National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)

1. 3. PEOPLE, PLACES, AND ENVIRONMENTS- In this theme students learn about humans and their relationship to the physical world. This includes why people might settle in a specific location and the cause and effect of humans on our environment. This theme is centered more on geography and how it relates to personal experiences. Learning about local places, the state, the country, and the world.

1.1. Social Justice Connection: Students can think critically about how humans play a part in climate change and the repercussions of the actions we do everyday.

2. 4. Individual Development and Identity-Talking about individual development and identity involves not just culture but the institutional philosophies which are key in the development of identity. Developing an identity is an important theme that encompasses many aspects of an individual. Variables like culture, family, social, emotional, personality, and natural stages like physical, psychological and mental development, and more constructs many aspects of who people interact with and how they respond to the consequences of these interactions. Providing students with tools that will help with individual human development and identity will help students to look at others for the benefit of all the students. As educators, we need to provide activities that will create a classroom culture that doesn’t focus on identity or a stereotype but instead create a classroom community that is supportive. Individual development and identity should be taught more as thinking how people’s identities differ to create sameness and uniqueness while unpacking identity.

2.1. The social justice issues that align with the theme include prejudice, diversity, human memory and behavior, mental health, and bullying. The social studies curriculum lacks the inclusion of how developing identity goes beyond creating a self-portrait of ourselves or speaking about culture and forgetting to address the emotional, social, and psychological development of ourselves and others.

3. 6. Power, Authority, and Governance-Understanding the development of the structure of power, authority and governance and the government evolving functions is imperative for the exposure of civic competence involved in this theme. This theme helps students understand the historical development of the structures mentioned and how their evolution in our society inside and outside America. Students can analyze how governments are structured and the impact of government power over peoples lives. Hence, rights and responsibilities, justice and injustices are applied by governments and followed by society. Students can learn and question governance systems and how their rights can be protected; How do governments protect them as citizens as they resolve conflicts and how are their rights guaranteed? As students question the rights and responsibilities regarding their social groups, community, and families they can relate, analyze, and explain how government and their political system is being managed at a social and political level. For early grades, understanding fairness and order to explore relationships with others is imperative. They can explore and discover what rights and responsibilities they have in communities. They can develop awareness on existing rules at school and what type of authority delivers or imposes them. Students can explore how rules are made, why rules are created, and why teachers are an example of authority that enforces rules.

3.1. Social Justice issues that align with this theme include trade deals, cultural bias, and voter suppression. Social studies curriculum addresses some parts of this theme but it doesn’t go deep enough on the impact of power, authority, and governance as a theme that can prepare them to act as advocates to represent their community. People often ignore how this theme’s impact on the community, state, and country because they didn’t learn in school about how branches of government work and the consequences of power misused by someone that doesn’t represent all of the people’s interest.

4. 7. PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, and CONSUMPTION- This theme discusses the economy, the role of government in economic policy, economic decisions, and the role of technology in economic growth. They learn about supply and demand and how resources are distributed and to whom they are distributed to. As people buy, sell, and make goods, they become interdependent upon one another to supply what they need or to purchase what they sell.

4.1. Social Justice Connection: Students can think critically about how this theme compares to homelessness within their own communities and how there is an unequal distribution of resources, leaving some communities in complete poverty.

5. 10. Civic Ideals and Practices-Learning and examining civic ideals and practices across time and in a diverse society has been the central purpose of social studies and it prepares students to be active participants of society. This theme will expand student’s curiosity through critical thinking and by asking themselves how they can help close the gaps that exist between current practices and our democracy. How will they become better and educated members of society and the type of citizens that practice participation in diverse societies? The study of this particular theme helps students use critical thinking about the power of their civic participation in the community, nation and world community and what impact their civic contribution and practices will have in society. Being a good citizen goes beyond covering recycling and picking up your trash. This theme can help students of different backgrounds, culture, and/or, countries to understand how civic ideals work here compared to the way it works in their home country. At the same time students need to be respectful of their different ideas. This theme will also provide opportunities for students to participate in making their own decisions and what it means to be a good citizen. At early grades, students learn how to be a good citizen by participating in rules, expectations, and practices in the classroom. For middle and high school grades, students deepen their understanding on what role they can take in their communities and learn of the societal needs and rights of themselves and others. High school students also start taking interest in political issues and policies and how the democratic process influences their participation in elections as responsible citizens.

5.1. The social justice issues that align with this theme are voting rights, human rights, and polarization. The social studies curriculum has expectations on how students can be a good citizen usually by creating activities like voting about a cookie or recycling. While these subjects are important in creating citizenship among students, it is also important to teach students to have a larger understanding of the impact of violating human rights and voting rights in society. There is a limit in civic knowledge and civic behavior which impacts and limits the discussion of issues or addresses any problems that affect society. Voter and human rights are civic and political values that young people should learn in order to explore and discover more about civic ideals and practices.

