Social Studies

Kindergarten:

Incorporate social studies with literacy skills when listening to read -a- louds about history, geography, and culture, such as, compare, main idea and details, fact and opinion, cause, and effect.

By the end of kindergarten, students will:

  • Form an awareness of the country we live in through a Christian worldview
  • Developing appropriate Christian, scholarly and social interactions with peers and adults

First Grade

First grade introduces students to social studies skills with a grade-appropriate yet academically rigorous program. Each of the six units introduces a different field of social studies, giving students a broad foundation for future grades. As students look at their roles as family and community members, they are encouraged to see themselves from God’s perspective. Students develop a Christian worldview of the family, community, jobs, land, and the United States.

By the end of first grade, students will:

  • Understand geography-types of land and water, continents, and ocean; places and regions, globes, and maps (title, key, compass), cardinal directions; using and saving resources
  • Understanding of weather -seasons and water cycles,
  • Understanding of History – time- past, present, and future
  • Understand the meaning and application of asking questions about events in one’s family, school, and community; understand primary and secondary resources
  • Start to develop an understanding of American History, Native Americans, explorers, settlements; founding of the United States; Abraham Lincoln; effects of immigration; United States today
  • Develop an awareness of the rules and laws of our community, state, and recognize national leaders; know about elections.
  • Be able to name descriptions and symbols of the United States; Rights and responsibilities of American citizens
  • Awareness of needs and wants, goods and services; trading, bartering, money; jobs, volunteers; budgeting; technology and tools
  • Developing a Biblical worldview; families and homes; celebrations; families in history; churches and schools; changes in travel and communication; contributions of immigrants.
  • Understand and apply Social Studies skills; addresses and landmarks; sorting and sequencing; Bar graphs, diagrams, timelines, and calendars; Literacy skills: compare, main idea and details, fact and opinion, cause, and effect skills

Second Grade

Second grade equips students to live wisely in their world. Students learn to evaluate society and their role in it through the lens of God’s Word. They develop an understanding and appreciation of both the past and present through real-world activities, personal stories of individuals, and development of the tools needed to sustain lifelong learning. Historical fiction and non-fiction literature about American history will be included with reading.

By the end of second grade, student will:

  • Developing a Christian worldview of communities, government, buying and selling, people and places and American Culture. map skills; Geography of North America, Geography of United States, regions, and places; population density, land forms, major bodies of water, climate zones
  • Develop map skills, map scale, geography of North America and the United States
  • Understand the development of changes within a community
  • Understand the purpose of government
  • Understand how a bill becomes a law
  • Knowledge of the Constitution and Bill of Rights
  • Identify levels of government (national, state, local)
  • Know how government leaders are chosen
  • Understand citizenships’ rights and responsibilities
  • Understand work, specialization; scarcity, budgets; goods and services; producers and consumers, types of resources; supply and demand; trading between countries
  • Know core values; influences: Native Americans, immigrants, technology.

Third Grade

Students are introduced to World Regions, the cultures of the world with an engaging study of the major world regions. In studying new cultures, students will explore the governments, geography, climates, economics, cultures, and religions of each region. Special features highlighting folktale, foreign languages, and missionary stories bring other cultures and locations to life. Students are introduced to primary and secondary sources.

Developing a biblical worldview of geography.

By the end of third grade, student will:

  • Develop a biblical worldview of geography
  • Use and explain various types of maps
  • Understand physical feature
  • Identify cultural and economic impacts of human interaction with the environment
  • Know interconnections between world regions
  • Know government capital, types of government, and major leaders
  • Understand industries, trade, and currencies
  • Relate exploration and migration, conflicts
  • Recognize religions and beliefs
  • Explain traditional beliefs and Christianity

Fourth Grade:

Fourth grade brings to life our history from the founding of America to World War II from a biblical perspective. The lessons include a study of the regions of the United States.

By the end of fourth grade, student will:

  • Know how to use map skill to identify hemispheres, equator, latitude/longitude, and prime meridian
  • Identify world regions, climates, and natural resources
  • Understanding of World War I and World War II
  • Learn American history – Native Americans-tribal nations, the fifty states, inventions, American Industrial Revolution, Spanish American war, American expansion and urbanization, and U. S. Territories
  • Know the functions of the Branches of American government, voting and citizenship
  • Understanding of Stock Market and supply & demand
  • Understand cultural languages, adjustments of immigrants in American and Evangelism and missionary work
  • Apply and use cause and effect, timelines, and primary sources

Fifth Grade

Learn about AD 1400 to the present time.

Heritage Studies 5 continues the narrative of American history from the development of the automobile in the late 1800s through the inauguration of President Obama in 2009. Topics are presented from a biblical perspective and include the invention and influence of the automobile and airplane, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, the Vietnam War, struggles over civil rights, the war on terror, Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and immigration decisions.

By the end of fifth grade, student will:

  • Apply map skills for intermediate directions, map symbols and key, map scales, grids, latitude/longitude, and time zones
  • Know various types of maps- historical, physical and relief, road, distribution, political, projection, regions and state capitals
  • Chronological presentation of American History events, pre-Columbus to present
  • Know Biblical philosophy
  • Explain the roles of the three branches of government
  • Explain supply and demand
  • Demonstrate understanding of the Stock Market
  • Describe inventions
  • Be knowledgeable about other Languages, religions, and customs

Sixth Grade 

Developing a Christian worldview of ancient civilizations – creation to AD 1500

These lessons engage students to think like Christian historians with the awareness that the field of historians is an open pathway. This course covers ancient civilizations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas in addition to building skills in reading and interpreting maps and charts. Students will focus on the theme of the Creation, Fall, Redemption, and they will learn to recognize it in ancient civilizations.

By the end of sixth grade, student will:

  • Apply map skills
  • Understand and apply Topography
  • Compare characteristics of ancient civilization with modern regions
  • Explain conflicts between nations
  • Describe archaeological findings
  • Compare types of governments -empires and kingdoms
  • Understand the influences of religions, philosophies, ancient customs and tradition, languages, arts and music, food, and clothing
  • Understand ancient influences on the American government and economy

Seventh Grade

World cultures 1100 AD to the present

The reality of sin means that civilizations cannot simply be celebrated. Events in world history must be evaluated from a Christian worldview. History allows students to look at the big issues they are facing today and decide how to respond to them. Much wisdom can be gained by learning from both the mistakes and success of previous generations. To know which is which requires careful evaluation using scripture.

There are four main themes in seventh grade, they focus on: justice, power, citizenship, and environment.

By the end of seventh grade, student will:

  • Understand the influences of geography on the development of civilizations
  • Apply chronological and cultural approaches to world studies
  • Compare and contrast world governments in history
  • Compare and describe economics historically and geographically
  • Compare world religions, especially Islam, to Christianity
  • Identify and explain arts, sciences, and the ways of life in the past and present