Series

City Island

56 episodes

Three-minute animated shorts set in a busy little city, following Watt, Windy, and Frank as they run into the things a community is made of, such as how a mayor decides, what a flag stands for, why an ad wants your attention, and where clouds come from. A good stretch of the run is City Island Sings!, two-minute songs on voting, money, media, the messy jobs nobody thinks about, and the adults who keep a school running. Civics-heavy without being dry, and short enough to open a morning meeting or close one out.

Search on YouTube

what this series covers

What City Island covers

56 episodes in the library, tagged for Pre-K–3rd. Heaviest coverage: Social Studies, Music and Social-Emotional Learning. Between them they line up with 76 distinct standards across 8 frameworks.

Episodes per grade

Pre-K: 37
K: 56
1st: 56
2nd: 56
3rd: 19

Episodes per subject

Social Studies: 46
Music: 10
Social-Emotional Learning: 10
Art: 5
Technology: 5
Health: 4
Science: 4
Reading & Writing (ELA): 2

NGSS (Science) 3

K-ESS3-3Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.
2-ESS2-3Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.
K-ESS3-2Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather.

Common Core — ELA 2

SL.2.3Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather information, or deepen understanding.
W.2.2Write informative/explanatory texts that introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement.

Social Studies (C3 / NCSS) 38

D2.Geo.6.K-2Identify some cultural and environmental characteristics of specific places.
D2.His.2.K-2Compare life in the past to life today.
D2.Civ.6.K-2Describe how communities work to accomplish common tasks, establish responsibilities, and fulfill roles of authority.
D2.Eco.12.K-2Describe examples of the goods and services that governments provide.
D2.Geo.7.K-2Explain why and how people, goods, and ideas move from place to place.
D2.Civ.2.K-2Explain how all people, not just official leaders, play important roles in a community.

+ 32 more

D2.Eco.3.K-2Describe the skills and knowledge required to produce certain goods and services.
D2.Geo.2.K-2Use maps, graphs, photographs, and other representations to describe places and the relationships and interactions that shape them.
D2.Eco.4.K-2Describe the goods and services that people in the local community produce and those that are produced in other communities.
D2.His.10.K-2Explain how historical sources can be used to study the past.
D4.7.K-2Identify ways to take action to help address local, regional, and global problems.
D2.Civ.1.K-2Describe roles and responsibilities of people in authority.
D2.Civ.11.K-2Explain how people can work together to make decisions in the classroom.
D2.Civ.12.K-2Identify and explain how rules function in public (classroom and school) settings.
D2.Civ.14.K-2Describe how people have tried to improve their communities over time.
D2.Civ.3.K-2Explain the need for and purposes of rules in various settings inside and outside of school.
D2.Civ.5.K-2Explain what governments are and some of their functions.
D2.Eco.5.K-2Identify prices of products in a local market.
D2.Geo.3.K-2Use maps, globes, and other simple geographic models to identify cultural and environmental characteristics of places.
D2.Geo.5.K-2Describe how human activities affect the cultural and environmental characteristics of places or regions.
D2.Geo.9.K-2Describe the connections between the physical environment of a place and the economic activities found there.
D3.2.K-2Evaluate a source by distinguishing between fact and opinion.
D4.8.K-2Use listening, consensus-building, and voting procedures to decide on and take action in their classrooms.
D2.Civ.10.K-2Compare their own point of view with others' perspectives.
D2.Civ.7.K-2Apply civic virtues when participating in school settings.
D2.Eco.1.K-2Explain how scarcity necessitates decision making.
D2.Eco.10.K-2Explain why people save.
D2.Eco.13.K-2Describe examples of capital goods and human capital.
D2.Eco.2.K-2Identify the benefits and costs of making various personal decisions.
D2.Eco.6.K-2Explain how people earn income.
D2.Geo.1.K-2Construct maps, graphs, and other representations of familiar places.
D2.Geo.4.K-2Explain how weather, climate, and other environmental characteristics affect people's lives in a place or region.
D2.Geo.8.K-2Compare how people in different types of communities use local and distant environments to meet their daily needs.
D2.His.14.K-2Generate possible reasons for an event or development in the past.
D2.His.4.K-2Compare perspectives of people in the past to those of people in the present.
D2.His.6.K-2Compare different accounts of the same historical event.
D2.His.9.K-2Identify different kinds of historical sources.
D3.1.K-2Gather relevant information from one or two sources while using the origin and structure to guide the selection.

