Social Studies

• Encourage creativity when considering the past, present and imagined future
• Develop culturally empathetic students who can consider the values and perspectives of others
• Assist students in communicating their ideas and thoughts on societal issues
• Cultivate mindful students who are aware of how their thoughts and actions can impact communities
• Prepare students for an increasingly globalized world using technology to express their learning
• Using questioning and inquiry models to foster critical thinking

• Social Studies in Elementary School (K – 5)
  We learn about Concepts of identity, Geography, History, Economics
  • Standard 1: Students will understand patterns of change and continuity, relationships between people and events through time, and various interpretations of these relationships
  • Students will understand causes and effects of interaction among societies, including trade, systems of international exchange, war, and diplomacy
  • Standard 3: Students will understand the interactions and relationship between human societies and their physical environment
  • Standard 3: Students will understand the interactions and relationship between human societies and their physical environment
  • Standard 5: Students will understand social systems and structures and how these influence individuals
  • Standard 6: Students will understand why societies create and adopt systems of governance and how they address human needs, rights, responsibilities and citizenship
  • Standard 7: Students will understand fundamental economic principles and ways in which economies are shaped by geographic and human factors

• Social Studies in Lower Elementary School (K – Grade 2)
  • To understand what makes their identity unique
  • To explore the changes that technology can have on our lives
  • To be able to identify location and place using geographic resources
  • To differentiate between the past, present and future
  • To compare and contrast between cultures
  • To explain what a good citizen looks like at the individual and local level

At the K-2 level, students are starting to build up their sense of self through a focus on the different aspects of their identity (cultural, interests, family). We engage students through self-expression and discussion based on students’ prior knowledge. We teach students how to use technological resources to explore different places in the world, and to find the similarities and differences between us and others. We work towards students’ understanding of their relationship between themselves and others.

• Social Studies in Upper Elementary School (Grades 3 – 5)
  • To identify societal problems and think creatively about possible solutions
  • To compare and contrast how technology has changed over time
  • To make connections between different places and identities
  • To explore how money can affect society
  • To explain what a good citizen looks like at the individual, local and national level
  • To identify the different aspects of a functioning society

At the 3-5 level, students are starting to think beyond the classroom. We focus on the positive and negative forces that have shaped our environment, and to think critically about their current and future impact on our world. We engage students through relevant current events issues, and the everyday forms of technology that have impacted how they interact with others and the wider world. We teach students the responsibilities that we have to others and to our wider society, and how that society is created based on national and universal foundations and values.