Social Studies and Student Central

The sequence below indicates what social studies courses most students in the United States are studying at each grade level. This sequence provides assurance that your student will not suffer any gaps in social studies concepts.

3rd - Communities
Begins with the exploration of communities in the US and around the world.
4th - US Geography with the study of your state (California studies are now available as an alternate one year course).
5th - American History
6th - World History
7th - World Geography
8th - US History

While most school districts and educational providers follow this sequence you need to discover what courses your student has taken. It would not be the best use of time to duplicate a course unless the student did not benefit from it the first time around.

Maps Binders

Because students in the U.S. are seriously lagging behind those in other elite countries with regards to geography knowledge, Curriculum Services chose to add a maps binder to each program. The student takes time to color one map each week in the school year. These outline maps, most of which are pre-labeled, serve as both a color-study guide and as an exercise text to reinforce the material introduced. The longer the student spends coloring the more information he/she will retained.

This idea arose from college level courses where coloring books had been added to courses where knowledge is learned visually. One of the first coloring books to surface was for anatomy and physiology courses. It was found that students learn more by coloring an illustration than by just looking at a colored plate. It soon became evident that what worked well for anatomy and physiology would also work in other areas of study. Soon color-study guides were created for all biology courses in addition to geography and astronomy.

It is our hope that each student has an academic bulletin board for posting course schedules, the daily plan book, the science materials list, and monthly attendance reports, if applicable. Allowing the student to check each day’s assignments rather than having to wait to be told what to do fosters student independence and liberates the parent-educator or tutor. Parents are often surprised to see how mature and self-reliant their children become once given the opportunity.

Before you purchase a bulletin board lay out all of the full page schedules that come with your program and other supplies suggested in your TRB so you don’t purchase a board too small for your needs. You might even consider purchasing a roll of cork or cork squares that can be applied to the wall in place of a bulletin board to allow for not only your present needs, but room to grow, add notes, and display work well done. You may find your Student Central to be the most valuable tool in your home school.