Social Studies Sequence of Study by Grade Level

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Social Studies Sequence of Study by Grade Level

• Dr. Diane Newby

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Kindergarten

• The kindergarten social studies curriculum is
  designed to help children gain an increased
  awareness of themselves and the world around
  them.
• Two of the basic concepts of history and
  geography, time and space, are emphasized.

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• The children learn to
• tell time
• differentiate among past, present, and future
• trace the chronology of their own lives

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• develop a sense of space by practicing finding
  locations at home and in school, describing the
  features of the locations, and tracing their
  movements between these locations.

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• begin to study government the by discussing
  appropriate rules for personal conduct.

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First Grade

• The first grade social studies curriculum uses
  history, geography, civics, and economics to
  engage students in the study of school and family
  life.

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• Children compare present-day families and schools
  to ones of recent and distant past.
• Families and schools from the local community are
  compared to those of other cultures and places,
  both near and far.

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Second Grade

• The second grade social studies curriculum
  introduces children to the geography, history,
  government, and economy of their local community
  (i.e., the city, village, or township in which
  their school is located).

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• The children learn about people and events from
  the past that have shaped their community. With
  an emphasis on map skills, they study the
  geography of the community, its connections to
  neighboring communities and the world beyond.

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• They begin to explore how people make a living in
  their local community and how goods and services
  move in and out of the local area. The children
  are introduced to local government and law.

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Third Grade

• They study Oakland County as a regional community
  and then metropolitan Detroit as an even broader
  regional community. For comparison, students then
  study a regional community in another part of the
  United States as well as a regional community in
  another part of the world (the equivalent of a
  county or metropolitan area).

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Fourth Grade

• Students learn about people and events from the
  past that have influenced the State of Michigan.
  They study the geography of Michigan and the
  physical and cultural characteristics of areas of
  the state.

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Fifth Grade

• Students learn to place major events on a
  timeline and to analyze their causes and effects.
  Using primary and secondary sources, they explore
  time and place in seventeenth and eighteenth
  century America. Students compare conflicting
  accounts of the past and present analysis, both
  orally and in writing, on the significant events
  that shaped the nation.

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Sixth Grade

• The sixth grade social studies curriculum
  introduces students to cultures of the West.
  Emphasis is placed on the contemporary geography
  of Europe, Canada, and Latin America.

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Seventh Grade

• The seventh grade social studies curriculum
  introduces students to cultures of the East, with
  emphasis on the contemporary geography of Africa,
  Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania.

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Newbys Web Site

• http//www.ehhs.cmich.edu/dnewby/socialstudieshp.
  html