Social Studies at The Campus School - Curriculum Overview
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The Campus School social studies teachers are committed to enriching the lives of their students with a strong social studies curriculum. They foster learning experiences in social studies that reflect the diverse interests of students using creative strategies and teacher developed content. Whether in Preschool or 8th grade, whether in the traditional classroom or in the Montessori program, Campus School students are guided and challenged through developmentally appropriate social studies content and activities that build their knowledge base, develop their skills, and enhance their understanding of themselves and their world.
The Campus School social studies program is a rigorous program that develops a strong knowledge base, historical thinking skills, inquiry, depth, and understanding. It connects students to the content with a focus on the big ideas of social studies, essential questions to help students reflect on their learning, literature connections and primary documents that help students relate to the material, and engaging learning activities. The social studies curriculum at The Campus School also includes reading skill development, skills based lessons, leveled readers, hands on engagement, integrated technology, differentiated instruction options, and current event explorations.
One strength of the Campus School curriculum in social studies (and in other curricular areas) is that teachers are able to blend styles and strategies to best meet student needs. A traditional focus on goals, objectives, and assessment, an emphasis on STEAM education, and integration of Responsive Classroom – these are just three strands used to approach curriculum. Students acquire foundation skills in social studies through multiple teaching strategies, including direct teaching, cooperative learning, discussion based learning, project based learning, and independent study. At The Campus School, student centered learning is driven by the belief in active learning strategies that develop self-directed students. In social studies, foundation skills are developed in context so that students can apply their skills and learning by demonstrating achievement through authentic assessment.
Students are given opportunities to develop and master the ability to think constructively, to solve problems, to reason independently, to demonstrate self-motivation and self-direction, to engage in self-assessment, and to give witness to moral values, ethical standards of conduct, and personal integrity based on the teachings of Jesus Christ within the context of the social studies curriculum. Ultimately, the PreK-8 social studies program enables students to graduate from the Campus School with a rich understanding of themselves and the world today, with the skills and background in the discipline that will allow them to be successful as they continue their studies in high school.