Social Studies is a core foundational subject for all students, especially our little ones. All history and social studies courses in Massachusetts are connected with a common set of Standards for History and Social Science Practice.
Standards for each grade level connected to one of more of these practice standards, which ensure vertical alignment of standards, and support student development of all of the skills and standards at developmentally appropriate levels.
Grade Level Standards PreK-5
Teachers follow the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Curriculum Frameworks as follows:
Pre-Kindergarten: Building a Foundation for Living, Learning, and Working Together
Topic 1. Civics: fairness, friendship, responsibility, and respect
Topic 2. Geography: maps and places
Topic 3. History: personal experiences and memories
Topic 4. Economics: work and commerce
Kindergarten: Many Roles in Living Learning and Working Together
Topic 1. Civics: classroom citizenship
Topic 2. Geography: connections among places
Topic 3: History: shared traditions
Topic 4. Economics: work and commerce (shared with prekindergarten)
Grade 1: Leadership, Cooperation, Unity and Diversity
Topic 1. Civics: communities, elections, and leadership
Topic 2. Geography: places to explore
Topic 3. History: unity and diversity in the United States
Topic 4. Economics: resources and choices
Grade 2: Global Geography: Places and Peoples, Cultures and Resources
Topic 1. Reading and making maps
Topic 2. Geography and its effects on people
Topic 3. History: migrations and cultures
Topic 4. Civics: countries and governments
Topic 5. Economics: resources and choices
Grade 3: Massachusetts, Home to Many Different People
Topic 1. Massachusetts cities and towns today and in history
Topic 2. The geography and Native Peoples of Massachusetts
Topic 3. Native Peoples’ contacts with European explorers
Topic 4. The Pilgrims, the Plymouth Colony, and Native Peoples
Topic 5. The Puritans, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Native Peoples, and Africans
Topic 6. Massachusetts in the 18th Century through the American Revolution
Grade 4: North American Geography, History, and Peoples
Topic 1. North America: geography and map skills
Topic 2. Ancient civilizations of North America
Topic 3. Early European exploration of North America
Topic 4. The expansion of the United States over time and its regions today: The Northeast, The Southeast, The Midwest, The Southwest, & The West
Grade 5: United States History to the Civil War and the Modern Civil Rights Movement
Topic 1. Early colonization and growth of colonies
Topic 2. Reasons for revolution, the Revolutionary War, and the formation of government
Topic 3. Principles of United States government
Topic 4. Growth of the Republic
Topic 5. Slavery, the legacy of the Civil War and the struggle for civil rights for all