Social Studies

Social Studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the U.S. American National Council for the Social Studies. Many courses are interdisciplinary and draw upon various fields, including sociology but also political science, history, economics, religious studies, geography, psychology, anthropology and civics. At the elementary school level, social studies generally focuses first on the local community and family. By middle and high school, the social studies curriculum becomes more discipline-based and content-specific. Social studies varies greatly as a subject between countries and curricula and is not synonymous with sociology or social science; some courses borrow heavily from the social and political sciences, whereas others are created independently for schools.

Teaching social studies is essential for helping students make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world. Powerful social studies education prepares students to identify, understand, and work together as an informed citizenry to solve the challenges facing our communities, states, nations, and world.

The power of Colorado’s education improvement efforts lies in having a comprehensive system consisting of relevant and rigorous standards, aligned and meaningful assessments, excellent teachers and school leaders, and high-performing schools and districts. All aspects of the system are continuously improving to advance student learning and prepare students to succeed in an increasingly competitive workforce The Colorado Academic Standards are the expectations of what students need to know and be able to do at the end of each grade. They also stand as the values and content organizers of what Colorado sees as the future skills and essential knowledge for our next generation to be more successful. State standards are the basis of the annual state assessment.

Colorado has 10 content areas:

• Colorado Arts
• Music
• Visual Arts
• Theatre
• Dance
• Comprehensive Health and Physical Education
• Mathematics
• Reading, Writing, and Communicating
• Science
• Social Studies
• World Languages