Social Studies Overview

In the Primary years Programme (PYP), Social Studies is defined as a study of human society, human relationships and the interaction of people with the environment. The Social studies curriculum is essentially taught through the units of inquiry and is organized under the following three strands:

History	Geography	Society
History is the story of the human past. The study of history develops an understanding of the past, its influence on the present, and its implications for the future.	Geography is the study of people in relationship to their environment. The study of geography develops an understanding of the physical environment, a sense of place, and a sense of self in relation to personal, local, national and global locations.	The study of Society is the study of the ways in which people, groups and societies interact with each other and how their values shape social systems. It incorporates the disciplines of Sociology, Anthropology, Ethics and Politics.

The Social Studies Provides opportunities for students to

Learn how to ask compelling questions that can be researched
	Gain a secure understanding of their own identity and their place in the world
Gain a sense of time and place in relation to their own experience and the experience of other people
	Gain an understanding of humankind’s role in and dependence on the natural world, and learn to apply this knowledge in responsible ways.
Develop an understanding of other cultural groups and an appreciation of other ideas and beliefs
	Gain knowledge that is of genuine importance in understanding the human condition, through the exploration of themes that have significance for all students in all cultures
Gain conceptual understanding through participating in learning experiences that foster sensitivity, creativity and initiative, leading to socially responsible action

These Units of Inquiry focus on Social Studies

	Theme	Unit name	Strand	Related Concepts
Pre Reception	Who we are	Who am I?	Society – self & systems History – personal & chronology	Authority Role Conflict Cooperation Communication.
	How the world works	The Changing Seasons	Geography – The natural environment	Adaptation differences Similarities Location.
Reception	Who we are	People we know	Society - self, communities & culture	Role Conflic Co-operation
	How the world works	Where does our food come from?	Geography - general	Location Diversity Interdependence Distribution
Year 1	Where we are in time and place	Play, then and now	History - Chronology	Chronology Values
	How the world works	A roof over my head	Geography	Location
	How we organize ourselves	School is cool	Society	Division of labor Role Interdependence
Year 2	Who we are	Celebrations
	Where we are in time and place	It's about time
	How the world works	Our local area
	Sharing the planet	Our world of plants
Year 3	Where we are in time and place	Our host country	Geography History - chronology & significant people Society - cultures	Culture Heritage Location Tradition Similarities/differences
	How we organize ourselves	What will I be when I grow up?	Society– systems & communities	Division of labour Role Values Systems
	Sharing the planet	Water	Geography - the natural environment	Conservation Distribution Interdependence
Year 4	Who we are	Our personal stories	History – Personal Society – self
	Where we are in time and place	Our prehistoric ancestors	History – periods & chronology	Adaptation Evolution Similarity Chronology
	How we express ourselves	Fairy tales and folk tales	History	Fantasy Communication Conflict Values
	How we organize ourselves	A right means no one is left out	Society	Rights Needs Responsibilities
Year 5	Where we are in time and place	Our local history	History - Periods, Chronology, Significant people	Chronology Conflict Social control
	How we organize ourselves	How in the world do we know where we are?	Geography – Place, Natural environment	Culture Location
Year 6	Where we are in time and place	Solar system	History - Chronology, Significant People	Adaptation Evolution
	How we organize ourselves	World beliefs	Society	History Culture Difference Diversity Traditions Values

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5concepts

Demonstrations of deeper learning in responsible behaviour through positive action and service; a manifestation in practice of the other essential elements

Powerful ideas which have relevance within and across the disciplines and which students must explore and re-explore in order to develop understanding

Significant, relevant, subject matter which students are expected to explore and know about

Click here to find out more about the 6 themes

Click here to find out more about the 6 subject areas

Those things which the students need to be able to do to succeed in a changing, challenging world

Dispositions which are expressions of fundamental values, beliefs and feelings about learning, the environment and people

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updated on 11 juillet, 2006