Social studies in Year 1: what Lärkompis practises
In Year 1 of Swedish school (around age 7), Lärkompis practises 12 skills in social studies (geography, history, religion and civics), linked to 50 of 100 items in the core content of Lgr22, the Swedish national curriculum, for Years 1–3. The areas are exploring reality, life in the local area, life in the world and life together. Each skill has five difficulty levels, and the skills are practised in 4 mini-games, including Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt), Labbet (The Lab) and Tidslinjen (The Timeline).
Lgr22 sets out core content for each stage (Years 1–3), not for each year. So Lärkompis spreads the skills across the years using its own time windows, and these are estimates. For Year 1, this means that 6 skills start this year and 6 skills started earlier and are still being practised. The figure 50 of 100 counts the items in the core content from Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education) that at least one skill links to; it does not mean the whole item is covered.
What Lärkompis practises in Year 1
The 12 skills in social studies in Year 1 are grouped into 4 areas following Skolverket's syllabus. Under each skill you can see the first and the last difficulty level, so you know how far the exercises go.
Exploring reality
- Globes, maps, compass directions and mental maps Level 1: Go one way on the map, with three places. Level 5: Two directions, and ordering from smallest to largest.
- Compass points and simple maps Level 1: Grid map, two places in the same row or column. Level 5: Rotated map, distances at different scales and a map key.
- Time words and timelines Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
Life in the local area
- The history of the local area, objects from the past and the role of Christianity in schools in the past Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
- Ambulance, fire and rescue services and the police Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
- Jobs, businesses and public services in the local area Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
Life in the world
- Religious festivals in Christianity, Judaism and Islam Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
- Environmental questions in everyday life: sorting waste, energy, traffic and food Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
- What money is used for and what it is worth, ways to pay and what things cost Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
Life together
- How people lived in the past and how we live now Level 1: Then or now, with pictures. Level 5: Then or now.
- Norms and rules, moral questions and questions about life, and traffic rules Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
- Traffic lights, bike helmets, reflectors and seat belts Level 1: Choose from three options with pictures. Level 5: Mixed.
What the syllabus says, in short
The Lgr22 core content for Years 1–3 in social studies, summarised in our own words for the parts Lärkompis practises in Year 1. Read the full text in Skolverket's English translation of Lgr22.
- Talking about rules, norms and moral questions, for example friendship and fairness, at school and online.
- People’s lives in the past, for example as shown in children’s books, songs and films.
- The local area: what it looks like and how it has changed.
- The world, maps, festivals and religious traditions.
- Exploring the real world with simple maps, sources and questions.
How to help at home with social studies in Year 1
Year 1 is very much about the basics, and much of the learning happens through talk, play and short moments. Ten minutes on several days a week sticks better than one long session a week, because practice spread out over time is remembered better than practice all in one go. Follow a news story or a topic for a week and ask “why did it happen, and what happens next?”. Ask your child to show where they read something and why they trust the source.
- Keep reading together for years. Keep reading aloud, or listening to a book together, long after your child can read on their own. Talk about the text. It builds vocabulary and togetherness. Recent studies suggest the effect is smaller than once thought, but it is still good time spent together. When reading: about 15 minutes.
- Better questions than “how was school?”. Try: “What was the most fun/hardest thing today?”, “What made you laugh?”, “Tell me something you learned that I don’t know.” Give it time and wait. Silence is an answer too. As a conversation: about 5 minutes.
- Pause when things boil over. Nobody learns anything in the heat of the moment. Say “let’s take a break: water and five minutes”. Come back with a smaller piece. Your relationship is worth more than the homework. When it is hard going: about 5 minutes.
- Offer choices within limits. Ask “do you want to do your homework before or after your snack?” instead of “sit down now”. Choices within limits strengthen a sense of control without the rules disappearing. As a conversation: about 5 minutes.
How you can tell it has clicked in Year 1
- How people lived in the past and how we live now: Your child asks an older relative what life was like when they were little.
- Norms and rules, moral questions and questions about life, and traffic rules: Your child can say what you can do when someone is left out.
