1. People, Places and Environments
    2. Individual Development and Identify
    3. Individuals, Groups and Institutions
    4. Power, Authority and Governance
    5. Production, Distribution and Consumption
    6. Science, Technology and Society
    7. Global Connections
    8. Civic Ideals and Practices
  1. I Am Me
  2. My Family
  3. My School
  4. My World
  5. Our Country


Subject ________________________________________________ Grade K
 
 
Mission Statement: It is the mission of the Elba Central School District to actualize the phrase “Elba Equals Educational Excellence for Everyone.” We are committed to providing both quality and equity. Every student will have the opportunity to develop to the best of his/her ability.
 
 
Elba Standards: In addition to the knowledge and basic skills they need in order to participate in society, graduates of Elba Central School will develop:
1.  Empowering skills: decision making, goal setting, creative thinking and problem solving abilities;
2.  Communication and social interaction skills;
3.  Technological literacy;
4.  Total wellness (social, physical, emotional health and self-esteem);
5.  The values necessary to participate in society.
As a result of achieving these outcomes, our students will embrace lifelong learning.
 
 
 
National Standards:
 


People, Places and Environments



People, Places and Environments
 
   * Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study
     of people, places, and environments.
* In early grades, young learners draw upon immediate personal experiences as a
basis for exploring geographic concepts and skills.
* During middle school, students relate their personal experiences to happenings
in other environmental contexts.
* In high school, students apply geographic understanding across a broad range
of fields.
 


Individual Development and Identify



Individual Development and Identify
 
* Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study
of individual development and identity.
* Personal identity is shaped by one's culture, by groups, and by institutional
influences.
 


Individuals, Groups and Institutions



Individuals, Groups and Institutions
 
* Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study
of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.
* Schools, churches, families, government agencies, and the courts all play an
integral role in our lives.
* Students should know how institutions are formed, what controls and
influences them, how they control and influence individuals and culture, and
institutions can by maintained or changed.
 


Power, Authority and Governance



Power, Authority and Governance
 
* Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study
of how people create and change structures of power, authority, and
governance.
* Learners develop an understanding of how groups and nations attempt to
resolve conflicts and seek to establish order and security.
 
 
 


Production, Distribution and Consumption



Production, Distribution and Consumption
 
* Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study
of how people organize for the production, distribution, and consumption of
goods and services.
* People have wants that often exceed the limited resources available to them.  A
variety of ways have been invented to decide upon answers to four fundamental
questions:  What should be produced?  How is production to be organized? 
How are goods and services to be distributed? What is the most effective
allocation of the factors of production (land, labor, capital, and management)?
 
 


Science, Technology and Society



Science, Technology and Society
 
* Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study
of relationships among science, technology, and society.
* Technologies form systems, which are intertwined with our daily lives.
* Students should explore the complex relationships among technology, human
values, and behavior.
* Students need to think about how we can manage technology so that we control
it rather than the other way around.
 


Global Connections



Global Connections
 
* Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study
of global connections and interdependence.
* Analysis of tensions between national interests and global priorities contributes
to the development of possible solutions to persistent and emerging global
issues in many fields.
 


Civic Ideals and Practices



Civic Ideals and Practices
 
* Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study
of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic.
* An understanding of civic ideals and practices is critical to full participation in
society and is a central purpose for social studies.
 
New York State Standards:
 
Performance Indicators: Description of the levels of student achievement pertaining to standard.
 
STANDARD 1: HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES AND New York
 
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York. 
 
Standard 1:
Key Idea 1.
The study of New York State and United States history requires an analysis of the development of American culture, its diversity and multicultural context, and the ways people are unified by many values, practices, and traditions.
 
Students:
 
  Explore the meaning of American culture by identifying the key ideas, beliefs and patterns of behavior, and traditions that help define it and unite all Americans.
  Interpret the ideas, values, and beliefs contained in the Declaration of Independence and the New York State Constitution and the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other important historical documents.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Key Idea  2.
Important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions from New York State and United States history illustrate the connections and interactions of people and events across time and from a variety of perspectives.
 
Performance Indicators:
Students:
 
  describe the reasons for periodizing history in different ways
  Investigate key turning points in New York State and United States history and explain why these events or developments are significant.
  Understand the relationship between the relative importance of United States domestic and foreign policies over time.
  Analyze the role played by the United States in international politics, past and present.
 
Key Idea  3.
 
Study about the major social, political, economic, cultural, and religious developments I New York State and United States history involves learning about the important roles and contributions of individuals and groups.
 
