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1st grade sub plans: social studies

A 1st grade social studies block for a substitute: “A Map Shows Where”, a 91-word nonfiction passage about maps, with 5 questions and an answer key, and a K-W-L sheet for before and after reading. 5 steps, from handing it out to going over the answers.

Checked October 30, 2026. Made from Peabody Teach's own passages, worksheets and brain break cards.

Make the whole day at 1st grade ▸

The social studies block

Social studies: A Map Shows Where

  1. Before reading, students fill in the first two columns of the K-W-L sheet: what they know about maps, and what they want to know. After reading, the last column: what they learned.
  2. Hand out “A Map Shows Where”, a nonfiction passage of 91 words. Print 24: the student copy is in this packet.
  3. Read it aloud once while the class follows along with a finger. Then partners read it to each other in whisper voices.
  4. Ask the 5 questions out loud, one at a time. Students answer with a partner first, then share. Each student draws a picture of their favorite part.
  5. With five minutes left, go over two questions out loud. The answers are on the key page: keep it with you.

📄 A Map Shows Where (passage and key) · a K-W-L sheet

Break: Thigh drumroll (30 sec). Pat your thighs faster and faster like a drumroll, then slow all the way down and finish with one big clap.

The sheets, on their own pages

Subbing 1st grade

First graders can read short passages with help, write a sentence or two, and are glad to show a new adult what they know. The afternoon is harder than the morning, so the plan puts the reading and the math before lunch.

  • Read every passage aloud once before they read it themselves.
  • Answer questions out loud first, then write: a partner talk turns a blank page into a sentence.
  • Expect lots of “that's not how our teacher does it”. Thank them and ask them to show you.

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