Social Studies Curriculum

The Social Studies Curriculum is based on the 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Social Studies.

 An education in social studies fosters a population that:

  • Is civic-minded, globally aware, and socially responsible;

  • Exemplifies fundamental values of democracy and human rights through active participation in local, state, national, and global communities;

  • Makes informed decisions about local, state, national, and global events based on inquiry and analysis;

  • Considers multiple perspectives, values diversity, and promotes cultural understanding;

  • Recognizes the relationships between people, places, and resources as well as the implications of an interconnected global economy;

  • Applies an understanding of critical media literacy skills when utilizing technology to learn, communicate, and collaborate with diverse people around the world; and

  • Discerns fact from falsehood and critically analyzes information for validity and relevance.

Grades K-6

SW

Student-friendly core curriculum organized thematically to the social studies strands of civics and government, geography, economics, and history. It includes a student-friendly periodical format and online learning platform.

  • Spiraled and Scaffolded

  • Integrated with ELA

  • Standards-aligned

  • Research-based

  • Hands-on and Interactive

Kindergarten

Unit 1: Civics and Government

  • I am a Member of a Community

  • What are Rules?

  • What are Laws?

  • Learning and Working Together

  • Our Government

  • Government Services

  • Important Documents

  • Citizens

  • Patriotism

  • National Symbols

  • National Holidays

  • Sources

Unit 2: Geography

  • Map Skills

  • Five Themes of Geography

  • Location

  • Place: Physical Characteristics

  • Place: Human Characteristics

  • Human-Environment Interaction

  • Movement

  • Type of Regions

  • Culture

 Unit 4: History

  • Time

  • Changes Over Time

  • Comparing Children Over Time

  • Inventions

  • Transportation Over Time

  • Communication Over Time

First Grade

Unit 1: Civics and Government

  • Community

  • Rules and Laws

  • Principles of Democracy

  • Purpose and Structure of Government

  • Government Services

  • Important Documents

  • Citizens

  • Patriotism

  • National Symbols

  • National Holidays

  • Founders

  • Primary and Secondary Sources

Unit 2: Geography

  • Map Skills

  • Five Themes of Geography

  • Location

  • Place: Physical Characteristics

  • Place: Human Characteristics

  • Human-Environment Interaction

  • Movement

  • Regions of the United States

 Unit 3: Inquiry

  • Culture

 Unit 4: Economics

  • Needs and Wants

  • Goods and Services

  • Economic Choices

  • Economic Activities

  • Spending and Saving

 Unit 5: History

  • Time

  • Changes Over Time

  • Comparing Children Over Time

  • Inventors

  • Transportation Over Time

  • Communication Over Time

Second Grade  

Unit 1: Civics and Government

  • Community

  • Rules and Laws

  • Principles of Democracy

  • Purpose and Structure of Government

  • Important Documents

  • Purpose and Structure of Government

  • Government Services

  • Citizens

  • Patriotism

  • Patriotic Symbols

  • Memorials and Monuments

  • National Holidays

  • Founders

  • Culture

Unit 2: History

  • Sources

  • Unit 3: Geography

  • Map Skills

  • Five Themes of Geography

  • Location

  • Place: Physical Characteristics

  • Place: Human Characteristics

  • Human-Environment Interaction

  • Movement

  • Regions of the World

 Unit 4: Inquiry

  • Culture

 Unit 5: Economics

  • Economic Resources

  • Goods and Services

  • Economic Principals

  • Economic Activity

  • Economic Choices

Unit 6: History

  • Sequencing and Chronology

  • Innovations Over Time

  • Historic Figures

  • Solving Problems in Your Community

Third Grade  

Unit 1 – Civics and Government

  • Community

  • Sources

  • Government

  • Important Documents

  • Structure of Government

  • Conflict and Compromise

