KINDERGARTEN SOCIAL STUDIES

 

A Child’s Place in Time and Space

The kindergarten year is a time of getting acquainted with the school setting and routines.  Students begin to understand the importance of rules, responsibility and decision-making.  They are introduced to the cultural heritage of the United States and democratic principles through the study of national symbols and holidays.  They also learn about other cultures so that they can begin to form concepts about the world beyond their own classroom and community.

Note:  Most of the social studies program at the kindergarten level can be taught through classroom routines and procedures or literacy, math and other subject areas. Indicators printed in italics need to be specifically taught, either as stand-alone items or as part of a unit.

History Standard

Students use materials drawn from the diversity of human experience to analyze and interpret significant events, patterns and themes in the history of Ohio, the United States and the world.

History Benchmarks Grades K-2

By the end of the K-2 program, students will be able to:

  1. Use a calendar to determine the day, week, month and year.
  2. Place events in correct order on a time line.
  3. Compare daily life in the past and present, demonstrating an understanding that while basic human needs remain the same, they are met in different ways in different times and places.
  4. Recognize that the actions of individuals make a difference, and relate the stories of people from diverse backgrounds who have contributed to the heritage of the United States.

Kindergarten History Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

Chronology

  1. Recite the days of the week. [Literacy, math, calendar time]
  2. Use vocabulary associated with time to distinguish broad categories of historical time as long ago, yesterday, today and tomorrow.  [Literacy]

Daily Life

3.      Demonstrate understanding of one’s own personal life history (e.g., birth, toddler and preschool).  [Literacy]

Heritage

  1. Recognize state and federal holidays and explain their significance.
  2. Listen to and discuss songs, poetry, literature and drama that reflect the cultural heritages of the people of the United States. [Literacy, music, art]

People in Societies Standard

Students use knowledge of perspectives, practices and products of cultural, ethnic and social groups to analyze the impact of their commonality and diversity within local, national, regional and global settings.

People in Societies Benchmarks Grades K-2

By the end of the K-2 program, students will be able to:

  1. Identify practices and products of diverse cultures.
  2. Identify ways that different cultures within the United States and the world have shaped our heritage.
Kindergarten People in Societies Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

Cultures
  1. Identify ways that individuals in the family, school and community are unique and ways that they are the same. [Literacy]
Diffusion
  1. Identify different cultures through the study of holidays, customs and traditions utilizing language, stories, folktales, music and the arts. [Literacy, music, art]

Geography Standard

Students use knowledge of geographic locations, patterns and processes to show the interrelationship between the physical environment and human activity, and to explain the interactions that occur in an increasingly interdependent world.

Geography Benchmarks Grades K-2

By the end of the K-1 program, students will be able to:

  1. Identify the location of the state of Ohio, the United States, the continents and oceans on maps, globes and other geographic representations.
  2. Identify the physical and human features of places.
Kindergarten Geography Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

Location
  1. Identify and correctly use terms related to location, direction and distance, including: [math, literacy]
    1. up/down
    2. over/under
    3. here/there
    4. front/back
    5. behind/in front of.
  2. Recite home address.

3.      Make models and maps representing real places, including the classroom. [Math]

  1. Distinguish between land and water on maps and globes.

Places and Regions

  1. Demonstrate familiarity with the school’s layout. [Classroom routines]
  2. Describe the immediate surroundings of home (e.g., streets, buildings, fields, woods or lakes). [Literacy]
Human Environmental Interaction
  1. Identify key natural resources that are used in the students’ daily lives.

Economics Standard

Students use economic reasoning skills and knowledge of major economic concepts, issues and systems in order to make informed choices as producers, consumers, savers, investors, workers and citizens in an independent world.

Economics Benchmarks Grades K-2

By the end of the K-2 program, students will be able to:

  1. Explain how the scarcity of resources requires people to make choices to satisfy their wants.
  2. Distinguish between goods and services and explain how people can be both buyers and sellers of goods and services.
  3. Explain ways that people may obtain goods and services.
Kindergarten Economics Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

Scarcity and Resource Allocation

  1. Recognize that people have many wants.
  2. Explain how people make decisions to satisfy their wants.

Production, Distribution and Consumption

  1. Identify goods and services.

Government Standard

Students use knowledge of the purposes, structures and processes of political systems at the local, state, national and international levels in order to understand that people create systems of government as structures of power and authority to provide order, maintain stability and promote the general welfare.

Government Benchmarks Grades K-2

By the end of the K-2 program, students will be able to:

  1. Identify elected leaders and authority figures in the home, school and community and explain the reasons for having persons in authority.
  2. Recognize and explain the importance of symbols and landmarks of the United States.
  3. Explain the purposes of rules in different settings and the results of adherence to, or violation of, the rules.
Kindergarten Government Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

Role of Government
  1. Identify authority figures in the home, school and community.
  2. Recognize symbols of the United States that represent its democracy and values, including: [classroom procedures]
    1. the national flag
    2. the Pledge of Allegiance.
Rules and Laws
  1. Identify purposes for having rules and ways that they provide order, security and safety in the home, school and community.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Standard

Students use knowledge of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in order to examine and evaluate civic ideals and to participate in community life and the American democratic system.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Benchmarks Grades K-2

By the end of the K-2 program, students will be able to:

  1. Describe the results of cooperation in group settings and demonstrate the necessary skills.
  2. Demonstrate personal accountability, including making choices and taking responsibility for personal actions.

Kindergarten Citizenship and Responsibilities Indicators

Participation
  1. Participate and cooperate in classroom activities. [Classroom procedures]
Rights and Responsibilities
  1. Take personal responsibility to follow directions and rules. [Classroom routines and procedures]
  2. Demonstrate the ability to make choices and take responsibility for personal actions.  [Classroom routines and procedures]
  3. Discuss the attributes and actions of a good citizen with emphasis on: [literacy, classroom routines and procedures]
    1. trust
    2. respect
    3. honesty
    4. responsibility
    5. fairness
    6. compassion
    7. self-control.

Social Studies Skills and Methods

Students collect, organize, evaluate and synthesize information from multiple sources in order to draw logical conclusions.  Students communicate this information using appropriate social studies terminology in oral, written or multimedia form and apply what they have learned to societal issues in simulated of real-world settings.

Social Studies Skills and Methods Benchmarks Grades K-2

By the end of the K-2 program, students will be able to:

  1. Obtain information from oral, visual, print and electronic sources.
  2. Predict outcomes based on factual information.
  3. Communicate information orally, visually or in writing.
  4. Identify a problem and work in groups to solve it.
Kindergarten Social Studies Skills and Methods Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

Obtaining Information
  1. Listen for information. [Literacy]
Thinking and Organizing
  1. Sort objects or pictures according to appropriate criteria. [Math, literacy]
  2. Compare similarities and differences among objects or pictures. [Math, literacy]
Communicating Information
  1. Communicate information. [Math, literacy]
Problem Solving
  1. Work with others by sharing, taking turns and raising hand to speak. [Classroom routines and procedures]

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