Social Studies

Elementary - Grades K-5

Social Studies is integrated into the Houghton Mifflin Reading curriculum in grades K - 3.  In grades 4 and 5, students use a variety of materials to explore Social Studies concepts.

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Individual Development and Identity
• Learning About Myself and My Classroom Community 
• The Food We Eat           

Grade Level: 1

Families 
• Families In Our Community 
• Families in Other Places    

Grade Level: 2

Communities
• Our Community – A study about Spokane
• Communities Meet their Needs and Wants 

Grade Level: 3

Culture: People, Places, and Environment
• Cultures in Our Community      
• Our Native American Past – Coastal and Plateau
• Making Global Connections

Grade Level: 4

Washington State History, Geography, and Government
• Exploring Washington prior to Statehood     
• Living in Washington: Its Geography, Resources and the Economy  
• Being Citizens in Washington

Each of the bulleted items listed for fourth grade will be a trimester of study. Students will use the text Washington Adventure by Ruth Pelz (Gibbs-Smith, publisher) as a resource.

Grade Level: 5

U.S. History: Civic Ideals and Practices
• Colonization and Settlement       
• Independence      
• Founding the Nation 

Each of the bulleted items listed for fifth grade will be a trimester of study. Besides learning about the geography of our nation, students in fifth grade will read from a wide variety of resources. Materials include:
   Atlas of Our Country’s History by Nystrom
   We the People: Civics Ideals and Practices
   Thirteen Colonies by Gail Sakurai
   If You Lived in Colonial Times by Ann McGowan
   Colonial Times by Joy Masoff
   America at the Time of George Washington (trade book)
   Voices of the Revolution – Theme Three – Houghton Mifflin Reading

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Global Studies

Grade Level: 9

Global studies meets the freshman requirement for social studies.  This course focuses on the geography, economics, culture, and government of major areas of the world.  Students examine the various elements of culture in order to understand how these elements have development and changed.  Students also learn to use maps, charts, and other geographic tools to understand the five themes of geography. 

The text used to support global studies instruction in grade 9 is World Cultures, a Global Mosaic, published by Prentice Hall. Use of the text helps students answer these Essential Questions:
1.  What impact did European domination have on various regions and the world?
2.  How are societies altered by the change from a rural/agrarian to an urban/industrial society?
3.  What has been the global impact of health improvements, population growth, and scientific developments?
4.  What are the implications of globalization on people, governments, economics, religions, and societies?
5.  How have the five themes of geography affected the political, social, economic, and cultural developments globally?

Enduring Understandings
1.  Middle East
2.  Africa 
3.  Asia                    
4.  Latin America

Evidence of Learning (Assessments)
Dig Deep Classroom Based Assessment

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United States History 1 & 2

Grade Level: 11

In US History, students investigate the transition from the United States becoming an industrial nation to its emergence as a world power in the 20th century.  Students study the transition of our country from a rural agrarian society to an urban industrialized society and the conflict created by that change.  Students also study presidential administrations, politics, social issues, economics, conflict and culture with a focus on the Progressive Era, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.  Students further study the evolution of Modern American society from a comparitive study of the decades beginning with the 1950's and the continued growth and influence of the Pacific Northwest.

Essential Questions:
1.  How does America's changing cultural, ethnic, religious, economic, and social landscape impact public policy, perception, and attitudes both inside and outside our borders?
2.  How and why did the United States emerge as a world power?
3.  How have events, trends, individuals, and movements shaped the United States?
4.  How have ideas and technological developments influenced people, culture, and the environment?

Enduring Understandings:
1.  Major social, economic, and political problems of the 20th century.
2.  Economic cycles of prosperity and depression in American history.
3.  Civil rights
4.  Causes and results of: Immigration, Civil War, Spanish American War, Industrial Revolution, Progressivism, World War I, Great Depression, New Deal, World War II, Cold War, Persian Gulf War, and War on Terror. 

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Government

Grade Level: 12

Government traces the growth of our federal, state, and local governments to determine the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship.  Furthermore, the course examines the theories and foundations of the US government and politics.  The following topics will be covered throughout this class:
•  The foundation of American government
•  The Constitution
•  The three branches of government
•  Participation in government

Essential Questions:
1.  How have the major ideas set forth in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other foundational documents affected the lives of American citizens?
2.  How is the United States government structured at the federal, state, and local levels, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches?
3.  How do individual rights and their accompanying responsibilities, including problem-solving and decision-making at the local, state, national, and international levels, impact government and policy?
4.  What are and how do the rights of United States citizens impact government policy related to school, local, state, national, and international issues.

Enduring Understandings:
1. Balance of federal power shifts between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches in the 20th century.
2.  How the United States deals with issues of equality and the extension of civil liberties.
3.  Roles political parties, interest groups, campaigns, and the media play in elections. 
4.  Major ideas and concepts set forth in the U.S. Constitution and the influence of these ideals on the U.S. government.
5. Efforts citizens use to influence governmental institutions. 

Current World Problems

Grade Level: 12

In this course, students work with current events, world geography, and various instructional units that focus on topics such as terrorism, regional conflicts, world religions, the United Nations, and the evolution of the post-Cold War world following the fall of Soviet Communism.  Students study different political and economic systems, different world cultures and religions, global interdependance and different examples of how countries interact politically, economically and socially.

Essential Questions:
1.  How can students learn to understand and adopt the role of an internationally informed particiapnt in public affairs?
2.  What skills are valuable for a student to participate as an effective, involved citizen in a complex society?
3.  What current issues are crucial in the world?
4.  What national or regional characteristics are important to understanding the current issues that are crucial in the world?

Enduring Understandings:
1.  How we influence and are influenced by international affairs.
2.  How we influence and are influenced by global conflict.
3.  The development of a personal position on the role the US should play in the world.
4.  Recognition of geographic changes in the world and how each change influences international affairs.
5.  The origin and impact of ideas and technological developments in the world.
 

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