Overview of The Personal Context
The “personal context” is an important aspect of social studies. Someone’s “personal context” is an examination of who they are as an individual, where they come from, what their lineage is, and so forth. Knowing who we are and where we come from, is so important, as it is a large component of our identity.
The personal context is a major component of the grades K-2 Social Studies curriculum in BC, which focusses on the concepts of family, individuals, and communities.
Below I have explained some activities that could be used to explore the concept of the personal context. Each of these activities enables the members of a class to learn a little bit more about themselves or one another.
Activities to teach about the Personal Context
Personal ecology questionnaire - Have students fill out a short survey answering some questions about themselves.
Note: In grade K-1, consider having students interview and introduce a partner with a few short questions or do mini verbal conferences with the students to learn a bit more about them.
Class Introductions- Begin class with students standing in a circle and take turns responding to a question or prompt. Some prompts you could use:
What is your name, where are you from, and what is one interesting fact about you?
What is your name, where are you from, who are your parents and where are they from, and who are your grandparents and where are they from?
Where are you from, and what is your ancestry, and how are you feeling out of 5?
Note: I love this idea! Beginning the class by standing in a circle and sharing something about themselves not only gets students up and out of their desks, it also gives them an opportunity to learn about each other and acknowledge everyone else who is in the class. Furthermore, this practice is a way in which teachers can pedagogically include the First People’s Principals of Learning, as it acknowledges the importance of relationships and the exploration of our own identity as a necessary part of learning.
Drawings of our Families – An important part of the personal context is your family. Thus, it can be helful to have children draw and label the members of their family.
Note: An important consideration with this activity is to explain to students that family means those who are most important to you. This eliminates the need for students to feel worried about what their family looks like in comparison to others.
Class line-up games – Have students get into groups and line up within their group in accordance to a prompt provided by the teacher. For example, have students line up in order of…
Who has been to the most provinces/countries?
Who has the most siblings?
Who has the most hats?
Who had the most pets?
Who has lived in the most homes?
Who speaks the most languages?
Who has stayed awake for the most consecutive hours?
Note: This is a great classroom ice breaker to use as it gets students talking, moving, working collaboratively, and learning more about one another.
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