SS

  • In kindergarten, students begin the study of history–social science with concepts anchored in the experiences they bring to school from their families and communities. Students explore what it means to be a good citizen, national symbols, work (now and long ago), geography, time and chronology, and life in the past.

     

    • Students explore the meaning of good citizenship by learning about rules, working together, and the basic idea of government.

     

    • Kindergarten students explore the strands of national identity and cultural literacy by learning about national and state symbols. Students will learn to recognize national and state symbols such as the national and state flags, the bald eagle, and the Statue of Liberty and how these symbols relate to America’s cultural and national identity.

     

    • Students will learn about the different types of jobs and work of people in their school and their local community. Students will construct school and neighborhood maps and talk about neighborhood structures such as fire stations, markets, houses, banks, and hospitals, the jobs and workers can be introduced as well.

     

    • Students will begin the study of geography by exploring the immediate environment of the school and neighborhood, including its topography, streets, transportation systems, by exploring the structures, and human activities.

     

    • Learning about the calendar, days of the week and months of the year are important first steps toward understanding time and chronology. Chronological thinking will be enhanced by constructing timelines of the kindergarten day, practicing sequencing of a story, and learning words such as first, next, then, and finally while sequencing story events.

     

    • Students will learn about national holidays and their purposes, as well as the events associated with them. Students will also study the past and consider how life is the same as or different from the past and from their lives.