Because students are citizens of a global society, their understanding of the world is essential. Therefore, the world around us and nature are common history and social studies themes at The San Francisco School. Throughout the years, students learn to read critically, analyze sources, craft historical essays, deliver presentations and use research techniques for formal research writing. Our study of history is largely project-based with the ultimate goal of our students acting and thinking like historians.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL STUDIES, HISTORY BY GRADE

OVERVIEW

In the preschool through second grade classes, students learn how to ask questions, gather information, and present their findings in a variety of ways. An inquiry-based approach is used, and process as well as product is emphasized. In third grade, Mexico and California Indians are studied, with students presenting formal individual and group projects. In fourth and fifth grades students begin more formalized studies. Students in these grades study US History among other units of study.

Sixth grade students learn the elements of geography, culture, and history focusing on early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and India. The students study many different cultures and their interactions in the past as well as the present. Research is done throughout the year, and links are often made to other disciplines. As a continuation of the work begun in grade sixth, the seventh graders take a close examination of the peoples of Africa, Latin America and the ancient Mediterranean Basin.

As a culmination to their study of history at the School, grade eight highlights major events in American history from the post Civil War era to the present. Throughout the year, they read, write, discuss the relationship between our past and our current events, and bring their own history to life in a meaningful and lasting way. Current events are also an important part of the curriculum, and student research supplements the prescribed textbook used in class.

Preschool & Kindergarten Social and Cultural Studies, History

Throughout the preschool and kindergarten years, the children study maps and geography, becoming adept at identifying the continents and bodies of water. They study the fundamental needs of people, that is, what do people need to live? (air, water, shelter, food). They also study themselves, their families and the many ways “family” can be defined.

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First Grade Social and Cultural Studies, History

The First Grade units are approached through "hands on" activities that synthesize the skills they have been practicing throughout the curriculum.

In the first unit, “How to be a Good Friend and Curious Student”, the students:

make and interpret graphs about the people in the class

practice how to behave and record ways that show caring for others
practice how to speak in order to solve problems and resolve conflicts
recognize and practice specific thinking routines
learn and practice effective study habits

In the second unit, “People and the World”, the students:

study our place in the physical universe

explore the common needs of all people (i.e. food, shelter, clothing)
examine the different ways these needs are met as determined by environmental factors (e.g., a house in the Arctic is quite different from a house in the jungle, but its purpose is the same).

record the information in a variety of ways

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Second Grade Social and Cultural Studies, History

In all of the history and social studies units the approach is one of "hands on" learning and the goal is that of experiential understanding. There are many activities for each unit, providing opportunities for each child to explore a wide range of concepts while developing skills such as observation, experimentation, model-building, and report-writing.

In these investigations, we enact our school mission to help the children embrace diversity and understand and appreciate a wide world. Below is an example of one of our major units of study in social studies:

In our China unit, students explore aspects of Chinese history, language, folklore, and traditions. Students gain an appreciation of ancient traditions. They study the workings of the Chinese zodiac – comparing our solar calendar to the lunar calendar - and learn some customs of the Lunar New Year. They read folk tales, learn calligraphy, and learn to speak a little of the language. The students study the Chinese immigrant experience and travel to Chinatown. As a culmination, the students perform the Chinese Zodiac play and the Lion dance for parents and the elementary school.

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Third Grade Social and Cultural Studies, History

Our history andsocial studies units offer hands-on activities and provide opportunities to explore new concepts while developing skills in making predictions, recording observations, drawing conclusions, and working in cooperative groups. The children record information in learning logs and are assessed through tests and/or special projects.

Through these studies, students embrace diversity and understand and appreciate a wide world. Sample units include:

Mexico: students undertake an in-depth study on the Aztec and Maya, the arrival of the Spanish, and contemporary Mexican culture. The children create skits to act out the conquest of Mexico, engage in an in-depth look at the development and uses of corn, and celebrate Mexican culture with a fiesta during which we sing, play games, dance and eat Mexican food prepared by the class.

California Indians: students are introduced to the natives of this region. Having investigated Bay Ecosystems in science, we focus on the cultures of the Miwok and Ohlone of this area, learning about how these indigenous people respected and used the plants and animals of the Bay. Clothing, shelter, tools and customs are explored through independent projects the students present to the rest of the class.

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Fourth Grade Social and Cultural Studies, History

Building on the third grade curriculum, the history andsocial studies units continue to offer hands-on activities and provide opportunities to explore new concepts that help them embrace diversity and understand and appreciate a wide world. The children continue to record information in learning logs and are assessed through tests and/or special projects.

Sample units include:

California History: In this unit, the essential question we seek to answer is, "Who and what are California's Riches?" The unit focuses on the California gold rush of 1848 and the many groups of people who immigrated during or around this time. California's wild and colorful past is brought alive as the children participate in a simulation of the gold rush and write imagined journals of their own.

Africa (Ghana): In this unit, the essential question students seek to answer is, "How does learning about another culture help me understand myself better?" Our goal in teaching the unit on Ghana is to have students begin to see the depth and complexity of social and historical culture that just one African country embodies. We also look at how the political ideas, language and arts of Ghana have influenced peoples worldwide. Children study the Asante people in depth through film, slides, books, art, music, food, guest speakers and lectures.

