Grade PreK • Social Studies Overview
Overview and Philosophy
The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) PreK-12 social studies program has changed considerably over the past 20 years, and has been influenced by national standards documents in multiple disciplines within the social studies (History, Geography, Civics, Economics, Peoples of the Nation and World, and Social Studies Skills and Processes), by the Maryland State Department of Education Social Studies Standards Links to an external site., by The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Inquiry in Social Studies Links to an external site., by research findings, and by the changing nature of standardized assessments.
Social Studies skills and content are interwoven throughout the program. Exemplar lessons are designed to actively engage students in the content of social studies by interacting with a variety of resources and then showing what they have learned through various performance-based assessments. This approach has an internal support structure for students with various learning strengths and provides natural opportunities for differentiated instruction and assessments that are guided by the principles of Universal Design for Learning. In addition, lessons have been designed with the purposeful integration of English Language Arts standards in order to allow students to reinforce and practice these skills in an authentic setting.
Prekindergarten Social Studies Instruction
Social Studies skills help young children understand their sense of self-identity and the part they play in their family, the classroom, and the community. Much of what is learned relates to concept formation addressed in other domains (social foundations and communication). Young children learn foundational skills related to government (responsible behavior) history (events in the context of time) that enables them to value diversity and recognize the important role that each person plays in building a strong and vibrant society.