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Do you do Social Studies? What Grades? What Curriculum?


acsnmama
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I started my son with some Social Studies last year, but I found it annoying. We just used a typical textbook like that of a public school would use, along with a workbook. We finished maybe a third before ditching it.

 

What grades do you do Social Studies in? Do you do it in place of History, or in addition? Do you use a specific curriculum?

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From what i understand, social studies is pretty much everything other than science, math and language arts. So it is history, geography, cultures, government/civics. I use five in a row primarily for studying geography and cultures. Many people on this board are using SOTW for history and we started it but put it on hold to focus on the 3 Rs for a couple of months.

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We are using Expedition Earth from COAH to learn a little about cultures around the world. That's social studies to me, for now.

 

I've looked at the workbook type ones that teacher supply stores sell and they look like things we would cover in daily life, so I've never done anything special to cover those topics. Things like what is a family, a neighbourhood, jobs in the community, local history, etc. Is that what you are referring to?

 

Eta: We use sotw for history, so EE is in addition to history.

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I don't do "social studies." I do, however, do history, geography, cultures, etc. :-)

 

We've used different things over the years, including lots of field trips, and good library books, and movies/television, and assorted resources while working on Camp Fire badges, We did a focussed history for two years when dds were 10 and 13, using Volulme 1 of KONOS.

 

My dds love history. :-)

 

I might have done a four-year cycle if someone had re-invented Charlotte Mason or Classical back when I started hsing in 1982. But we just did history and cultures and whatnot as they came up.

 

Oh, I don't do "language arts," either. :D

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We are using Expedition Earth from COAH to learn a little about cultures around the world. That's social studies to me, for now.

 

To me, EE is geography, with a living-book, people-focused approach.

 

IMO, "social studies" is the education system's way of watering down formerly rigourous content areas - history and geography, offering instead an "all-about-me" focus that is distasteful once you've read some really good history and geography for kids.

 

In schools, kids learn about police, firefighters, their neighbourhood, bakeries, grocery stores, etc under the rubric of social studies. Homeschooled kids, also just imo, get those things just by hanging out with their parents and other adults from day to day. If you want to visit a bakery or a dentist, that's great, but then go home and learn history at their own level. :-D

 

(btw, guess which is easier for poorly-qualified half-asleep, discipline-hassled teachers to teach to kids???)

 

Sorry - just the words "social studies" make me grouchy sometimes. :-P

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To me, EE is geography, with a living-book, people-focused approach.

 

IMO, "social studies" is the education system's way of watering down formerly rigourous content areas - history and geography, offering instead an "all-about-me" focus that is distasteful once you've read some really good history and geography for kids.

 

In schools, kids learn about police, firefighters, their neighbourhood, bakeries, grocery stores, etc under the rubric of social studies. Homeschooled kids, also just imo, get those things just by hanging out with their parents and other adults from day to day. If you want to visit a bakery or a dentist, that's great, but then go home and learn history at their own level. :-D

 

(btw, guess which is easier for poorly-qualified half-asleep, discipline-hassled teachers to teach to kids???)

 

Sorry - just the words "social studies" make me grouchy sometimes. :-P

 

See, I think of geography as...maps. Social studies to me is the study of cultures. Which is why I always get confused in these threads! ;) But maybe I should change my wording, because on my own schedule I call EE geography, not social studies. Under geography I have EE and separate mapwork. Then history is separate (but of course there is both mapwork and culture studies weaved into history). Social studies is not anywhere on my list. :)

 

I agree the learning about police, neighbourhoods, etc., just seems unnecessary (fun in pre-k, but unnecessary at school age). I can understand why schools do it though.

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See, I think of geography as...maps. Social studies to me is the study of cultures. Which is why I always get confused in these threads! ;) But maybe I should change my wording, because on my own schedule I call EE geography, not social studies. Under geography I have EE and separate mapwork. Then history is separate (but of course there is both mapwork and culture studies weaved into history). Social studies is not anywhere on my list. :)

 

I agree the learning about police, neighbourhoods, etc., just seems unnecessary (fun in pre-k, but unnecessary at school age). I can understand why schools do it though.

 

<Tin foil hat on>To me, Social Studies is a key word for the globalization of thought and environmentalism and an increase in "Mother Earth" type of thought processes. I'm all for learning about the world, I'm all for learning about different cultures and how they live. I am NOT interested in a homogenized view of our world that "we're all the same" and we all just need to get along, reverse the damage that evil man has done to Mother Earth, and be all one happy world family.

 

That said - we incorporate geography, cultural studies, and history together and do not do social studies.

 

An interesting article:

http://www.city-journal.org/2012/22_4_social-studies.html

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What grades do you do Social Studies in? Do you do it in place of History, or in addition? Do you use a specific curriculum?

 

 

No, we never used a specific "social studies" curriculum. Over the years, we covered various topics that fall under the social studies general heading, but didn't tend to use formal curriculum for the most part until high school. And at that point it was a specific History, Government or Economics curriculum.

 

 

Social Studies is a term used to cover a broad range of subjects. It is a "people science" rather than a "hard science" or "natural science" (such as biology, chemistry, physics, etc.)

 

In high school Social Studies can include: history, geography, economics, government/civics, religious studies, anthropology, sociology, political science, philosophy, and psychology. They can also include more specific topics such as women's studies, specific ethnic group/cultural studies, or current events.

 

In elementary grades, Social Studies tends to focus first on the local community, family, and holidays, with some history and geography studies, and possibly state history/culture studies.

 

For ideas of specific types of topics to cover with Social Studies, check out the Social Studies lists at the World Book Encyclopedia Typical Course of Study for the different grades. I like to refer to those lists NOT to do everything they say, but just to make sure I'm not forgetting something big and leaving a gap somewhere. :)

 

BEST of luck in your "social studies" adventures! Warmest regards, Lori D.

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