Whether you are a home educator or have a whole classroom of students, you are no stranger to the question, “Why do we need to study history? One of the main tenets of education is that children grasp and retain concepts better when they feel that what they are learning is relevant to them. Students may believe that it’s a huge waste of time to focus time and energy on studying the past, or people and places outside their immediate circle. By preparing now to answer the question “Why do we study history and social studies?” you can make learning history even more engaging and achieve far greater success with your student.
First, Are History and Social Studies the Same?
Is social studies the same as history and vice versa? In popular culture, the distinction between history vs social studies is often blurred. In truth, history (along with subjects like geography and sociology) is one subject within the field of social studies. Both history and social studies center on human experience, but the focus is different:
Social studies generally centers on the study of groups of people, looking for trends, generalizations, and themes over the course of time.
History emphasizes the events of the past to tell the story of the human experience through significant periods, incidents, and actions involving both groups of people and individuals.
In traditional grade-level progressions, social studies vs history often reveals itself in the names of courses. A typical elementary school curriculum generally features social studies as one core subject area, while middle school and high school tend to separate social studies into more specific categories within the social studies umbrella. For example, Time4Learning’s middle school social studies curriculum includes courses in Ancient World History, World Cultures and Geography, Civics, Government, and Economics, and US History; while the high school social studies curriculum offers US History I, US History II, Survey of World History, and US Government.
Why Do We Study Social Studies?
Lawmakers and educators have designated social studies as a core subject across the country. So why is social studies important? It prepares children and young adults for their eventual civic responsibilities and involvement in a culturally and economically interdependent world. Our country’s youth need to be educated in social studies to understand the context for how we got where we are, to build a basis for decision making and civic duties like voting, and to help them determine their own identities as members of local, state, national, and international communities.
In addition to learning more about their role as a global citizen, your child will also benefit from the study of social studies in these ways:
Greater understanding of the real world: Social studies enables your child to gain knowledge about people (including how and why they do the things they do), places, and events, building an appreciation of cultural diversity and an understanding of various governments, economies, and social traditions.
Integration of subject areas: Social studies brings together subject-specific content with broader skills like reading, writing, listening, and speaking as your child is asked to take in information, process its meaning and importance, and use it to debate issues.
Improved critical thinking skills: Because social studies is complex, it requires the use of critical thinking skills to understand, analyze, and evaluate the human journey while making connections to your child’s personal experience.
All grade levels of social studies in the Time4Learning program are designed to create a well-rounded education and teach students analytical skills. For example, the new fourth grade social studies curriculum emphasizes inquiry-based learning to help students use primary and secondary sources to identify claims, evidence, and conclusions regarding issues important to states and local communities.
So Why Do We Study History?
While your child may understand the importance of learning about people and places that are still in the world, your child may still wonder, “Why is it important to study history? Everything happened so long ago, why does it matter to me?” The important piece here is to stress that history isn’t stuck in the past. Everything that exists now is the way it is because of the past, so history affects the people, places, and events of today. Why should we study history? Because it explains the present and can help shape the future!
History, specifically, can also help your child develop certain competencies. Looking into the past requires research skills and understanding how perspectives can influence how events are documented. Your child can learn how to distinguish between fact and opinion, and between reputable and non-reputable sources. Through historical study, your child can begin to identify patterns and determine when “history repeats itself.” They can connect to the personalities who impacted history and delve into the thoughts and values leading to the important decisions that shaped the development of our country and world. Who knows? History may even become the foundation for a lifelong interest or a future career!
How to Study History and Social Studies
If you ever had a social studies teacher who focused on memorization of dates and facts, or reading and answering questions from a textbook, you may have found social studies to be less than engaging. The last thing you want to do is let that lack of enthusiasm infect your child’s view of this potentially fascinating subject. Here are some tips to making social studies, in general, and history, specifically, relatable and interesting:
Make learning relevant by following your child’s interests and answering real-world questions (i.e., inquiry-based learning).
Motivate your child to learn ‘more’ through interactive activities like historical field trips, role plays, debates, and project-based learning.
Embed learning into daily activities by discussing current events and holidays, watching political debates and speeches, and exploring the historical relevance of places you visit.
Infuse social studies learning with exploration of important personal, family, and national values. Examine events from history in terms of ethical and moral considerations.
Knowing how to study history and social studies can enable you to challenge your child to go beyond rote memorization of events, places, and famous people. Rather than being just a checkmark on a list of required subjects, social studies and history can broaden your child’s mind in ways that other subjects may not. Remember to share your own enthusiasm for the human experience as you travel across history and explore the hearts and minds of the people who have shaped what our world is today. Together, you can enjoy this crucial part of your child’s well-rounded education!
The post Why Do We Study History and Social Studies? first appeared on Time4Learning.