Performance Indicators:
 
Students:
 
  Complete well-documented and historically accurate case studies about individuals and groups who represent different ethnic, national, and religious groups, including Native Americans, in New York State and the United States at different times and in different locations.
  Gather and organize information about the important achievements and contributions of individuals and groups living in New York State and the United States.
  Describe how ordinary people and famous historic figures in the local community, State, and the United States have advanced fundamental democratic values, beliefs, and traditions expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the New York State and United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other important historical documents.
  Classify major developments into categories such as social, political, economic, geographic, technological, scientific, cultural, or religious.
 
 Key Idea 4:
The skills of historical analysis include the ability to: explain the significance of historical evidence; weigh the importance, reliability, and validity of evidence; understand the concept of multiple causation; understand the importance of changing and competing interpretations of different historical developments.
 
Performance Indicators:
Students:
  Consider the sources of historic documents, narratives, or artifacts and evaluate their reliability.
  Understand how different experiences, beliefs, values, traditions, and motives cause individuals and groups to interpret historic events and issues from different perspectives.
  Compare and contrast different interpretations of key events and issues in New York State and United States history and explain reasons for these different accounts.
  Describe historic events through the eyes and experiences of those who were there.
 
STANDARD 2: WORLD HISTORY
 
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives. 
 
Standard 2
Key Idea 1:
 
The study of world history requires an understanding of world cultures and civilizations, including an analysis of important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs and traditions.  This study also examines the human condition and the connections and interactions of people across time and space and the ways different people view the same event or issue from a variety of perspectives. 
 
Performance Indicators:
Students:
 
  Know the social and economic characteristics, such as customs, traditions, child-rearing practices, ways of making a living, education and socialization practices, gender roles, foods, and religious and spiritual beliefs that distinguish different cultures and civilizations.
  Know some important historic events and developments of past civilizations.
  Interpret and analyze documents and artifacts related to significant developments and events in world history.
 
 Key Idea 2:
 
Establishing timeframes, exploring different periodizations, examining themes across time and within cultures, and focusing on important turning points in world history help organize the study of world cultures and civilizations.   
 
Performance Indicators:
Students:
 
  Develop timelines by placing important events and developments in world history in their correct chronological order.
  Measure time periods by years, decades, centuries, and millennia.
  Study about major turning points in world history by investigating the causes and other factors that brought about change and the results of these changes.
 
Key Idea 3:
 
Study of the major social, political, cultural, and religious developments in world history involves learning about the important roles and contributions of individuals and groups. 
 
 
Performance Indicators:
Students:
 
  Investigate the roles and contributions of individuals and groups in relation to key social, political, cultural, and religious practices throughout history.
  Interpret and analyze documents and artifacts related to significant developments and events in world history
  Classify historic information according to the type of activity or practice: social/cultural, political, economic, geographic, scientific, technological, and historic.
 
 Key Idea 4:
 
The skills of historical analysis include the ability to investigate differing and competing interpretations of the theories of history, hypothesize about why interpretations change over time, explain the importance of historical evidence, and understand the concepts of change and continuity over time. 
 
Performance Indicators:
Students:
 
  Explain the literal meaning of a historical passage or primary source document, identifying who was involved, what happened, where it happened, what events led up to these developments, and what consequences or outcomes followed.
  Analyze different interpretations of important events and themes in world history and explain the various frames of reference expressed by different historians.
  View history through the eyes of those who witnessed key events and developments in world history by analyzing their literature, diary accounts, letters, artifacts, art, music, architectural drawings, and other documents.
  Investigate important events a developments in world history by posing analytical questions, selecting relevant data, distinguishing fact from opinion, hypothesizing cause-and-effect relationships, testing those hypotheses, and formulating conclusions.
 
 STANDARD 3: GEOGRAPHY 
 
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live - local, national, and global - including the distribution of people, place, and environments over the Earth's surface. 
 
Key Idea 1:
Geography can be divided into six essential elements, which can be used to analyze important historic, geographic, economic, and environmental questions and issues.  These six elements include: the world in spatial terms, places and religions, physical settings (including natural resources), human systems, environment and society, and the use of geography. 
 
Performance Indicators:
Students:
 
  Map information about people, places, and environments.
  Understand the characteristics, functions, and applications of maps, globes, aerial and other photographs, satellite-produced images, and models.
  Investigate why people and places are located where they are located and what patterns can be perceived in these locations.
  Describe the relationships between people and environments and the connections between people and places.
 
 Key Idea 2
Geography requires the development and application of the skills of asking and answering geographic questions; analyzing theories of geography; and acquiring, organizing, and analyzing geographic information. 
 
