SOCIAL STUDIES

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SOCIAL STUDIES

• What we Teach,
• Why we Teach It

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Why History Matters

• "Memory is what makes us who we are.  If we lost
  all of our memory whenever we fell asleep at
  night, it would be the same as if we died and a
  new person woke up in our body the next morning.
  History is the memory of a nation."
• Thomas Sowell, "The Vision of the Anointed."

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What We Teach History and the Social Sciences

• Social sciences include history as well as
  geography, economics, psychology, anthropology,
  political science/civics and sociology
• Diversity of curriculum develops a broad spectrum
  of learning

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Why We Teach It, orWhy Study the Social Sciences?

• To understand people and societies
• To understand change and how the society we live
  in came to be
• To understand the importance of history in our
  own lives
• To understand how history contributes to moral
  understanding

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Why Study Social Sciences? (continued)

• To provide identitycultural literacy a shared
  history that is assumed all already know.
• To become responsible citizens

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Why Study Social Sciences? (continued)

• To develop essential skills
• Critical thinking
• Questioning
• Making connections
• Adapting to new situations
• To succeed in the world of work

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What Do Our 17-Year-Olds Know?

• Intercollegiate Studies Institute (non-profit)
  gave students at 25 selective colleges a civic
  literacy test
• Freshman scored 56.6
• Seniors scored 59.4
• Harvard seniors 69.6--passing?
• Less than half of college seniors knew that NATO
  was formed to resist Soviet expansion.

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Its Not your Parents Social Studies class

• Schools used to emphasize solely the memorization
  of facts.
• Today the emphasis is on skills (concepts,
  connections and application) because of the
  concern that students in the U.S. are leaving
  high school without the necessary skills to
  function in higher education and the workforce in
  order to be globally competitive.

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However, content is just as necessary because

• it provides context and perspective for new
  learning
• it helps us reconcile time and space
• some is essential to build a framework for skill
  development
• skills without facts result in knowledge gaps

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Our Focus is on Essential Questions

• Essential Questions are questions that
• get students to think
• do not have a right answer
• can be debated
• point to big ideas
• help students make sense of difficult concepts
• Example What does it mean to be an American?

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How are we preparing our students for the 21st
century?

• What skills are needed?
• What skills are we teaching?
• How are students responding?
• Are our methods working?
• Are they learning?

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Partnership of 21st Century Skills developed
this framework
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In Other Words, the skills needed in the 21st
Century are

• Creativity and innovation
• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Information literacy
• Media literacy

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21st Century Skills (continued)

• Information and Communication Technology literacy
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative and self-direction
• Social and cross-cultural skills
• Productivity and accountability
• Leadership and responsibility

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New Jersey State Standardsfor Social Studies

• Social Studies Skills
• Civics
• World History
• United States / New Jersey History
• Economics
• Geography

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Our CurriculumELEMENTARY SCHOOL

• Kindergarten Belonging and Family
• Grade 1 Belonging and Neighborhoods
• Grade 2 Belonging and Communities/ Citizenship
• Grade 3 Lenape/Ethnic Heritage/
• Immigration
• Grade 4 Colonization/American Revolution/Governme
  nt (U.S. NJ)
• Grade 5 5 Themes of Geography/Ancient
  Civilizations

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Essential Questions, Grades 1-5

• What is family? How can differences bring people
  together?
• How do communities meet the needs of its members?
• What are the elements of Lenape culture?
• How does the movement of people affect others and
  the physical environment around them?
• How does geography impact humans? How do humans
  impact geography?

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5th Grade Task

• Person of Positive Achievement
• Talk about the characteristics of such a person
• Decide by consensus on a list of about 6
• Read around the topic
• Pick a person to study to research
• Use online and reference materials
• Take notes
• Cite sources
• Write a 3-5 paragraph essay explaining why the
  person chosen meets the criteria
• Word process the document

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Our CurriculumMIDDLE SCHOOL

• Grade 6
• World History
• Topics Geography / Birth of Civilization / Early
  Societies
• Grades 7 and 8
• A Year (Social Sciences) Civics
• B Year (US History, 1600 - 1870 United States
  History, Colonization through Reconstruction

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Essential Questions, Grade 6

• Why are the legacies of one society important to
  another society?
• How does the culture of a society influence its
  development?
• What happens when cultures collide?
• Is government essential in a society?
• What causes a society to want to expand?

