Social Studies, at the most basic level, is the study of people. Through required courses that include content from history, geography, political science and economics, students are provided with a basic background and critical thinking skills necessary to become effective and productive citizens. The Georgia Social Studies curriculum also provides a wide variety of elective courses in Law, Current Events, History, the Behavioral Sciences, Advanced Placement courses and International Baccalaureate courses for those students who are interested in pursuing various disciplines of the Social Studies to a greater depth. In addition to classroom instruction there are many activities that help students master Social Studies content and skills such as local, regional and State Social Science Fairs, We the People competitions, and the Mock Trial program.

Social Studies: 6th and 7th Grade Revisions

The following final drafts of the Social Studies revisions for Grades 6-7 were accepted at the August 14, 2008 State Board Meeting. The proposed reviews were posted on this website for 60 days for public review. Should you have any questions and/or concerns about these changes, please contact William Cranshaw, Social Studies Program Manger, wcransha@doe.k12.ga.us.

• APPROVED Sixth Grade Curriculum for 2008-09
• APPROVED Seventh Grade Curriculum for 2008-09

Social Studies: 3-5 and 8-12 Precision Review

The following final drafts of the Social Studies Precision Review for Grades 3-5 and 8-12 were accepted at the August 14, 2008 State Board Meeting. The proposed reviews were posted on this website for 60 days for public review. Should you have any questions and/or concerns about these changes, please contact William Cranshaw, Social Studies Program Manger, wcransha@doe.k12.ga.us.

• Grade 3-5 APPROVED Standards for 2009-10
• Grade 8 APPROVED Standards for 2009-10
• Grades 9-12 APPROVED Standards for 2009-10

The new Georgia Performance Standards for Social Studies will be taught in middle and high school classrooms beginning with school year 2007-08 and in the elementary schools beginning with school year 2008-09.

Starting the Year in 6th and 7th Grade

There are some concerns over how to start the New Year with the 6th and 7th grade Social Studies GPS under review. The approved GPS 6th and 7th grade curriculum is still the curriculum until the State Board of Education approves the revised curriculum. We anticipate that will occur at their August 14 meeting. The revisions are now up for public review. Once approved, the revisions will become the effective 6th and 7th grade curriculum.

The question is, how do I start the year with this change taking place after I start teaching? Let me offer several suggestions. In the GaDOE Frameworks and in training we have recommended starting the year with Unit 1, which helps students understand the Enduring Understandings that will be used throughout the year. Unit 1 is designed to help students see from their own experience how much they know about these Enduring Understandings. Research shows us that we learn new information by relating to what we already know. Helping students relate what they know to the Enduring Understandings will help them both understand and retain the new information we teach in the classroom. On georgiastandards.org under “Social Studies” drop down menu is “Social Studies videos.” There is a video on how to teach Unit 1. Each Framework contains sample questions to initiate discussion with your students about the different Enduring Understandings. Depending on the discussion and what activities you select this unit should take between 5-8 days.

What’s next? Once you have completed Unit 1 there are several options for you. If you are following the Frameworks, then unit 2 is modern Europe in 6th grade and the modern Middle East in 7th grade. I would start by having students write down and share their perceptions of each region. Have students divide their papers into 6 sections. Label each section, history, geography; economy, government, daily life, or any other set of topics you think would be interesting and related to the curriculum. Once completed students can discuss their perceptions. Students can save their perceptions for later comparison at the end of the unit. This activity is based on an activity found in the Southern Center for International Studies, World in Transition series.

Another important task is to learn about issues in the region. Students could search the local paper for any information about issues in the region. Also, the Southern Center for International Studies website (www.scis.org) has links to foreign press reports in English for each region of the world. Once on the homepage, select “International Timeline and Info Links.” On that page under “info links” you can click to the page for news services for the various regions. Students could discuss what they have found as issues in regard to government, environment, economy, and so forth, preparing them for discussions about those issues later in the curriculum.

I would then move to one of the themes that is in both unit 2’s; location. Students need to understand where this region is in the world, the major countries, landforms, their impact on the regions and so forth. While there are some changes to the geography standards, they are primarily reductions in number of places to be located. This should not affect what is taught. By the time you finish with the “location” Enduring Understanding, the revised 6th and 7th grade GPS should be approved.