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Fifth Grade Social and Cultural Studies, History

In fifth grade, students engage in themed-based units of study covering topics including social studies, and history. Units are designed to provide a framework for student’s exploration of the topic. They also provide the context for gaining understanding in fifth grade, standards-based social studies/history content.

Students engage in a variety of activities some of which are scaffolded but open-ended in order to provide students a choice in focus or direction. Learning is driven by generative questions that provide understanding goals. An example linked to the units above is:

Sample units include:

Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery Expedition: Our essential guiding question is, “How was the story of the expedition like the story of the United States.” The tale of this adventure has all the elements needed to understand the multiplicity of voices that still resound in our country. The emphasis is in looking at the story from many different perspectives – from the view of government agents tasked with documenting our newly acquired lands, the perspectives of Native People experiencing the unexpected arrival of strangers, the viewpoints of York, Clark’s slave, and Sacagawea, the Shoshone woman who carried her child on the expedition, and who was instrumental in its success.

Along the way we integrate many other skills and content such as map reading/making, nutrition in the context of the expedition supplies, the geology of rivers, and Native American culture studies.

Our Water System: Students learn about the San Francisco Water System, both its physical and social/governmental components. The battle over Hetch Hetchy sets the scene for studying the social implications of our resource use.

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Sixth Grade Social and Cultural Studies, History

The emphasis of the 6th grade history program is that all people have a common bond of culture: language, technology, institution, and beliefs. Through the study of geography, current indigenous people, and ancient civilizations, the students discover diversity and unity among all peoples. Ultimately, they learn the make-up of culture and of successful civilizations. The 6th Grade history curriculum revolves around the following through-line questions:

How can we find out the truth about what happened in the past?
What is culture and how does it evolve?
How does geography influence culture and history?

These questions guide our daily activities and help to unify the unit studies over the course of the year.

Content

Geography
Biomes/indigenous peoples
Agricultural Revolution (focus on Catalhoyuk)
Early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and India
Independent project: Students have the opportunity to work and think like an historian.

The Biomes project: Students investigate an indigenous group of people and their interaction with the land. This is an interdisciplinary project, bringing together science, history, and occasionally music and Spanish. In the end, students create a museum display of what they have learned about the relationship between land and people and how modern-day living is changing the way of life. Students will understand the following:

How people interact with the environment
How the environment impacts the way people live
How interdependent the world is today in terms of goods, ideas and people

Early Peoples and Agricultural Revolution: Students learn about Early Peoples and how the Agricultural Revolution drastically changed the way we are living and allowed the world to populate, springing civilizations in many different areas. Students learn to read critically and not to accept all material at face value. Can we find out the truth about what happened in the past by consulting one source?

Students learn the following skills:

Note-taking
Research methods using the internet and San Francisco Public Library databases
The Research Cycle: asking questions, seeking answers, reviewing the material by sorting and sifting, evaluating, and presenting the results
Organizational skills
Test Preparation

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Seventh Grade Social and Cultural Studies, History

Seventh-grade history is a two semester examination of the peoples of Africa, Latin America and the ancient Mediterranean Basin. Throughout the course, students learn to read critically, analyze sources, craft historical essays, deliver presentations and they receive an introduction to research techniques for formal research writing. Our study of history is largely project-based and is shaped around three main questions:

How can we find out the truth about what happened in the past?
How are just and equitable societies created?
How do we understand patterns in history?

Content

Brief introduction to historiography and epistemology.
Three areas of geographic focus -- Africa, Latin America, and the rise and decline of the city of Rome
Topical foci include: the impact of climate, geography, nation building, governmental forms, world-view, religion, artistic and scientific contributions, and the patterns of life of the regular inhabitants.

Students learn the following skills:

Reading and analyzing primary and secondary sources
Learning the importance of multiple perspectives
Choosing and citing sources
Note taking
Outlining
Critical thinking
Debating
Ongoing Assessment
Journal writing
Essay writing
Research papers
Projects
Quizzes
Tests

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Eighth Grade Social and Cultural Studies, History

The eighth grade studies U.S. history, which creates the context for the humanities curriculum. The history is explored seamlessly with language arts for deeper understanding, meaning, and application of skills learned. This curriculum fosters and encourages critical thinking, individual expression, and appreciation for various perspectives. The eighth grade history curriculum is guided by the following overarching questions:

Why am I transformed by my learning?
How do I transform society?

These questions guide our self-reflection of the learning process, and how best to apply the learning we have gained to create a more just world.

Content

From Colonies to Country: Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, the Constitution, Branches of Government
The New Nation: Lewis and Clark, War of 1812, Indian Removal Act

Liberty For All?: Manifest Destiny, Slavery and Abolition, Urbanization
War, Terrible War: The Civil War, Reconstruction
An Age of Extremes: The Gilded Age, Jim Crow
The Renaissance: Rebirth of the Classics in Western Europe

Students learn the following skills:

Note-taking
Research methods- The Research Cycle: asking questions, seeking answers, reviewing the material by sorting and sifting, evaluating, and presenting the results.
Organizational skills
Speaking and Listening
The writing process
Test preparation

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