TCI Elementary Social Studies Curriculum

Social Studies Alive! is a K-12 curriculum designed by Teachers’ Curriculum Institute (TCI). to make social studies engaging through interactive lessons and inquiry-based projects.

We chose the TCI Elementary Social Studies Curriculum as a Teacher Pick because the program emphasizes student-driven exploration, encouraging research and evidence-based arguments. It integrates reading and writing skills by incorporating primary sources, biographies, and diverse perspectives. Covering topics like geography, history, economics, and civics, it provides content for all grade levels. Additionally, TCI offers a digital platform with interactive activities, assessments, and teacher resources for blended learning.

Sarah Wilson is a Missouri primary teacher who has taught social studies for 11 years. She knows what to look for in a program that is both aligned to standards and clicks for kids. Here’s what Sarah wants other teachers to know about TCI’s Social Studies Alive! curriculum.

Does TCI’s Social Studies Alive! align with any specific standards or curriculum guidelines?

Each unit is aligned to standards. So you’ll need to see where those standards align in your own state. In Missouri, we teach Community (good citizens and rules/laws), Native Americans, Regions of the World and Missouri, Economics, Government, Famous Missourians, pioneers and inventors, how things have changed over time, and National Symbols. The units aligned with what I need to teach. The standards correlations make it easy and fast to figure out where each standard fits in the units. This would be very helpful when editing curriculum pacing guides for the year.

How did you use the TCI Elementary Social Studies Curriculum in your classroom?

I taught the economics lesson from the Social Studies Alive! My Community unit for 2nd grade. The online lessons were engaging and the students really enjoyed completing the activities. The physical materials designed to use with this lesson are phenomenal. The quality of the materials helped make all the lessons more meaningful and engaging. I particularly like the lessons that are hands-on and have videos that I could present or assign to students that go along with the material. My students especially liked the sorting activity and participating in community skits. 

They love to act out and make plays, so the skit was their favorite. The discussions that my students had while sorting the cards in the hands-on activities were wonderful. They used such good teamwork to sort their cards and had meaningful conversations about the correct order. When they were not sure what the card/picture meant, they flipped it over to decide the correct order, which was a handy way to help keep their learning independent. I then had students come up to the board and put them in the order that their team agreed to self-check. The students stayed engaged the entire time and seemed to really enjoy the activity.

“Wait, do we actually get to draw on this activity?”

“We can change the colors? How cool!”

“I get to create a shopping list! I love this!”

—Comments from 2nd graders

How did this make your job as a teacher easier and more enjoyable?

There is so much to love about this curriculum. I love the real-life pictures and all of the tools that are available online. I enjoyed how easy it was to create a class and assign materials. It was easy to print material, edit assessments, grade online/assign through Google Classroom. You can cross-reference standards and see where that specific state standard was taught in the program. This was very helpful. The printed materials make the lessons even that much more amazing. I appreciate the fact that there are two copies of the sorting cards for the hands-on activities. The students and I both enjoyed the materials and loved the different techniques and teaching/learning styles that are incorporated throughout the lessons in this unit. 

Can you highlight what stood out to you?

I found the professional development videos very beneficial. The material could be read at two speeds, which helped students stay focused and work independently. One thing that I found helpful was that students could click the main idea button and it would highlight it in the passage. Second grade focuses a lot on the main idea, so this helped me teach them this skill as well. The materials are sturdy, colorful, and meaningful. The texts/readings are grade-level appropriate. The online slides helped when teaching the lesson in whole groups and even as assigning some of the material to do on their own.

On a scale of 1 to 5, how easy was it to use TCI?

I give it five stars. So many components are helpful and easy to figure out, making teaching the material easier and convenient. The features that are made available make my students’ lives easier and less stressful. The hands-on materials for the lessons that were provided were fun and engaging to my students. They really enjoyed the student journals as the pages were easy to read and not too overwhelming. The print was a good size, as were the pictures. I feel it helped my students with ADHD focus more on readings. 

What makes TCI’s Social Studies Alive! special?

Using a full curriculum that has both online and printed materials was unique for me. It makes teaching so much easier and takes a lot of pressure off students who struggle to read and who see a huge textbook and feel overwhelmed right away. I love the student journals and the activity cards as they made implementing the content so much easier. The videos were the perfect length and were fun to add for another learning style. The activities provided were fun and engaging for my students.