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2007 - 2008
(approved 8/23/07)
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Social Studies |
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The elementary school program incorporates four essential learnings into each grade level. These four learnings involve history, geography, ethics, and critical thinking.
The following is an overview of the social studies program: KINDERGARTEN The kindergarten program is activity-based centered around the school, home, community and places far away, and provides socialization experiences that help children bridge their home life with school life. GRADE 1 The focus is on the child's immediate world and the larger world while developing the concept of groups and the roles of individuals within them. The essential activities of a family in meeting basic needs are stressed. Children learn that the family is the primary support group for people everywhere. The need for rules and laws is taught as a natural extension of orderly group life. History is presented through the study of the children's own families and the study of family life in earlier times. Learning about family life in other cultures provides opportunities for comparing ways of living. GRADE 2 Children study basic concepts of community living where students learn on a first-hand basis some of the most elemental of human relationships such as sharing and caring, helping others in time of need, and living harmoniously with neighbors. Social functions such as education, production, consumption, communication, and transportation in a neighborhood context are studied. Students also begin to develop an awareness of the interaction between themselves and their environment. GRADE 3 Students begin the study of the American land, its early people and their culture, and how the land is changing. Using geography as a frame of reference, students study the relationships between time and place, between history and geography and between living things and their environment. By examining these relationships, students develop an understanding of how America was first settled by Native Americans and peopled by the first colonists who moved the original settlements across the Appalachian Mountains to the unknown regions of the Great Plains. GRADE 4 Students learn about the physical and human geography, cultures, and economies of each region in the United States. A separate study of New Jersey, which is a microcosm of our nation, allows students to recognize the rich cultural, economic, and geographic diversity of their own state. Civics and citizenship are explored at this grade level, as students begin to understand different levels of government and how politics and laws are made. Emphasis is also placed on skill development at each grade level. In addressing the need to develop thinking citizens, children locate, gather, organize, interpret, and use information effectively. Students also learn how to use maps, globes, charts, and graphs. Each grade level uses a variety of outside reading materials to supplement the text and to examine ethical issues such as prejudice, racism, poverty, alienation, resettlement of peoples, and responsible citizenship. The writing process continues to be reinforced as students plan writings that reflect their understanding of information and concepts comprising the social studies curriculum. The social studies program assists children in acquiring essential knowledge of who they are within various communities, in appreciating their heritage, and in valuing responsible citizenship in a multicultural, democratic society. Other PreK - Grade 4 Programs
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