Social Studies Curriculum
Welcome
Social studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities aimed at promoting civic competence. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.
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The ESM social studies program provides a coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences. Social studies also plays an integral role in literacy development, as students read social studies texts, analyze historical documents, acquire content-specific vocabulary, and respond to issues through speaking, writing, and crafting digital responses aligned with Next Generation Standards.
Social Studies Practices
The Social Studies Practices represent the social science and historical thinking skills that students should develop throughout their K-12 education in order to be prepared for civic participation, college, and careers. The six practices below are spiraled vertically from Kindergarten through Grade 12 and are infused within the Social Studies content. These practices were created based on the existing New York State Social Studies Learning Standards, the National Geography Standards, the historical thinking skills articulated within the new Advanced Placement World History Curriculum Framework, the Disciplinary Tools of Dimension 2 of the C3 Framework, National Council for the Social Studies Standards, and Habits of the Mind published by the National Council for History Education:
1) Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence
2) Chronological Reasoning and Causation
3) Comparison and Contextualization
4) Geographic Reasoning
5) Economics and Economic Systems
6) Civic Participation