Overview of Social Studies In Elementary School

Kindergarten

The standards for kindergarten students focus on the local community and include an introduction to basic history and social science skills. During the course of their first year in school, students should learn about their community, including basic concepts related to history, patriotism, national symbols, good citizenship, geographic location, economics, and the importance of following rules and respecting the rights and property of other people.

Grade One

The standards for first-grade students include an introduction to the lives of leaders in the history of Virginia and their contributions to the Commonwealth. Students should develop basic map skills. They should study the economic concepts of goods and services, consumers and producers, and making economic choices. Students should learn to apply the traits of a good citizen and recognize that communities in Virginia have local governments. They should learn that communities include people who have diverse ethnic origins, customs, and traditions, who make contributions to their communities, and who are united as Americans by common principles.

Grade Two

The standards for second-grade students include an introduction to the lives of Americans and their contributions to the United States as well as the heritage of the American Indians, past and present. Students should continue developing map skills and demonstrate an understanding of basic economic concepts. The students will identify selected American individuals who have worked to improve the lives of American citizens. The students will recognize that the United States is a land of people who have diverse ethnic origins, customs, and traditions, who make contributions to their communities, and who are united as Americans by common principles.

Grade Three

The standards for third-grade students include an introduction to the heritage and contributions of the peoples of ancient China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the West African empire of Mali. Students should continue developing map skills and demonstrate an understanding of basic economic and civics concepts. Students will examine the social, cultural, and political characteristics of major ancient world cultures. Students will recognize that many aspects of ancient cultures served as the foundation for modern governments, customs, traditions, and perspectives.

Grade Four

The locally designed standards for fourth-grade students allow the development of a greater understanding of the history of the United States, from the cultures of its native peoples and early colonization to the present. Geographic, economic, and civic concepts are presented within this historical context. Students will develop the skills needed to analyze, interpret, and demonstrate knowledge of important events and ideas in our history and will understand the contributions made by people of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Students will use geographic tools to examine the influence of physical and cultural geography on U.S. history.

Grade Five

The standards for Virginia Studies allow students to develop a greater understanding of Virginia’s rich history, from the cultures of its native peoples and the founding of Jamestown to the present. Geographic, economic, and civic concepts are presented within this historical context. Students will develop the skills needed to analyze, interpret, and demonstrate knowledge of important events and ideas in our history and will understand the contributions made by people of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Students will use geographic tools to examine the influence of physical and cultural geography on Virginia history. Ideas that form the foundation for political institutions in Virginia and the United States also will be included as part of the story of Virginia.
 

Overview of Social Studies in Middle School

Grade Six
Students use skills of historical and geographical analysis to explore the early history of the United States and understand the ideas and events that strengthened the union. Students continue to study fundamental concepts in civics, economics, and geography as they study United States history from pre-Columbian times until 1877. They will also study the documents and speeches that laid the foundation of American ideals. They will examine the everyday life of people at different times through the use of primary and secondary sources.

Grade Seven
Students will continue to use skills of historical and geographical analysis to explore United States history from the end of the Reconstruction era to the present. Political, social, and economic challenges facing the nation after the Civil War will be examined chronologically as students develop an understanding of how the American experience shaped the world political and economic landscape.

Grade Eight
Students examine the roles citizens play in political, governmental, and economic systems in the United States through the examinations of the constitutions of Virginia and the Untied States. Students describe the structure and operation of government at the local, state, and national levels. They investigate the process by which decisions are made in the American market economy and explain the government’s role in it.

Overview of Social Studies In High School

World History and Geography to 1500 A.D.
Honors World History and Geography to 1500 A.D.
Students engage in historical thinking through the identification, interpretation, and analysis of primary and secondary sources to explore the historical development of people, places, and patterns of life from ancient times until 1500 A.D. in regards to their impact on Western civilization.

World History and Geography: 1500 A.D. to the Present
Honors World History and Geography: 1500 A.D. to the Present
Students engage in historical thinking to cover history and geography from 1500 A.D. to the present, with emphasis on Western Europe. Geographic influences on history continue to be explored, but increasing attention is given to political boundaries that developed with the evolution of nations.

World Geography
The focus of this course is the study of the world’s people, places, and environments with an emphasis on world regions. The knowledge, skills, and perspectives of the course are centered on the world’s population and cultural characteristics, landforms, and climates.

Virginia and United States History
Honors Virginia and United States History
Advanced Placement United States History
Students explore the historical development of American ideas and institutions from the Age of Exploration to the present. While focusing on political and economic history, students will expand their basic knowledge of major issues, movements, people, and events in Virginia and United States history.

Virginia and United States Government
Advanced Placement United States Government
Students examine fundamental constitutional principles, the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, the political culture, the policy-making process at each level of government, and the operation of the United States market economy.

Other Electives
Psychology
Sociolgy
Advanced Placement Psychology
Advanced Placement European History
Advanced Placement Human Geography
Advanced Placement Economics