Social Studies
A large piece of the development of the whole child involves helping each child acquire a sense of self in the world. The content area of social studies focuses on how children learn about themselves and groups of people in relation to others (National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS], 2010). The integrated study of the social sciences draws from several disciplineshistory, geography, political science, economics, anthropology, archaeology, psychology, religion, philosophy, and sociology (Seefeldt, 2001).
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Social studies today evolved from an early-twentieth-century focus on citizenship education, influenced by John Dewey and others, which was intended to provide children (especially immigrant children) with direct experiences using a project-based curriculum orientation (Mindes, 2005). A 1988 position paper by the NCSS Task Force on Early Childhood/Elementary Social Studies spoke to the importance of the social studies for young children:
The social studies in the early childhood/ elementary years are crucial if we expect the young people of this nation to become active, responsible citizens for maintaining the democratic values upon which this nation was established. Unless children acquire the foundations of knowledge, attitudes, and skills in social studies in the important elementary years, it is unlikely that teachers in the junior and senior high schools will be successful in preparing effective