6. By: Porsha Lindsay & Neykar Kotyk

7. 1. CULTURE-Culture is one of the most important themes in social studies. The United States is sometimes referred to as a melting pot because we have so many different cultures and nationalities within the U.S. Culture signifies many things including, beliefs, values, behaviors, institutions, traditions, and things like language, food, music, literature, and art. Culture is a lived experience unique to each individual. As educators we must reach out to students in ways that are culturally and linguistically responsive, and examine cultural assumptions and stereotypes we bring into the classroom that can hinder our classroom community. Schools that promote true collaboration, beyond the simple division of labor, invite contribution from all members of their communities.

7.1. Social Justice Connection: The Black Lives Matter movement is something really powerful. The movement is grounded in being culturally responsive to people of color and making sure their represented. This is important for educators and students.

8. 2. Time, Continuity, and Change-By studying the past, we can develop a better understanding of historical perspectives about ourselves, our roots, and human story across time. This theme of time, continuity, and change allows us to acknowledge the past and the changes that have impacted the present and how this could generate changes in the future. Analyzing the history of people and society helps identify traditions, values, community, and other aspects of life and how it creates changes in society as result of what has happened over time. This ties to changes that occurred during an amount of time that promoted continuity and change. This theme also provides the opportunity to study or reconstruct how personal lives, stories, and experiences can portray different points of view and how we can use our background knowledge to make choices and decisions in the present that will change our future. This change can generate new ideals and values while students analyze the impacts, causes, and consequences of events in history. Unfortunately, the social studies curriculum somehow bypasses this when it comes to studying and analyzing students’ historical roots. This disables students in developing a better understanding and appreciation of the values and cultural traditions that shaped historical events. For early grades, providing sequence of events allows them to develop a sense of order and time in which historical events happen and how their views can differ from others about the past. It is imperative to provide tools for students to understand human decisions, consequences, historical knowledge, and values.

8.1. Social Justice Issues that align with this theme are poverty, immigration, racial and ethnic inequality, population and environment, schools and education, war, and gender. However, the social studies curriculum is not consistent in teaching perspectives about any of these topics. The curriculum needs to empower students’ culture, historical knowledge, and teach students how to be in a community with others to see how social studies issues are in the process of being solved.

9. 5. INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, AND INSTITUTIONS- This theme is centered around institutions such as the public school system, religious institutions, government agencies, healthcare, etc and how they work with public issues. There are conflicts that arise with these institutions and students learn how to examine how this will affect them. Institutions play a huge role in our society, they also hold a lot of power, it is important for students to understand the role of institutions. Sociology, anthropology, history, and Political science are the major focus in this theme.

9.1. Social Justice Connection: Through this theme, students can analyze institutions such as the public school system and health care networks in America and compare it to other states and or countries institutions.

10. 8.Science, Technology, and Society- Science insensitiveness focuses on inquiry about natural phenomena while technology is designed with a goal to achieve practical purposes. Technology is yet another theme that has existed for a long time and has helped society and many aspects as it evolves over time. The impact of both science and technology has an impact in shaping human exposure to what the world around us has to offer. It is imperative that students learn that technology and science help with things like production and distribution of food, agriculture, medicine, transportation, communication, health care, and it affects people, societies, and cultures. Science and technology can provide opportunities to develop critical thinking and civic competence as students question issues and study events that are occurring as a result of science inquiry and technological applications. By exploring these questions, students will also develop a sense of citizenry that will be prepared to make decisions concerning individual choices and policies. Early grade students can connect their experiences to develop a better understanding of how science and technology play a role in their lives and others when they study things like inventions that have altered history and how society used technology to modify, protect, or impact the physical environment. By middle grade, students expand their understanding of the role of science and technology by seeing how it impacts social institutions and life. They also learn how laws and policies govern scientific activities and technological applications. High school students strengthen their understanding on how science and technology has played historically and contemporaneously in transforming the environment, physical world, and human society and identify the need to make changes.

10.1. Social justice issues that align with this theme is social media, ethic values, infrastructure, adaptation, disasters, climate, environment, health and medicine, innovations, and economy. Unfortunately, the social studies curriculum is being separated from teaching and linking science, technology with society evolution. Students' critical thinking regarding this theme can be used as early as kindergarten by showing them the evolution of how we listened to music then and now, from a Walkman player to cell phone apps and what role technology plays in the evolution through generations.

11. 9. GLOBAL CONNECTIONS- With the advancement of technology, world trade has expanded globally. This provides opportunities to make more realtionships with different socities, cultures, and institutions. The study of global connections adresses, peace, conflict, poverty, disease, human rights, trade, and the global economy. Things in one part of the world can impact other parts of the world.

11.1. Social Justice Connection: Through this theme students can analyze issues such as poverty and world hunger in many countries and how it realtes to the economic growth rate of nations and how it takes collective action.