Through our social studies curricula our students learn about respect for others, and rights and responsibilities of individuals. Lessons are created to include family, community, geography, responsible citizenship, government, economics, and human rights. The concept of change over time and examining cause and effect are introduced. Students have opportunities to make comparisons across time and space, examining different communities and their cultures. Culture includes social organization, customs and traditions, language, arts and literature, religion, forms of government, and economic systems.

Our curriculum is organized into five units of study - Each unit helps students study themselves in the context of their immediate surroundings.

Individual Development and Cultural Identity

• Role of social, political, and cultural interactions in the development of identity
• Personal identity as a function of an individual's culture, time, place, geography, interaction with groups, influences from institutions, and lived experiences

Civic Ideals and Practices

• Basic freedoms and rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic republic
• Role of the citizen in the community and nation and as a member of the global community
• Civic participation and engagement
• Respect for diversity

Geography, Humans, and the Environment

• Relationship between human populations and the physical world (people, places, and environments)
• Effect of human activities on the environment
• Interactions between regions, locations, places, people, and environments
• Spatial patterns of place and location

Time, Continuity, and Change

• History as a formal study that applies research methods
• Reading, reconstructing, and interpreting events
• Analyzing causes and consequences of events and developments
• Considering competing interpretations of events

Economic Systems

• Production, distribution, and consumption
• Scarcity of resources and the challenges of meeting wants and needs
• Supply/demand and the coordination of individual choices
• Trade, interdependence, and globalization
• Role of government in the economy

Grade	Content Focus
Kindergarten	Self and Others
Grade 1	My Family and Other Families, Now and Long Ago
Grade 2	My Community and Other United States Communities
Grade 3	Communities around the World
Grade 4	Local History and Local Government
Grade 5	The Western Hemisphere

New York State Social Studies Framework