Embedded Files
The Social Studies curriculum will prepare all students to live in the global community of the 21st century. This standards-based and developmental curriculum will challenge all students to develop literacy skills, intellectual curiosity, decision-making abilities, and critical and creative higher-order thinking skills. Therefore, all students will be motivated to become active, responsible, and open-minded citizens. The curriculum is designed to allow for a wide variety of learning experiences appropriate to students at each grade level. All students are provided opportunities to demonstrate knowledge and skills in the areas of history, geography, civics, economics, and behavioral sciences.
The major goals of the Social Studies curriculum are to:
Engage students through the inquiry process which includes developing questions and planning inquiry, applying interdisciplinary concepts and tools, evaluating sources and using evidence, and communicating conclusions and taking informed action.
Cultivate essential skills such as gathering and interpreting information from primary and secondary sources as well as electronic media, and to have students demonstrate an understanding of history and social studies issues in written work.
Develop and demonstrate an understanding of cultural contributions from various past and present civilizations.
Foster each student’s understanding of significant events and themes in United States history, world history, and international studies.
Understand the role of Connecticut in major events in United States history.
Social Studies standards are in alignment with the 2015 Connecticut Elementary and Secondary Social Studies frameworks. These frameworks are based on national C3 standards (College, Career, and Civic Life) and require that four major disciplines in social studies be taught:
1. Civics 2. Economics 3. Geography 4. History
The frameworks connect directly with the Connecticut Core Standards (CCS) for English/language arts and literacy in history and social studies. All units share skill standards, but not all standards are embedded in every unit.
Social Studies Units and Skills/Student Outcomes
What students should know and be expected to do by the end of the unit
Our Community:
South Windsor Town
and Government
Our Community:
South Windsor Town
and Government
Describe how communities work to accomplish common tasks, establish responsibilities and fulfill roles of authority
Follow agreed upon rules for discussion while responding attentively to others when addressing ideas and making decisions as a group
Describe democratic principles such as equality, fairness, and respect for legitimate authority and rules
Compare their own point of view with others’ perspectives
Explain how people can work together to make decisions in the classroom
Identify and explain how rules function in public (classroom and school) settings
Describe how people have tried to improve their communities over time
Explain how scarcity necessitates decision-making
Identify the benefits and costs of making various personal decisions
Describe the goods and services that people in the local community produce and those that are produced in other communities
Maps and Globes:
Cultural Awareness
and Celebrations
Maps and Globes:
Cultural Awareness
and Celebrations
Create a chronological sequence of multiple events
Generate questions about a particular historical source as it relates to a particular historical event or development
Construct geographic representations of familiar places
Use geographic representations to describe places and interactions that shape them
Use geographic representations to identify cultural and environmental characteristics of place
Explain how the environment affects people’s lives
Explain how humans affect the culture and environment of places/region
Identify cultural and environmental characteristics of a place/region
Local Heroes
Local Heroes
Compare life in the past to life in the present
Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped a significant historical change
Explain perspectives of people in the past to those of people in the present
Compare different accounts of the same historical event
Generate possible reasons for an event or development in the past
Select which reasons might be more likely than others to explain a historical event or development
Additional Resources
Where to go for additional information and support
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