The lessons children learn today are fairly clear-cut and, in many ways, similar to the things people have been learning in elementary school for ages. 

Language arts is about reading and writing. Science is about the physical world. But when it comes to defining social studies, many people seem stumped. Is it history? Does it teach children to read maps? Do children learn to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or the preamble to the U.S. Constitution?

In short, yes. But social studies 2003 is much, much more. The world we live in is an increasingly diverse, exciting and sometimes complex one. People from around the world live as neighbors. Television and the Internet expose even very young children to places and information that people of past times could never have experienced in a lifetime. And governments at all levels grapple with complicated social and international questions that require sensitivity and creativity to resolve.

The modern day elementary social studies curriculum is an attempt to help prepare children to process their life experiences. It is designed both to prepare children to become responsible contributing members of society, as well as to solve problems and make reasoned decisions. Here is an overview of the types of social learning that takes place at the various grade levels:

Kindergarten and grade one
The focus is on the development of the child as an individual, as well as a member of a family, school, community and world. Social learning is largely about helping children interact with others and understand the rules that govern groups (i.e. their first grade class) beyond their families.  

In the early primary grades, children are often unaware that they are learning "social studies," since the term is rarely used. Much of the social learning is introduced through books, field trips to places around the community, as well as classroom activities in which children learn how to express their emotions and solve their differences peacefully and how to work together to complete projects.

Grade two and three
In second grade, students explore their own rural, urban or suburban communities. In grade three, children's learning is expanded to include communities around the U.S. and the world. These are studied from a social/cultural, political, economic, geographic and historical perspective. A typical third grade social studies project might involve using the Internet to link up with students from schools in other parts of the U.S. or around the world to share information about school life, culture, language and more.

Students at these two levels continue to learn about self-identity. To help them better understand their own history, students might interview their parents or grandparents and prepare a multi-media project comparing past times with their modern day lives. Social interaction and citizenship continue to be emphasized.

Grades four and five 
Students focus on local, state and national political institutions and their leaders along with the history of such institutions. Concepts of citizenship, such as power, equality, justice and liberty, are discussed. Students also study the relationship between local events and those throughout the history of the state and nation. The daily newspaper, television news and in-class discussions about local, state, national and world events may be used to further these concepts.

To foster an understanding that history is the story of ordinary people and their everyday lives, teachers may take students on visits to local historical sites and museums or have them review town records and maps from past times.

In fifth grade, students also take the state's new elementary social studies exam, which tests their ability to work with historical documents and engages them in a great deal of critical reading, writing and thinking.

For permission to reprint this article, please contact the Capital Region BOCES Communications Service by e-mailing dbushsuf@gw.neric.org.

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