👨👩👧 People, Households and Communities
Understanding People and Places
Social Studies helps us learn about people, the places where people live and work, and how people live together. Every person belongs to different groups and uses different places during daily life.
Home • School • Park • Shop • Street • Library
Draw three places that are important in your daily life and write who you may meet there.
People and places are connected because people use, care for and sometimes change the places around them.
Roles of People in a Household
A household is made up of one or more people who live together and organise everyday life. Different households can have different members, routines and ways of sharing responsibilities.
Preparing food • Cleaning • Shopping • Caring for children or older people • Managing household needs
Think of three jobs that need to be done in a home. Discuss different ways household members might share them.
There is no single correct way to organise a household. Responsibilities can be shared fairly according to age, ability, time and circumstances.
How Families Organise Daily Work
Families and households organise many activities each day. Planning and sharing responsibilities can help everyone complete important tasks and have time for learning, rest and recreation.
Preparing meals • Going to work or school • Cleaning • Shopping • Studying • Resting
Create a simple morning-to-evening timeline showing some activities in a typical day.
Every family is different. Daily routines may vary according to work, culture, needs and circumstances.
Understanding a Local Community
A local community includes people who live, work, learn or use services in the same area. Community members may know one another, share spaces and depend on many of the same services.
Residents • Teachers • Shopkeepers • Health workers • Drivers • Sanitation workers • Many other people
Name five people or groups who help your local community function.
Communities are made up of many different people with different roles and experiences.
Different Types of Neighbourhoods
A neighbourhood is an area around where people live. Some neighbourhoods have many houses and buildings close together, while others have more open space.
Busy or quiet • Densely or sparsely built • Residential, commercial or mixed • Urban or rural in character
Describe your neighbourhood using three words. What buildings, roads or open spaces can you observe?
Neighbourhoods can look very different and may change over time.
How Neighbourhoods Are Organised
Neighbourhoods contain different places connected by roads, paths and other routes. Homes, shops, schools, parks and services may be located in different parts of an area.
Homes • Streets • Shops • Schools • Parks • Places of worship • Clinics • Bus stops
Draw an imaginary neighbourhood containing homes, a school, a shop, a park and connecting roads.
The organisation of neighbourhoods differs from place to place.
Understanding Community Rules
Communities use rules to help people share spaces safely, fairly and respectfully. Rules can guide behaviour on roads, in parks, at schools and in other shared places.
Follow road-safety rules • Put rubbish in bins • Protect public property • Respect other people
Choose a playground or park and suggest three fair rules for people using it.
Good community rules should support safety, fairness and respect.
Shared Spaces in a Community
Shared spaces are places used by many people. Parks, streets, playgrounds and some community buildings are examples of places that people may share.
Public park • Playground • Footpath • Community hall • Library
Draw a shared community space and show two ways people can care for it.
Shared spaces work best when users respect the place and one another.
Understanding Public and Private Places
Public places are generally available for members of the community to use according to their rules. Private places have more restricted access and may belong to individuals, families or organisations.
Public → Public park, public road
Private → Someone’s home, a private room or restricted workplace
Sort pictures of places into public and private groups. Discuss places where access depends on permission or specific rules.
Being in a public place does not mean there are no rules.
Why Communities Need Services
Community services help meet shared needs. They can support health, safety, education, transport, cleanliness, communication and many other parts of everyday life.
Schools • Health services • Fire services • Transport • Waste collection • Water supply
Choose three community services and explain how each helps people.
Different communities may organise and provide services in different ways.
🛍️ Work, Goods and Money
Understanding Different Kinds of Work
People do many kinds of work. Some grow or make things, some sell goods, and others provide services. Work may be paid or unpaid, and all useful work can contribute to households or communities.
Farmer • Teacher • Carpenter • Nurse • Driver • Shopkeeper • Caregiver
Choose four kinds of work and describe what each worker does.
Every kind of work should be treated with dignity and respect.
Why People Work for a Living
Many adults work to earn income that helps pay for food, housing, clothing, transport and other needs. People may also work to use their skills, help others or contribute to society.
Earn income • Produce goods • Provide services • Develop skills • Support others
How does the work of a teacher, farmer or driver help other people?
Not all valuable work is paid. Caring for family members and volunteering can also be important forms of work.
Goods We Use Every Day
Goods are physical things that people make, grow, buy, sell or use. Many goods pass through several stages before reaching us.
Food • Books • Pencils • Clothes • Furniture • Toys
Look around the classroom and list five goods you can see.
Goods are physical items. Services are activities performed for or used by people.
Understanding Needs and Wants
Needs are things that are important for living, health and well-being. Wants are things people would like to have but that may not be essential. The exact difference can sometimes depend on a person’s circumstances.
Food • Safe water • Suitable clothing • Shelter • Health and safety
Possible Wants:
Extra toys • Decorative items • Some entertainment products
Sort a set of everyday items into “needs” and “wants,” then explain your choices.
People’s needs and wants can differ depending on their situation.
Where Everyday Goods Come From
Goods can come from farms, forests, factories, workshops and many other places. Raw materials may be changed into products before they reach shops and consumers.
Cotton plant → Cotton fibre → Fabric → Clothing
Wheat → Flour → Bread or other foods
Choose one everyday product and draw a simple picture sequence showing where it may come from.
Many workers and places may be involved in producing one good.
Buying and Selling for Beginners
Buying happens when a person obtains a good or service through an agreed exchange, commonly by paying money. Selling happens when a seller provides a good or service in exchange for payment.
