What+is+Social+Studies?

What is Social Studies?

Social studies seeks to examine and understand communities, from the local to the global, their various heritages, and the nature of citizenship within them. Students acquire knowledge of key social science concepts, including change, culture, environment, power, and the dynamics of the marketplace. They learn about the United States and the role of the citizens in a democratic society within a culturally diverse and interdependent world. They also acquire skills of inquiry and communication through field studies and other research projects; the use of maps, globes, and models; and the consideration of various forms of historical evidence. Students apply these skills to develop an understanding of American identity and democratic values, to evaluate different points of view, and to examine information critically in order to solve problems and make decisions on issues that are relevant to their lives.

Social Studies instruction should:


 * Foster individual and cultural identity.
 * Examine the forces that hold society together or pull it apart.
 * Provide opportunities for participation in the school and community.
 * Address critical issues in the world.
 * Prepare students to make decisions based on democratic principles.
 * Teach the skills needed for citizen participation in public affairs.

Rather than approaching social studies as a bunch of unrelated events lashed to a time line, the goal is to help our students discover that social studies is a multimillennial chronicle of human beings trying to solve a handful of basic problems through experimentation and invention. And guess who's writing the latest chapter in the story? They are, along with their parents, friends, enemies, and strangers across the globe. Driven by curiosity and necessity, we the people, persist in our quest to find solutions to the four basic problems that mankind has faced, tackled, solved, or botched over time:


 * How do we survive?
 * How do we thrive?
 * How do we evolve?
 * What causes us to devolve?

Every topic in a social studies text book is tied to one of those four questions. The trick of teaching social studies is to help students identify the basic problems behind the events, so they begin to see social studies as a //human problem-solving activity.// The goal is to teach them that our actions in the present are connected to actions in the past; that we struggle to solve the same problems as our ancestors; and that our choices and actions will influence the lives of people who inherit the planet from us in generations to come.