What is Social Studies?
by Judith Gold

Social Studies is an interdisciplinary study of the human world, past and present. No matter what the content, social studies is made up of several components that provide opportunities for teachers and children to

•  Examine the interaction between people and their environments and analyze how human life is shaped by the environment and how people have reshaped it
•  Study human technologies from the simple to the complex, from prehistory to the present, and how technology serves the basic human needs of food, clothing, and shelter
•  Explore the social systems — family, community, work, laws, taboos, customs, and beliefs — that determine a people’s way of life and structure individual and group behavior
•  Study cultures through myths, religion, science, and art to gain an understanding of how a people arrives at a sense of meaning
•  Recognize that we live in an ever-changing world and examine the competencies needed to meet and encompass that world

Like classroom life itself, social studies is a powerful arena for preparing children to live as citizens in a democracy. The skills and attitudes they will need are most effectively learned by being part of a democratic classroom where they have the opportunity to participate in making decisions, learn to work collaboratively, listen to each other’s ideas, and come to respect different points of view. Social studies provides many opportunities for this kind of working with others.

Deciding What to Study

Decisions about what to study are based on meshing the developmental and cultural needs of the learner with the content of the social studies. Teachers consider the prior experiences of their children, fully realizing that learning is more meaningful when experiences build upon each other and connect to students’ life experiences.

Teachers also make decisions about what to study based on the availability of resources, such as trips, trade books, and visual materials, and the opportunities the study affords for children to recreate and represent their learning. Social studies in the primary grades is organized around seeing the connections between self, family, and community. The broad concepts are studied through the primary years in increasingly sophisticated conceptual levels.

Teacher Preparation

Teachers begin their preparation for a study by immersing themselves in the subject matter. Developing a curriculum this way allows teachers to interact with the material according to their own learning styles. Some teachers start out by looking for visual materials that support the study; others go to the library and take out every possible book they can find on the subject.

Many teachers start by reading children’s books on the particular subject before they explore adult literature; others talk with teachers who have done the same or similar studies. Teachers find their own way to hook into the study, which helps them to organize their learning goals for children and plan the kinds of learning experiences that encourage children to be active makers of meaning.

About the Author

Judith Gold, M.S., M.Ed, has worked extensively with teachers to develop an integrated social studies curriculum. She is currently the Project Director of LEARNS at Bank Street College of Education. LEARNS provides training and technical assistance to all Corporation for National Service projects focused on literacy, tutoring, and mentoring. Previously, Gold taught in the Bank Street School for Children and Graduate School. She has worked as an educational consultant in New York public schools and in countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, and Nepal.