Grades K-5
Symbols & Stories
The palmetto and crescent, state symbols, and the people who built our communities — through read-alouds, crafts, and gallery walks.
Created by teachers, for teachers
Get to Know South Carolina
Standards-aligned civics, culture, and field-trip resources that bring the Palmetto State into every K-12 classroom.
Click here for Interviews
All interviews by Linda Dennis, A Backpack Journalist
Our promise
A civics companion for South Carolina classrooms
Every resource here is written and reviewed by South Carolina educators, aligned to state standards, and built around the places and institutions our students can actually visit and see at work.
- Grade bands
- K-12
- Alignment
- SC standards
- Review
- Teacher-led
Featured pathway
How a Law Is Made in South Carolina
The journey of a bill through the General Assembly, told step by step — the centerpiece of our civics resources and the starting point for classroom-ready lessons.
The Bill Is Introduced
A representative or senator files a bill in their chamber, where it receives a number and its first reading.
Committee Review
Leadership assigns the bill to a committee, where members study it, hold hearings, and amend it or set it aside.
Floor Debate & Votes
If it clears committee, the full chamber debates the bill and votes. A majority sends it on its way.
The Other Chamber
The bill crosses to the House or Senate, where the process repeats — differences are reconciled before final passage.
The Governor Decides
The governor signs the bill into law, allows it to become law unsigned, or vetoes it — and the General Assembly can respond.
Civics & culture resources
Resources organized the way you teach
Lesson-ready materials on South Carolina government, history, and culture — sorted by grade band and built for real classrooms.
Grades 6-8
How Our Government Works
Follow a bill from the State House rotunda to the governor's desk, with simulations, timelines, and debate frameworks.
Grades 9-12
Primary Sources & Debate
Constitution excerpts, legislative journals, and Gullah Geechee heritage — sources students can interrogate, cite, and argue from.
“Civics is not a distant subject. It is the state your students live in.”
Venue guide
Field trips worth the bus ride
A curated guide to South Carolina's museums, historic sites, and parks — each entry vetted by teachers who have taken a class there.
Columbia
South Carolina State Museum
Four floors of state history, science, and art — ask about the planetarium add-on when booking.
Charleston
Charles Towne Landing
Where the colony began in 1670 — living-history programs align neatly with grade 3 and 8 standards.
Hopkins
Congaree National Park
Free ranger-led boardwalk walks among champion trees — reserve spring dates early.
Charleston
Middleton Place
Gardens, stableyards, and the full story of the people who lived and worked here.
Built by teachers, for teachers
Get to Know South Carolina is written and maintained by working South Carolina educators. Every lesson, timeline, and venue entry is tested in a real classroom before it reaches yours.