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6th Grade Research Task

• Museum exhibit
• Choose a society that has had a significant
  impact on the world
• Research the society and a specific person, event
  or development
• Write an essay
• Construct a physical artifact/model
• Create a multimedia presentation

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Essential Questions Grades 7/8 A (Social
Sciences)

• How does government affect human development?
• Is any political system the best?
• How does a nations government affect its
  relations with its citizens and the rest of the
  world?
• How is wealth distributed among individuals and
  nations?
• How does the use and distribution of available
  resources affect peoples lives?

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Essential Questions Grades 7/8 B (U.S. History)

• Can different cultures blend and appreciate each
  other?
• How does where you live effect how you live?
• Why do people revolt?
• How do governments balance the common good and
  individual rights?
• Is compromise the best solution to solve
  conflict?
• What qualities make an effective leader?

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7th/8th Grade Research Task

• Examine 10 significant events in world or U.S.
  history
• Choose one event to explore in more depth
• Locate 2 additional sources, take notes, develop
  a thesis and write a 5-paragraph research paper
• Math connection collect data, place it in a
  spreadsheet and create a chart or graph to
  present to peers in science class

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Our CurriculumHigh School

• Grade 9 Government Economics
• Grade 10 United States History
• Grade 11 Global Studies
• Grades 11 12 many choices of electives
• Required for graduation

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Essential Questions Grade 9 (Government
Economics)

• Does any one form of government best protect the
  rights of the individuals?
• What role should government play in balancing the
  needs of individuals versus the needs of the
  community?
• Does the government have the responsibility to
  protect the rights of all people?
• Can there be a truly free economy?
• What role should government play in the
  distribution of wealth?

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Essential Questions Grade 10 (U.S. History)

• How does war impact society and the individuals
  involved in war? What can be learned from war?
• How does the global community affect the U.S?
• How did the U.S. government expand its
  involvement in the economy during the 1930s?
• How does propaganda influence peoples opinions
  and actions?
• What was and is the role of the U.S. in the world?

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Essential Questions Grade 11(Global Studies)

• How has the spread of religion shaped our world?
• Why are regions of the world interdependent?
• Is it possible for China to maintain a more open
  economy in a society that is still closed
  politically?
• What does the rise of India mean for the rest of
  the world?
• How is globalization changing the face of South
  Asia?
• How has Russias failure to develop a vibrant
  economic system caused a cycle of reform and
  repression in Russian political life?

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Electives

• In grades 11 12, students may choose from the
  following electives. Currently there are 923
  students enrolled in social studies electives at
  SBHS
• Holocaust Genocide
• Race, Class Gender
• American Justice
• Sociology
• Anthropology
• IPLE
• The Vietnam Era
• Psychology

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More Electives

• Students may also choose from the following
  Advanced Placement courses, provided they meet
  the prerequisites
• European History
• U.S. History
• U.S. Government
• Comparative Governments
• Psychology

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Co-curricular activities

• The following clubs and activities related to the
  social studies are offered at the high school
• Psychology Club
• Military Education Club
• Model UN
• Dead Presidents Society (history club)
• Phi Alpha Theta (history honor society)

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So, Your Child Wants to Major in Social Studies?

• What can you do with a major in history/social
  studies?
• Become an educator
• Become a writer/editor/journalist
• Become a librarian/archivist/museum
  curator/historic preservationist
• Become a lawyer or paralegal
• Become a psychologist
• Work for a non-profit organization
• These are just a few of the opportunities
  available

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How Does Social Studies Apply Outside the
Classroom?

• It provides knowledge and understanding and the
  ability to think, adapt and question
• It educates people for citizenship in a
  multicultural, democratic society (Star Ledger
  Sept 08)E pluribus unum out of many, one
• And if we think them (the people) not
  enlightened enough, the remedy is to inform them
  by education.
• Thomas Jefferson

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What does this all mean?

• If we dedicate ourselves to studying our history
  rightly, if we take the time to look at the
  entirety of our firmament, we will see what our
  Founders saw we could be, what foreigners who
  came here saw all along, and what we ourselves
  caneven todaysee once again.
• --William J. Bennett

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Where can you find it?

• In your own backyard resources for discovering
  our local historya presentation

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Sources

• American Historical Association
• Equipped for the Future Content Standards
• National Council for the Social Studies
• The History Channel

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Presenters

• Nicole Pormilli nicole.pormilli_at_sbschools.org
• Janet Gleim
• janet.gleim_at_sbschools.org
• Tim Wright
• twright_at_sbschools.org
• Corie Gaylord
• cgaylord_at_sbschools.org