National Core Arts 8

VA:Cn10.1.2Create works of art about events in home, school, or community life.
MA:Cn11.1.2aDiscuss how media artworks and ideas relate to everyday and cultural life, such as media messages and media environments.
MA:Cr2.1.1With guidance, use identified ideas to form plans and models for media arts productions.
MA:Pr5.1.1aDescribe and demonstrate various artistic skills and roles, such as technical steps, planning, and collaborating in media arts productions.
MA:Re7.1.1bWith guidance, identify how a variety of media artworks create different experiences.
MA:Re7.1.2aIdentify and describe the components and messages in media artworks.

+ 2 more

VA:Cn11.1.KIdentify a purpose of an artwork.
VA:Re7.1.1Select and describe works of art that illustrate daily life experiences of one’s self and others.

CASEL (Social-Emotional) 12

CASEL.RS.7Seek help when you need it and offer help when someone else does.
CASEL.RS.9Show respect and cultural competency across differences in background, language, and ability.
CASEL.SM.1Manage strong emotions and impulses instead of acting on them right away.
CASEL.SOA.2Demonstrate empathy and compassion for others.
CASEL.RDM.2Identify solutions to personal and social problems.
CASEL.RDM.4Anticipate and evaluate the consequences of your actions before you act.

+ 6 more

CASEL.RS.2Build and keep positive relationships and friendships.
CASEL.RS.6Show leadership in a group — organize, include, and share the work.
CASEL.RS.8Stand up for the rights of others.
CASEL.SA.3Recognize your own strengths, interests, and the assets you bring from your family and culture.
CASEL.SM.2Use calming and stress-management strategies (deep breaths, a break, asking for space).
CASEL.SOA.1Take another person's perspective — describe a situation as they would see it.

National Health Education 6

NHES.1.2.7List ways to prevent common childhood injuries and health problems (bike helmets, water instead of sugary drinks).
NHES.2.2.2Explain how school staff — teachers, custodians, bus drivers, food-service workers — influence health behaviors.
NHES.2.2.3Identify ways media, social media, and technology (TV, movies, games, ads, apps, screen time) influence health behaviors.
NHES.3.2.4Describe the role trusted adults play in clinics and community settings.
NHES.3.2.5Discuss reasons for going to a health appointment (eye doctor, dentist, pediatrician).
NHES.7.2.1Demonstrate age-appropriate observable health and safety practices.

ISTE (Technology) 6

ISTE.1.3.bEvaluate information: judge digital content for accuracy, credibility, bias, and relevance.
ISTE.1.6.aChoose platforms or tools: pick the digital tool that fits your communication goal.
ISTE.1.1.dTechnology fundamentals: understand how the technology you use works, and try out new tools confidently.
ISTE.1.5.cDecompose problems: break a complex system or task into smaller parts.
ISTE.1.6Creative Communicator: students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively using digital tools and media.
ISTE.1.6.bOriginal and remixed works: create original work, or remix digital resources responsibly and with credit.

CSTA (Computer Science) 1

1B-NI-04Model how information is broken down into smaller pieces, transmitted as packets through multiple devices over networks and the Internet, and reassembled at the destination.

Every episode is vetted and tagged before it goes in. Pick your state in the filters above to see your own state’s codes alongside these.

Grade

Subject

Core

Arts

Specials

Class culture

Length

Watched

Access

Free

Library