Social studies

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Social studies is a term used to describe the broad study of the various fields which involve past and current human behavior and interactions. Rather than focus in depth on any one topic, social studies provides a broad overview of human society past and present. Examples of subjects typically covered in social studies include: history, economics, geography, government, culture, psychology, sociology and other social science.

Contents

[edit] In Education

Social studies is most commonly recognized as the name of a course or set of courses taught in primary and secondary schools, but may also refer to the study of particular aspects of human society at certain post-secondary and tertiary schools worldwide.

[edit] Social studies in post-secondary and tertiary schools

The subject matter varies from institution to institution and includes both pure and applied social sciences. Examples of the former include sociology, psychology, and political science. Examples of the latter include business, economics, criminology, and mass media. These schools may exclude certain humanities and natural sciences (such as earth sciences and climatology) which are included in many North American social studies classes.

[edit] Social studies in the elementary grades [K-6]

Skills students learn in the social studies include:

  1. good citizenship
  2. critical thinking
  3. problem solving
  4. cosmopolitanism
  5. conservation

[edit] Citizenship & Civics

Goals: educate students to become caring, well informed citizens; realizing and connecting the social studies to one's sense of freedom and everyday lifestyle; examining the "code of behavior" within one's diverse society [eg, morals, values, rule/law]

[edit] Culture & Cosmopolitanism

  • World views, social views
    • Values include:
      • awareness of stereotypes,
      • bias, and point of view,
      • awareness of multiple cultures,
      • tolerance of cultural differences,
      • protecting individual right to difference.
    • These values develop through:
      • examining personal morals/values
      • compare/contrast
      • study of history and past experience
      • study history from past and future...
      • main point of the conclusion

[edit] Ways to teach the social studies

[edit] Constructivist pedagogy:

The social studies can be taught using the constructivist approach. This includes refining students' prior knowledge, developing inquiry skills through higher order and critical thinking, and leads to students developing opinions about the world around them.

  • Instructional strategies:
    • direct teaching [not lecture]
    • problem based learning [PBL]
    • inductive thinking
    • cooperative learning
    • role playing
    • simulation
    • intelligence of history

[edit] Digital technology and current events

Teachers should strongly consider including digital resources in the teaching of current events. Students can access digital photos, videos, and interviews by using digital resource websites. Examples of some useful digital resources are:

  1. Smithsonian [1]
  2. Library of Congress [2] -American Memory
  3. National Geographic [3]
  4. National Archives [4][5]
  5. Documenting the American South [6]

These websites can be aligned with Standards of Learning, curriculum, and various units of study. These digital resources can help demonstrate the relationship between past and current events in various ways, including: comparing old pictures to recent pictures and examining how they relate, comparing current events such as the Iraq War to past events such as the first and second World Wars or the American involvement in the Vietnamese and Korean Wars.

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