Lower School Social Studies
Program Overview
The Princeton Academy Social Studies curriculum is designed to provide the boys with a broad view of the world and their place in it, beginning with understanding of the self and family and moving outward in ever wider circles to the school, neighborhood, community, state, region, the United States, other countries (with an emphasis on non-western cultures), and the world as a global village. In this context, the boys will explore civic life, history, culture, geography, environment, economics, communication, media and technology. The curriculum is designed to educate the students in the basic concepts of diversity, tolerance, and respect for all peoples as well as responsibility to the family, community, country, world and environment. The curriculum is meant to encourage the student to recognize patterns in human behavior and history ask questions and make connections.
Junior Kindergarten
Philosophically, our junior kindergarten program covers many of the same topics as the kindergarten program, with more time given to play and the building of social skills.
The topics in the junior kindergarten program include:
- All about me and families
- Community helpers
- National Holidays
- The School Community
- Earth Day
- Social and self-help skills to foster independence
- Functioning in the classroom; sharing, conflict resolution, responsibility
Kindergarten
The topics in the kindergarten program include:
- Me/myself; family; classroom; school community
- Family Holiday Traditions
- Holidays around the world
- Mexico
- Functioning in the classroom; sharing, conflict resolution, responsibility
First Grade
The topics in the first grade program include:
- The study, planning and components of a local community including the people who work in the community
- The study and comparison of the traditions and cultures of different societies and people to their own
- The study of Egypt comparing the Egyptian cultural lifestyles to our own.
- Map Skills- basic map reading and simple map construction
- Public speaking and acting
- Functioning in the classroom; sharing, conflict resolution, and responsibility
Second Grade
The following social studies themes are all integrated into the reading program and include:
- Map work in conjunction with the science unit: Position and Motion
- The Wampanoags and the First Thanksgiving – Storypath
- China
- Antarctica/ Penguins
- Iditarod
- Trucker Buddy
- Great Barrier Reef – Storypath
- Current Events - Time for Kids
The Storypath units, created by the Everyday Learning Corporation, integrate social studies with cultural interaction, history, social skills, critical thinking, and the practice of citizenship.
Third Grade
The third grade program explores a variety of cultures and environments from the past to the present.
The following topics in the third grade program include:
- Native Americans – The evolution of local and regional tribes (Theme based with reading)
- An overview of the 50 states and their regions
- India – Culture, history, geography (Theme based with reading)
- Brazil – A study of the people, their customs, history, and geography (Theme based with the "Rain Forest" unit and novels in reading)
- A study of Medieval Times with a castle building project (Theme based with reading)
- Daily mini-geography lessons
- Weekly current events discussions
- Projects and research/report writing that are done with several units
Fourth Grade
The fourth grade social studies program broadens the boys’ horizons by developing a more global and historical perspective to their education.
The following topics in the fourth grade program include:
- A study of New Jersey from exploration to the present; including a research project about a famous "New Jerseyan".
- Exploration
- Colonial Times
- Revolutionary War
- U.S. Government
- Immigration
- A basic economics unit where the boys will learn the key elements of economics, and create their own companies, and make and sell a product.
- Current events and geography challenges that are an ongoing part of the daily program