10 Curricular Strands

Culture: prepares students to ask and answer questions such as; What are the common characteristics of different cultures?  How do belief systems, such as religion or political ideals of culture, influence the other parts of the culture?  How does the culture change to accommodate different ideas and beliefs?

Time, Continuity, and Change: People seek to understand historical roots to locate themselves in time.  Learners in the early grades gain experience with sequencing to establish an order of sense and time.

People, Places, and Environments: The study of people, places, and human-environment interactions assissts learners as they create spatial views and geographic perspectives of the world.

Individual Development and Identity:  Students need to be aware of the processes of learning, growth, and development at every level of their school experience.

Individuals, Groups, and Institutions:  It is important for students to know how institutions are formed, what controls and influences them, how they control and influence individuals and culture, and how institutions can be maintained or changed.

Power, Authority, and Governance:  Understanding the historical development of these three concepts is essential for developing civil competence.

Production, Distribution, and Consumption:  Four fundamental questions that people might ask are; What is to be produced?  How is production to be organized?  How are goods and services to be distributed?  What is the most effective allocation of the factors of production (land, labor, capital, and management)?

Science, Technology, and Society:  Young children learn how technologies form systems and how daily lives are effected by technology.  For example, children can study how ships, automobiles, and airplanes have evolved and how we have employed technology such as air conditioning, dams, and irrigation to modify our physical environment.

Global Connections:  This theme typically appears in units or courses with geography, culture, and economics, but again can draw upon the natural and physical sciences and the humanities including literature, the arts, and language.

Civic Ideals and Practices:  This is the central purpose of social studies.  In early grades, students are introduced to civic ideals and practices through activities such as helping to set classroom expectations, examining experiences in relation to ideals, and determining how to balance the needs of individuals and the group.