Customer chooses a notebook → Pays the agreed price → Shop provides the notebook
Create a pretend classroom shop using paper money and safe classroom objects.
Buyers and sellers take part in exchange.
Understanding a Local Shop
A local shop is a place where people can obtain goods and sometimes services. Different shops specialise in different products, while some sell many kinds of items.
Grocery shop • Bookshop • Bakery • Clothing shop • Pharmacy
Design an imaginary shop. Give it a name and draw five goods that customers can buy there.
Local businesses can help communities access goods, services and employment.
Introduction to Money in Society
Money is widely used as a way to pay for goods and services. It also helps people compare prices and save purchasing power for later use.
The Indian rupee is represented by the symbol ₹.
Money can appear as coins, notes and digital forms.
Use pretend money to practise choosing items with simple whole-number prices.
Money should be used carefully. Saving some money can help people prepare for future needs.
🗺️ Places, Location and Routes
Understanding Places Through Pictures
Pictures can give us information about places. We can observe buildings, roads, plants, vehicles, land and people to learn about an area.
Buildings • Roads • Trees • Water • Vehicles • Open spaces
Study a picture of a place and list five things you can observe directly without guessing.
Good observation separates what we can see from what we only think might be true.
Looking at a Place from Above
A place looks different when viewed from above. Maps often use a top-down view because it helps show where objects and places are located in relation to one another.
From the side, a table shows its legs.
From directly above, we mainly see the shape of its top.
Draw a simple top-down picture of your desk and the objects on it.
A bird’s-eye or top-down view is useful for making simple maps.
Introduction to Location
Location tells us where a person, object or place is. We can describe location by comparing it with familiar objects, landmarks or other places.
Beside • Between • Opposite • Behind • In front of • Near
Describe where your desk is located using two different location words.
Clear location descriptions help other people understand where something is.
Near and Far Places
Near and far are relative words used to compare distances. A place may seem near compared with one location but far compared with another.
The classroom next door is near.
A city hundreds of kilometres away is far in comparison.
Name two places near your school and one place that is much farther away.
Near and far describe relative distance rather than one fixed distance.
Left, Right and Relative Position
Words such as left, right, above, below, beside and between help describe the position of one thing relative to another.
“The pencil is to the right of the notebook.”
“The ball is between the two boxes.”
Place three classroom objects on a desk and describe their positions using left, right, beside and between.
Left and right can depend on the direction a person is facing, so give clear instructions.
Understanding Routes
A route is the path followed when travelling from one place to another. Routes can include turns, roads, paths and landmarks.
Classroom → Corridor → Turn left → Stairs → Library
Describe a familiar safe route inside your school using simple step-by-step directions.
A clear route has a starting point, directions and a destination.
Following a Simple Route Map
A route map is a simple drawing that shows how to travel between places. Symbols can represent important buildings, roads or landmarks.
🏠 Home 🏫 School 🌳 Park 🛍️ Shop
Draw an imaginary route map from a house to a school. Add a road, park and shop as landmarks.
Map symbols should be simple and easy to understand. A key can explain what symbols mean.
Recognising Human-Made Places
Human-made places and features are built or greatly changed by people. They can be compared with natural features such as rivers, hills and naturally occurring forests.
Road • Bridge • School • House • Railway station
Natural Features:
River • Mountain • Natural lake • Hill
Sort pictures into natural features and human-made features.
Some places contain both natural and human-made features.
🕰️ The Past and Changes Over Time
Understanding Changes in a Local Area
Local areas change over time. New buildings and roads may be constructed, land may be used differently, businesses may open or close, and transport may change.
New road • New school • More houses • Different shops • New park
Ask a trusted older person about one way the local area has changed during their lifetime.
Places are not fixed forever. People and environments can change them over time.
Comparing Life Today with Long Ago
People in the past had many of the same basic needs as people today, but their homes, transport, communication, tools, work and daily routines could be different.
Transport • Communication • Clothing • Homes • Schools • Tools
Choose one item, such as a telephone or vehicle, and compare an older version with a modern one.
People in the past did not all live in the same way. Life varied by place, time, culture and circumstances.
Understanding the Meaning of the Past
The past includes events, people and ways of life that existed before the present. Something that happened yesterday is in the past, and so are events that happened hundreds or thousands of years ago.
Past → Before now
Present → Now
Future → Time yet to come
Draw three boxes labelled Past, Present and Future. Add one simple example to each.
History is the study and interpretation of the human past using evidence.
Learning About the Past Through Old Objects
Objects from the past can provide evidence about how people lived. Historians and archaeologists study objects together with other evidence to learn about earlier times.
Old coins • Tools • Toys • Clothes • Letters • Photographs • Utensils
Look at a photograph of an old object and ask:
1. What is it made from?
2. What might it have been used for?
3. Who might have used it?
4. What clues support my ideas?
5. What more would I need to know?
One old object may give us useful clues, but historians usually compare many sources before reaching conclusions about the past.
🌍 Class 1 Social Studies Complete
You have completed 30 Social Studies topics covering people, households, communities, neighbourhoods, community rules, shared spaces, services, work, goods, needs and wants, buying and selling, money, places, location, routes, maps, human-made places and learning about the past.
OnlyGyaani — People • Places • Community • Past
Class 1 Social Studies
Explore people, households, neighbourhoods, communities, work, goods, needs and wants, money, places, location, routes and the past through 30 simple and engaging Social Studies lessons.