Performance Indicators:
Students:
 
  Formulate geographic questions and define geographic issues and problems.
  Use a number of research skills (e.g., computer databases, periodicals, census reports, maps, standard reference works, interviews, and surveys) to locate and gather geographical information about issues and problems.
  Present geographic information in a variety of formats, including maps, tables, graphs, charts, diagrams, and computer-generated models.
  Interpret geographic information by synthesizing data and developing conclusions and generalizations about geographic issues and problems.
 
 STANDARD 4: ECONOMICS
 
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the U.S. and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms. 
 
Key Idea 1:
The study of economics requires an understanding of major economic concepts and systems, the principles of economic decision-making, and the interdependence of economics and economic systems throughout the world. 
 
Performance Indicators:
Students:
 
  Explain how societies and nations attempt to satisfy their basic needs and wants by utilizing scarce capital, natural, and human resources.
  Define basic economic concepts such as scarcity, supply and demand, markets, opportunity costs, resources, productivity, economic growth and systems.
  Understand how scarcity requires people and nations to make choices; which involve costs and future considerations.
  Understand how people in the United States and throughout the world are both producers and consumers of goods and services.
  Investigate how people in the United States and throughout the world answer the three fundamental economic questions and solve basic economic problems.
  Describe how traditional, command market, and mixed economies answer the three fundamental economic questions.
  Explain how nations throughout the world have joined with one another to promote economic development and growth.
 
 Key Idea 2:
Economics requires the development and application of the skills needed to make informed and well-reasoned economic decisions in daily and national life. 
 
Performance Indicators:
Students:
 
  Identify and collect economic information from standard reference works, newspapers, periodicals, computer databases, textbooks, and other primary and secondary sources.
  Organize and classify economic information by distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information, placing ideas in chronological order, and selecting appropriate labels for data.
  Evaluate economic data by differentiating fact from opinions and identifying frames of reference.
  Develop conclusions about economic issues and problems by creating broad statements; which summarize findings and solutions.
  Present economic information by using media and other appropriate visuals such as tables, charts, and graphs to communicate ideas and conclusions.
 
 
 
 
 
Assessment : Acceptable Performance Level
Core content activities and projects Observe student participation
Scope: The social studies program at the kindergarten level focuses on helping students develop awareness of self as a growing individual. The child’s unique qualities as well as similarities to others are stressed. Children learn about values, ideas, customs, and traditions through folk tales, legends, music, and oral histories. In addition, the child’s relationships with others in the classroom and the school become sources for social studies learning. Social interaction skills are integral to the kindergarten program. Emphasis is placed on using content that is relevant and personally meaningful. A wide range of interdisciplinary activities can help the child grow and develop and gain knowledge and skills. Children also begin to learn about their role as citizens by accepting rights and responsibilities in the classroom and by learning about rules and laws.
 
Sequence:
 

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I Am Me
. Identify characteristics that make people special
. Recognize that people grow and change
. Understand that all people have feelings
. Name the five senses and recognize how people learn through their senses (Science)
. Recognize that people learn by listening and by talking
. Recognize that people have choices
. Respect the choices and opinions of others
 

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My Family
. Recognize that families vary in size and composition
. Understand that families change over time
. Understand the need for family rules
. Recognize the different roles of family members
. Understand how sharing the workload is one way family members care for one another
. Identify ways in which families have fun
. Recognize the difference between family wants and needs
 

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My School
. Recognize that a school is part of a neighborhood
. Identify basic rules of pedestrian safety
. Recognize various forms of transportation to school
. Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate school activities
. Recognize that school activities occur in a predictable order
. Understand the various roles of school workers
. Identify tools used by school workers
. Identify specific rules in own school
 

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My World
. Recognize different kinds of homes
. Recognize that maps can show rooms in homes (Fire Safety)
. Identify places in neighborhoods
. Understand the importance of workers in a neighborhood (Career Day)
. Identify common forms of neighborhood transportation
. Understand that communities offer places for people to have fun and learn
. Name the four seasons and the changes that occur in each season (Science)
 

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Our Country
. Recognize the name of own country as the United States of America
. Recognize the name of own state
. Understand that the earth is made up of land and water (Science)
. Recognize a globe as a model of the earth
. Understand the history and significance of special holidays
. Identify the American flag as the flag of the United States
. Recognize important patriotic leaders of our country
. Distinguish the colors and pattern of the American flag
 
Methodology: Best Practices
 
 
 
 

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