- Ambulance, fire and rescue services and the police: Your child knows to call 112 when someone’s life is in danger.
- Traffic lights, bike helmets, reflectors and seat belts: Your child stops at a red light and puts their helmet on by themselves.
Common pitfalls in Year 1
- Norms and rules, moral questions and questions about life, and traffic rules: Thinks norms and laws are the same thing.
- Ambulance, fire and rescue services and the police: Thinks you call 112 for small things.
- Traffic lights, bike helmets, reflectors and seat belts: Thinks the driver always sees the child just because the child sees the car.
- Jobs, businesses and public services in the local area: Thinks some jobs are only for boys or only for girls.
If social studies practice in Year 1 often ends in tears or takes far too long, stop for the day and write a few lines to the teacher about what was hard. That is useful information for the school, not a failure.
Games that practise it
In Year 1 social studies, Lärkompis uses 4 mini-games. In these games, playing is the practice, so your child learns while they play. There are no points or streaks, and no ads.
Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt)
A quiz show in a TV studio, where Vera leads the questions up a ladder. There are lifelines but no points: the ladder fills up with the questions your child has worked through. In Year 1, the game practises 12 skills: globes, maps, compass directions and mental maps; compass points and simple maps; the history of the local area, objects from the past and the role of Christianity in schools in the past; religious festivals in Christianity, Judaism and Islam; and more.
Labbet (The Lab)
Guess first, then find out. The tasks are based on checked facts. In Year 1, the game practises 11 skills: globes, maps, compass directions and mental maps; the history of the local area, objects from the past and the role of Christianity in schools in the past; religious festivals in Christianity, Judaism and Islam; how people lived in the past and how we live now; and more.
Tidslinjen (The Timeline)
Your child puts cards on a line in the right order, for example events, steps or numbers. A card in the right place turns over and shows the answer. In Year 1, the game practises 4 skills: globes, maps, compass directions and mental maps; the history of the local area, objects from the past and the role of Christianity in schools in the past; what money is used for and what it is worth, ways to pay and what things cost; and time words and timelines.
Kartjakten (Map Hunt)
A made-up island with a compass rose, a map key and a scale bar: the map is the task. In Year 1, the game practises 1 skill: compass points and simple maps.
Questions about social studies in Year 1
What does Lärkompis practise in social studies in Year 1?
Lärkompis has 12 skills in social studies in Year 1, for example “Globes, maps, compass directions and mental maps”; “Compass points and simple maps”; “The history of the local area, objects from the past and the role of Christianity in schools in the past”; “Religious festivals in Christianity, Judaism and Islam”; and “How people lived in the past and how we live now”. Each skill has five levels. In “Globes, maps, compass directions and mental maps”, for example, level 1 is “Go one way on the map, with three places” and level 5 is “Two directions, and ordering from smallest to largest”. The app adjusts the level to how your child is doing.
What comes after Year 1 in social studies?
In Year 2, Lärkompis practises 21 skills in social studies, and new that year are “Compass points and simple maps”; “Land, water and climate as conditions for where people live”; and “The continents, the oceans and the Nordic region”. Most of it builds on what your child practised in Year 1.
Which mistakes are common in social studies in Year 1?
Common mistakes that Lärkompis covers include “Thinks norms and laws are the same thing” in “Norms and rules, moral questions and questions about life, and traffic rules” and “Thinks you call 112 for small things” in “Ambulance, fire and rescue services and the police”. When an answer is wrong, the app shows how to think it through instead of just marking it wrong, and the parent panel shows what your child is practising right now.
Does Lärkompis follow Lgr22 in social studies in Year 1?
Yes. Every exercise in social studies in Year 1 is linked to an item in the Lgr22 core content for Years 1–3; 50 of 100 items in social studies (geography, history, religion and civics) have at least one linked skill. Lärkompis is a complement at home and does not replace teaching.
How much does it cost to practise social studies in Year 1 with Lärkompis?
Lärkompis costs SEK 49, once, for all subjects and every child in the family, with future updates included. You can try social studies in Year 1 for free first, without an account.
More years and subjects
The same year in other subjects:
