alaskan travel brochure. Yet another example of intertwining the two disciplines. We only just began creating this brochure, but it is meant to serve as a way for students to process the content and their learning as they recall the lessons.
The lesson continued with the use of many primary sources. The mentor teacher showed a slideshow about Alaska. She even brought in two display boards with pictures of Alaska's glaciers and wildlife. The students really enjoyed looking at the landscape and animals of Alaska and had many questions and comments about each picture.
To focus on learning about Alaska's Inuit people, after the lesson, the students all demonstrated their knowledge and artistic expression by crafting their own Inuit kid. They learned about their warm parkas, mittens, and mukluks. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture off them all displayed on our wall! The kindergartners did a great job!
As a class, we also began making a Concept Map of Alaskan facts. Instead of the teacher writing/drawing in the ideas, the students went back to their desks and draw/labeled a picture of something they learned about Alaska. This was an open-ended assignment which really made the students use their critical thinking skills and connect to the lesson. The students had to think about what they remembered about the Land, Clothing, Activities, and Animals.
When I think about how this applies to kindergarten, one example that comes to mind (when discerning what sources are good to use as evidence) is fictional stories versus non-fictional books. The mentor teacher always builds vocabulary and understanding with fictional stories. We read 'Mama, Do You Love Me?- a story about Inuit families and showcases their culture. There were illustrations and parts of the story we wouldn't use as evidence when writing about Alaska as they only serve as a fun way to connect to the content. This is true for every science and social studies lesson we do in kindergarten. We pair the content with story books and absolutely talk about the difference between fiction and nonfiction when we apply the content to group discussions, writing assignments and craft projects.
We had a great week in kindergarten. We were not able to have a science lesson this week.
References
AVID Center. (2022, November 7). Social Studies Dimension 3: Evaluating sources and Using evidence - AVID Open Access. AVID Open Access. https://avidopenaccess.org/resource/dimension-3-evaluating-sources-and-using-evidence/
Kopp, K. (2017) Teaching Social Studies today, 2nd Edition (Shell Education).
Hi Anna,
ReplyDeleteHappy Week 8!! It has been so fun following the creativity happening in your kindergarten world! This blog post showcases yet another engaging, well-thought out week of exploring Alaska, so fun! What a great contrast, studying Alaska and Hawaii back-to-back!
I felt similar, that it was difficult to connect some of the reading this past week with our early elementary experiences- but I really appreciate how you highlight that it is important to use good sources and also important to take facts from non-fiction books. I think it can be difficult to find really engaging non-fiction sources, but it is important for our young students to understand the difference between non-fiction and fiction and that facts should come from fact-based books.
I also appreciated your reference to Kopp- and what early note-taking can look like. It is slightly more advanced in 1st, but a lot of our students still use pictures in their notes and that is ok!
Thank you for all that you've shared- it's always enjoyable to read your posts!
Jess
Thank you, Jess. I have enjoyed reading your blogs as well because it's good to get an idea of one grade up can look like. Yeah, I don't know enough yet to understand if or how kindergarteners source out resources/evidence, but I do believe so much of kinder is about comparing and contrasting, along with building upon prior knowledge. Thanks for your comments-always appreciated.
DeleteAnna, this is such a great lesson! It seems like many of these types of activities would be too advanced for kindergartners, and yet the teacher found a way to simplify it and make it engaging enough for these kids.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
I had a similar comment regarding connecting last week's reading to a lesson with young students. I'm wondering if you have any ideas for how critical reading can be incorporated even into younger classrooms.
Chava, you're right that is was difficult to relate to the reading content because younger students don't have the needed critical thinking skills built up yet. Last year I was a long-term sub in 2nd grade and one thing we constantly talked about as a team was to ask the students to explain their thinking. '"How do you know? Explain your thinking. Show me your thinking. Why?" Asking 'why' became my default as a way to get the students to critically think about their answers.
DeleteAlso, I used Jacob's Ladder Reading Comprehension Program during our extra literacy block. These books use short reading passages that are paired with comprehension questions to work through as a group (there are even possible answers in the back). If you can get your hands one of the books, it might help give you some ideas of how to
implement comprehension questions that promote critical thinking. I wouldn't have known how to do this without the help of this book.
For the younger students, I'm learning that it's all about building upon prior knowledge so then can begin to decipher what reliable sources look like and to begin building evidence based arguments. Chunk concepts into smaller parts and ask a lot of questions along the way.
Hi Anna,
ReplyDeleteYour post beautifully captures the intentional and engaging approach your mentor teacher takes to make social studies accessible for kindergarteners. Teaching young learners about a distant place like Alaska requires careful simplification, and it’s clear that your mentor teacher successfully balances factual learning with creativity and hands-on engagement.
One of the strengths of this lesson is the integration of writing and social studies, as seen in the map-labeling activity and the travel brochure project. As Kopp (2017) explains, early note-taking skills—through drawing, labeling, and anchor charts—are crucial for young learners, and this lesson provided multiple opportunities for students to record their learning in developmentally appropriate ways. The Concept Map activity further reinforced this by allowing students to express their understanding visually, fostering both critical thinking and recall skills.
Additionally, the use of primary sources—including a slideshow, display boards, and real images of Alaska’s landscape and wildlife—helped bring the lesson to life. It’s impressive to see how fictional and nonfictional texts were thoughtfully incorporated, with books like Mama, Do You Love Me? serving as a cultural connection point while reinforcing the importance of distinguishing fact from fiction. This aligns with Dimension 3 of the C3 Framework, where students begin to understand the role of evidence in learning—a foundational skill for developing informed and discerning citizens.
The Inuit kid craft project was another wonderful way to engage students creatively while reinforcing cultural learning. Hands-on activities like this allow young learners to connect emotionally to the content, making the information more memorable and meaningful. It’s clear that this lesson was well-structured, interactive, and developmentally appropriate, setting a strong foundation for both social studies and literacy skills.
Your reflection on connecting the readings to kindergarten instruction highlights an important point—early social studies education looks different, but it is just as valuable. Even at this stage, students are building the foundational inquiry skills that will serve them in later grades. This was a fantastic week of learning, and it’s inspiring to see how multisensory, interdisciplinary approaches make complex topics like Alaska’s geography, culture, and history both fun and accessible for young learners!