Patricia Bentham, author, kindergarten-lessons.com
Kindergarten social studies
Ideas for teaching kindergarten socials studies
Kindergarten social studies integrates well with art, literature, and drama. Rather than teaching social studies skills in isolation, reinforce them as children participate in hands on activities.
Social studies skills develop naturally through play, dramatizations, role playing, fieldtrips and through the study of themes.
Most kindergarten children enjoy making pictures and maps or models with Plasticine or other modeling compounds. They like to create with blocks and listen to and act out stories.
What social studies skills do my students need to know?
Preschool and kindergarten children are learning to:
- work in groups
- gather information from personal experiences, books, videos
- share information in a variety of ways
There are many good stories that help children build kindergarten social studies vocabulary, learn to solve problems, and increase skills and knowledge in social studies.
Read more to find out how to connect kindergarten social studies skills to literature that lends itself to: 
- discussions of maps and landmarks
- creating graphs of family members
- noticing differences and similarities between families
Suggested literature and sample activities:
- "Rosie's Walk" - mapping activities
- "The Gunniwolf"- mapping and safety concerns
- "Wolf Island" - demonstrating concern for the environmental
Next - kindergarten social studies topics...
All Social Studies pages:
TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES
Kindergarten social studies - how to teach it and what skills do children need to learn?
Kindergarten social studies topics - what topics should I teach?
What resources are available? Recommended kindergarten and preschool social studies products
MAPS
Kindergarten Maps -Introduce a unit on kindergarten maps by reading Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins.
CONNECT SOCIAL STUDIES & LITERATURE
The Gunniwolf by Wilhelmina Harper - connect to social studies concepts, ideas for literature comparison charts and story maps
Wolf Island by Celia Godkin- Teach young learners about the environment and the delicate balance of the food chain.
