Rather than teaching kindergarten social studies with worksheets, teach it as children participate in hands-on activities.
Social studies integrates well with art, math, literature, and drama.
Kindergarten social studies skills develop naturally through inquiry, play, dramatizations, role-playing, field trips and through hands-on experiences.
Most young 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.
Social studies toys and puzzles also help children become familiar with the concepts of mapping and community.
What social studies skills do my students need to know?
Here in BC Canada the Big Ideas for Social Studies are:
- Our communities are diverse and made of individuals who have a lot in common
- Stories and traditions about ourselves and our families reflect who we are and where we are from.
- Rights, roles, and responsibilities shape our identity and help us build healthy relationships with others.
Students are expected to be able to do the following:
- Use Social Studies inquiry processes and skills to ask questions; gather, interpret, and analyze ideas; and communicate findings and decisions
- Explain the significance of personal or local events, objects, people, or places (significance)
- Ask questions, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and features of different types of sources (evidence)
- Sequence objects, images, or events, and distinguish between what has changed and what has stayed the same (continuity and change)
- Recognize causes and consequences of events, decisions, or developments in their lives (cause and consequence)
- Acknowledge different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events in their lives (perspective)
- Identify fair and unfair aspects of events, decisions, or actions in their lives and consider appropriate courses of action (ethical judgment)
- More details and explanations are available on the BC Ministry of Education site.
Teach kindergarten social studies skills with literature
Great picture book stories help children to :
- work in groups
- provide time for inquiry
- gather information from personal experiences, books, videos
- share information in a variety of ways such as web maps
- build kindergarten social studies vocabulary
- develop a positive problem-solving mentality (in what ways can I solve this problem?)
- increase skills and knowledge in social studies topics.
Good social studies literature lead to:
- discussions of maps and landmarks
- creating graphs of characters or family members
- noticing differences and similarities between personal and family history and traditions
- needs and wants of individuals and families
- rights, roles, and responsibilities of individuals and groups
- people, places, and events in the local community, and in local First Peoples communities
The book below lists picture books and gives a chart of possible concepts and questions to discuss.
Every Book Is a Social Studies Book: How to Meet Standards with Picture Books, K - 6, published in 2011, shows you how a social studies lessons can be incorporated into nearly any subject. Each chapter is organized around one of the National Council for the Social Studies’ Ten Thematic Strands, covering topics ranging from community and individuality to science and technology.
Suggested books and sample art, literature and art activities:
“Rosie’s Walk” - kindergarten social studies mapping activities
“The Gunniwolf”- mapping and safety concerns
“Wolf Island” - Food chains, care of the environment
Find a detailed list of kindergarten social studies topics here…