  • Citizens

  • Patriotism and National Symbols

  • Heroes and Holidays

Unit 2: Geography

  • Map Skills

  • The Five Themes

  • Location

  • Place: Physical Characteristics

  • Place: Human Characteristics

  • Human-Environment Interaction

  • Movement

  • Culture

  • Regions of the World Part 1

  • Regions of the World Part 2

 Unit 3: Economics

  • Wants and Needs

  • Resources

  • Producers and Consumers

  • Goods and Services

  • Economic Principals

  • Personal Finances

Unit 4: Historic Events

  • Timelines

Unit 5: Inquiry

  • Developing Inquires

  • Examining Evidence and Communicating

    Conclusion

  • Taking Action

  • Engaging in Your Own Inquiry

Fourth Grade

New Jersey

  • New Jersey Geography Climate

  • Regions

  • Prehistoric New Jersey

  • Native Americans Defining Culture

  • Early Explorers

  • European Settlers

  • Farmers and Fur Traders

  • Slavery and the Slave Trade

  • Colonial New Jersey

  • The English Take Over New Jersey

  • Education in New Jersey

  • Colonial Unrest

  • War for Independence

  • New Jersey Battles

  • Effects of the Revolutionary War

  • New Jersey as a New State Federal Government and States Rights

  • Slavery Abolished

  • Women’s Rights

  • Early Industry in New Jersey

  • Inventors and Inventions

  • Transportation in New Jersey

  • Immigration and Migration

  • New Jersey Reform

  • New Jersey in War and Peace

  • Economy and Industry Today

  • Leisure and Arts in New Jersey

  • The Year in Review

Fifth Grade

Unit 1: Government and Geography

  • Government

  • Geography

Unit 2: Pre-Columbian

  • Life in the Americas

  • American Indian Government and Trade

Unit 3: Exploration

  • The Age of Encounters

  • Consequences of Contact

Unit 4: Colonization

  • The Colonies and Their Founding

  • Jamestown

  • Plymouth

  • Colonial Life

Unit 5: French and Indian War

  • Clash of the Empires

  • Consequences of the French and Indian War

Unit 6: Road to Revolution

  • The Acts of Parliament

  • The Actions of the Colonies

  • The Shot Heard Round the World

Unit 7: Revolution

  • Independence and Revolution: The People

  • Independence and Revolution: The Military

Unit 8: The New Nation

  • The Founders and Process

  • Constitution

  • The Bill of Rights

  • The New Nation

Unit 9: The Nation Grows

  • America On the Move

  • Expansion and Growth

  • The Cherokee Nation

Unit 10: The Nation Divides

  • Slavery in America

  • Abolition

  • Compromises to Keep Slavery Legal

Unit 11: The American Civil War

  • The Road to War

  • The House Divided by War

  • Of Souls and Soldiers

Unit 12: Reconstruction of the Union

  • Building the Peace

  • Rebuilding the Union

Sixth Grade

World History

  • Planet Earth (Geography)

  • Earth (Geography)

  • Earliest Humans

  • Historic Times Begin

  • People of Phoenicia

  • Life in Ancient Egypt

  • Pyramids

  • African Kingdoms

  • Ancient Israelites

  • Ancient Greeks

  • Greek Civilization

  • Alexander the Great

  • Ancient India

  • Ancient China

  • Ancient Japan

  • Life in Rome

  • Ancient Rome:  Part II

  • Germanic Tribes

  • Christianity

  • Islamic Empire

  • Middle Ages

  • Crusades Bring Change

  • Age of Exploration

  • Maya, Aztec, and Inca

  • The Renaissance

  • Reformation

  • Oceania

 

Grades 7-8

Grade 7

Pearson Prentice Hall (2004)
Additional Online Resources:  Discovery Education, Stratalogica

  • Waves of Exploration: Viking, African, European, Portuguese, Spanish

  • The Enlightenment

  • English Exploration of North America

  • French Exploration of North American

  • Monarchies and Revolutions

  • Colonial Period

  • Active Citizenship

Grade 8

Pearson Prentice Hall (2004)
Additional Online Resources: Active Classroom, Stratalogica

  • Colonial Regions

  • Active Citizenship

  • Revolutionary Period

  • US Constitution

  • Early US Government

  • Jefferson (Lewis & Clark)

  • Jackson

  • Events Preceding Civil War

  • Westward Expansion and Reform

  • Civil War and Reconstruction