Encompass K-5: Your Complete Social Studies Solution for Connecticut Classrooms
Engage your K-5 students in a hands-on journey through geography, history, and community with Encompass K-5. Designed specifically for Connecticut schools, this comprehensive program provides scaffolded atlases, maps, and globes to help students explore the world at their level.
From learning about symbols and maps in Grade 1 to discovering the rich history of the United States in Grade 5, Encompass K-5 offers flexible, stand-alone activities that allow teachers to choose the right lesson for their classroom needs. Each grade builds critical geographic and social studies skills, fostering curiosity and real-world understanding.
Now featuring the Connecticut Expansion Pack for Grade 3, this program dives even deeper into our state’s unique history, geography, and communities. With interactive maps and engaging activities, third graders will explore Connecticut’s landmarks, government, and how their local community connects to the larger world.
Bring the world—and Connecticut—into your classroom with Encompass K-5!
NEW Expansion Pack for Connecticut
Encompass: Connections, Grade 3 with the Connecticut Expansion Pack provides everything you need to explore Connecticut’s rich history, geography, and community through interactive, hands-on activities. Aligned with Connecticut's social studies standards, the expansion builds on the base program by offering deeper engagement with local topics. Students practice asking questions and taking action as they explore their communities, learn about our government, and understand life on other continents.
Designed to foster geographic literacy and key social studies skills, the base program equips students with a well-rounded foundation in social studies. The Connecticut Expansion Pack enhances this by deepening their connection to the state, offering tailored activities and resources that highlight Connecticut's unique geography and history.
Supplemental
Hands-On
Encompass focuses on hands-on geography, increasing student engagement and retention of knowledge and skills.
The program includes a variety of markable manipulatives, scaffolded for Grades 1-5.
Primary Sources
Encompass includes double-sided social studies Place Mats, designed for group work.
The Place Mats promote primary and secondary source analysis and help students engage with current world issues.
Digital Options
Encompass is also available at Nystrom World as an interactive program. Download a PDF of the teacher's guide and give students practice with multistep problems that lead to depth of knowledge.
A Cartful of Geography Goodies!
Each grade level includes the following durable and engaging components:
- Teacher’s Guide with skill-based activities
- 30 Student Atlases
- 6 markable Activity Globes
- 6 markable Place Mats
- 6 raised relief Desk Maps
- 30 U.S./world Desk Maps
Grade K also includes a Big Book, Grades K-3 also include 15 community desk maps, and Grade 4 also includes 15 U.S./world political desk maps.
- Teacher’s Guide
- 30 Connecticut Desk Maps
- 6 Connecticut Place Mats
Learning that Sticks!
Encompass builds a variety of hands-on learning experiences into the program to ensure that students
- actively engage with the content;
- understand and retain more; and
- recall and use new information.
Digital Mapping
Encompass is seamless between print and digital. The digital mapping lives at Nystrom World, where teachers can
- prep for lessons anytime, anywhere;
- extend learning with interactive activities;
- monitor student progress from one dashboard; and
- involve families by giving them frontline access.
Beginnings
Kindergartners start learning about their neighborhoods and communities through hands-on geography resources that empower them to understand the world around them.
Components
- Encompass Beginnings Teacher's Guide
- The World Around Me Big Book Atlas
- 30 The World Around Me Student Atlases
- 6 9" Activity Globes
- 15 community Desk Maps
- 6 Social Studies Place Mats
- 6 raised relief maps
- 30 wide-tipped markers
- Elementary Atlas Cart
- 5-year subscription to interactive platform
Viewpoints
First graders are introduced to geography by identifying symbols, land, and water on a map, and learning about neighborhoods, our country, and the world.
Components
- Encompass Viewpoints Teacher's Guide
- 30 See the World Student Atlases
- 6 9" Activity Globe
- 30 U.S./world Desk Maps
- 15 community Desk Maps
- 6 Social Studies Place Mats
- 6 raised relief maps
- 30 wide-tipped markers
- Elementary Atlas Cart
- 5-year subscription to interactive platform
Changes
Second graders focus on new concepts and topics, such as natural features, community changes over time, U.S. population changes, and protecting our world.
Components
- Encompass Changes Teacher's Guide
- 30 Our Changing World Student Atlases
- 6 9" Activity Globes
- 30 U.S./world Desk Maps
- 15 community Desk Maps
- 6 Social Studies Place Mats
- 6 raised relief maps
- 30 narrow-tipped markers
- Elementary Atlas Cart
- 5-year subscription to interactive platform
Connections
Third graders explore additional concepts and topics, including cardinal directions, latitude and longitude, and taking action in communities, in our
country, and around the world.
Components
- Encompass Connections Teacher's Guide
- 30 Our Place in the World student atlases
- 6 9" activity globe
- 30 U.S./world desk maps
- 15 community desk maps
- 6 social studies place mats
- 6 raised relief maps
- 30 narrow-tipped markers
- Elementary atlas cart
- 5-year subscription to interactive platform
- Teacher's Guide Supplement
- 30 Connecticut desk maps
- 6 Connecticut place mats
U.S. Regions
Fourth graders focus even more on geography by decoding maps and exploring physical, political, and thematic maps and studying our country's diverse
geographic regions.
Components
- Encompass U.S. Regions Teacher's Guide
- 30 Our Country's Geography Student Atlases
- 6 9" Activity Globes
- 30 U.S./world physical Desk Maps
- 15 U.S./world political Desk Maps
- 6 Social Studies Place Mats
- 6 raised relief maps
- 30 narrow-tipped markers
- Elementary Atlas Cart
- 5-year subscription to interactive platform
U.S. History
Fifth graders explore the geographic history of our country, including the time of the first Americans to twentieth-century America and modern America's
changing population and technological advances.
Components
- Encompass U.S. History Teacher's Guide
- 30 Our Country's History Student Atlases
- 6 9" Activity Globes
- 30 U.S./world folding Desk Maps
- 6 Social Studies Place Mats
- 6 raised relief maps
- 30 narrow-tipped markers
- Elementary Atlas Cart
- 5-year subscription to interactive platform
