6-8 Social Studies Basics

Typically in middle school this subject is a combination of history, geography, and human cultures.  There is so much that could be covered, and not enough years to study it all! We need to pick and choose what to focus on, what to leave out. 

Where to start?

First make a list of the things your child has already studied at school.  Then for now, pick something from the list below.  For History, some time periods in history can be covered in a cursory manner in middle school, and then revisited in high school in more depth.  You might decide that one time period is more important, or your student is just more interested in something.   For social studies, you can focus on current events, certain continents, or cultures, art and religions.

Free Exploration method

Feel free to go down the rabbit hole on something if your child is interested!  Historical weapons? Famous human rights activists?  Ancient religions?  The world needs people educated with variety. Don't worry if you are covering the "right" things.

Build on a Spine method

Sometimes it's helpful to pick a "spine" book or online lesson series, to help narrow things down.  Perhaps a used textbook on Amazon, or an encyclopedia of history - anything that has organized information that you can build from.  Then choose some chapters to cover, and add interesting documentaries, YouTube videos, books from the library, or biographies.  

Online Options

If your student has not studied history too much yet, they might like to try Curiosity Chronicles online.  Although they are aimed at Elementary age, they provide a quick overview of many historical time periods.  Or for more thorough history lessons, try Global Academic Productions (live or self-paced).  

Common topic ideas:

• Ancient history (Egyptians, Greece, Rome, Americas)

• Modern history by continent (Asia, Africa, Europe ....)

• US History

• Geography / maps

• Modern current events (news articles, blogs)

• Civics (governments at home and abroad)

• Cultures of the world (music, art, comparative religion, technologies)

For a more thorough list of resources, see the Curriculum Planning pages.