Social Studies/History

Preschool

The children in Preschool have no history class.

Prekindergarten

The children in Prekindergarten have no history class.

Kindergarten

The children learn about classmates and their families, the concepts of city, state, and country, and past and present cultures. They learn about the world through studies of different holidays and foreign countries. Exposure comes from fiction and non-fiction literature, poetry, class discussions, hands-on activities, and field trips.

Grade One

Study of our Community
The children learn basic map skills (cardinal directions, map keys and symbols, reading and making simple maps). Study of family and community (school, neighborhood, city, colonial times, various foreign countries) and seasonal events and celebrations.

Maps:
Globes and Graphs (Steck-Vaughn)

Grade Two

Study of Philadelphia
The children learn additional map skills and study the continents and oceans, Philadelphia (history and famous people), seasonal events and celebrations, Christopher Columbus, William Penn, Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Martin Luther King.

Texts:
Success with Maps
The Thirteen Colonies
Continents
Christopher Columbus
The Story of William Penn
Seventh and Walnut
Holidays
The First Thanksgiving

Grade Three

Study of Pennsylvania
The students learn about Pennsylvania Geography (location, regions, natural resources, weather, environment), Pennsylvania History (Native people, The Lenape Indians, settlers, George Washington, Underground Railroad, Ben Franklin, William Penn, and other famous Pennsylvanians), and Current Events.

Texts:
Our Pennsylvania ( MacMillan/McGraw Hill)
The Delaware
Delaware Native Americans

Grade Four

Globe Study: Explorers and Exploration
The students complete their introductory level map skills and study many global explorers (including the Vikings, Columbus, Magellan, Marco Polo, and French explorers). The children also study the geography of The United States.

Texts:
Success with Maps
Columbus
Leif the Lucky
Norse Gods and Giants
Ferdinand Magellan
Marco Polo
Lewis and Clark
Viking Raiders
Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta 1325 - 1354
The Vikings

Grade Five

Ancient History
Students meet daily for forty minutes. Topics studied include map skills, the beginnings of civilization, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome and the contributions of these civilizations to modern life.

Texts:
First Ancient History
Egypt and Mesopotamia
Mummies, Tombs and Treasure
Greeks
Romans

Grade Six

Medieval History
Students meet daily for forty minutes. Topics studied include defining civilization and how it may fall, defining the term “institution” as it applies to medieval history, the relationships between Judaism, Islam and Christianity, and famous personalities such as Chalemagne, Alfred the Great, and Joan of Arc.

Texts:
The Early Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages
The Middle Age

Grade Seven

Renaissance Roots of Democratic Institutions
Students meet daily for forty minutes. Topics studied include the Reformation, secrets of successful leadership, and English origins of representative self government. This in depth study helps the students understand how governments rise, adapt and sometimes falter.

Text:
Tudors and Stuarts
Conflict and Compromise
The King Versus the Commons
Then and There (series)
The Elizabethian Court

Grade Eight

American History
Students meet daily for forty minutes. The primary topic is starting the world anew: a study in problems and possibilities. The American History course begins with the discovery, exploration and early colonization of the New World by the major European powers and ends with a detailed study of the United States Constitution that led to the Civil War.

Texts:
American History Through Maps
American Pageant
Making Thirteen Colonies
From Colonies to Country
The Pilgrim Fathers
The American Revolution
From Subject to Citizen
Emergence of the American I, II, III