Week 2: Strands of Social Studies: Spotlight on World History and Contemporary Issues

    This week, we were asked to spotlight one of the five strands of Social Studies used in the state of NH. The five strands are Civics and Government, Economics, Geography, US/NH History, and World History and Contemporary Issues. I have researched World History and Contemporary Issues, which will be the topic of my three-lesson unit. 

    Five overarching standards for World History shape the grade-level standards. They are SS:WH:1: Political Foundations and Developments, SS:WH:2: Contacts, Exchanges & International Relations, SS:WH:3: World Views and Value Systems and their Intellectual and Artistic Expressions, SS:WH:4: Economic Systems & Technology, and SS:WH:5: Social/Cultural (NHDOE, 2006). Not every overarching standard applies to every grade. For instance, students in grades K-2 do not have any standards under SS:WH:2 or SS:WH:4, while students in grades 7-8 do not have any standards under SS:WH:4 or SS:WH:5.

    I was initially surprised that concepts of World History and Contemporary Issues were linked together instead of simply establishing six strands of Social Studies. I decided to study the state standards for more information. The NH DOE’s description of this strand was the longest, and I thought it was very well written. The justification for connecting the two concepts was that “knowledge of past achievements and failures of different peoples and nations provides citizens of the 21st century with a broader context within which to address the many issues facing our nation and the world” (NHDOE, 2006, p. 39). This is a fantastic point. It reminded me of the very famous quote by George Santayana, that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. It makes me happy to hear that the state of New Hampshire wants students to be well-informed about the past and to be able to connect that information with current events. Additionally, one must always remember that contemporary issues will someday become history. It will not be too long before students learn about the global pandemic in a textbook.

    I think it is also important to note that the state of New Hampshire considers high-quality curriculum and instruction as one that teaches “important concepts, broad themes, major issues, and significant movements, rather than a lengthy and fragmented list of people, places, events and other facts” (NHDOE, 2006, p. 39). I agree that this is a much more engaging way to teach history to people. I remember taking Art History as a college student, where it’s very important to memorize the names and dates of relevant pieces. Even though I loved history, I struggled in this course because the data did not always feel connected to the sentiment of the piece. 

    My lessons will be centered around gods and myths. I picked this strand for my third grade Social Studies lesson for two reasons. First, World History seems to be the most prominent strand in the third grade curriculum that my school uses, and I wanted to build a set of lessons that relates to what they’ve been seeing and hearing in class. Second, I’ve always loved history, and in particular ancient history. I don’t, however, know very much about mythology. I’m excited to learn more as I continue to build my lessons. I will also incorporate Theme E: Cultural Development, Interaction, and Change and Theme J: Human Expression and Communication into my lesson plan. 

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
    Mary

The New Hampshire Department of Education. (2006, June). K-12 Social Studies New Hampshire Curriculum Framework. The New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/standards-socialstudies-framework.pdf