Social Studies

Building a Foundation for Living, Learning, and Working Together

Students are introduced to four major fields of social studies: civics (respecting one another, cooperating, and obeying appropriate rules); geography (understanding connections between places and people); history (recalling experiences); and economics (understanding working, buying, selling and trading things).

Many Roles in Living, Learning, and Working Together

Students learn about classroom democracy, respect for one another, local geography, roles of people, national, state, and community traditions, and economics in the context of work and money. 

Leadership, Cooperation, Unity, and Diversity

Students learn about leadership on many levels, the meaning of citizenship, and map types. They explore how the concepts of unity and diversity, respect for differences, and respect of self shape life in the United States, and how people make choices about purchasing goods and services and saving resources.

Global Geography: Places and Peoples, Cultures and Resources

Students learn about global geography, looking at reasons why people settle in particular places, why they migrate, how they bring culture with them, and how they earn a living.

Massachusetts, Home to Many Different People

North American Geography and Peoples

Students learn about North America (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) and its peoples from a geographic perspective. They learn about ancient civilizations on the continent and early European exploration as they expand map reading, mapmaking, and geographic reasoning skills introduced in grades 2 and 3. They apply concepts of how geography affects human settlement and resource use, and how the westward expansion of the United States created a modern nation of 50 states and 16 territories.

United States History to the Civil War and the Modern Civil Rights Movement

Building on their knowledge of North American geography and peoples, students learn more about the history of the colonies, the American Revolution, the development of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, the early Republic, and the westward expansion of the United States. They study the sectional conflicts over slavery that led to the Civil War and the long struggle in the 19^th and 20^th centuries for civil rights for all.

Investigating History

Investigating History is centered on the principles of historical inquiry and investigation, culturally sustaining pedagogy, civic engagement and current world relevance, and historical empathy and human connections. A collaborative effort between DESE and educators, scholars, and organizations across Massachusetts, Investigating History aims to support teachers who too often have to spend considerable time and effort creating materials from scratch.

Democratic Knowledge Project
The Democratic Knowledge Project (DKP) offers a comprehensive, year-long civics curriculum for 8th grade, titled "Civic Engagement in Our Democracy," designed to foster active citizenship. Developed in collaboration with Cambridge Public Schools and aligned with the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework, it aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be self-confident, reciprocal, and self-caring changemakers. 

The Nantucket High School History Department endeavors to instill in students a belief in the value of lifelong learning. They further aim to teach students to function as informed citizens, able to navigate their way in an increasingly complex and diverse world. Their core curricululm, World and US History, emphasizes the development of democratic ideals. Electives, such as World Religions, Psychology, Sociology, and Contemporary Issues, further explores the understanding of government and expansion of social knowledge. We have recently developed a sequence of courses designed to align us with the new DESE Fameworks.

• World History II
• US History I
• US History II

Other Resources

• History and Social Science Frameworks