Social Studies

Welcome to the Social Studies Department. We hope that this site will help you better understand our programs and course selections. For more information, contact you child’s school or Counseling Center.

NYS Educational Learning Standards for Social Studies

The New York State Education Department has established learning standards for Social Studies denoting the skills and abilities each student should attain at various levels of his or her education—elementary, middle and high school levels.

South Colonie Social Studies Department Curriculum

Elementary School Social Studies Education

The K-4 Social Studies program is comprehensive, diverse and multicultural. Students are introduced to:

  • the variety of communities, languages, customs and family traditions as they relate to the responsibility of being a member of a local, state, national and global community
  • a world interrelated through history, geography, economics and civics
  • use of informed choices and decisions on issues that reflect a concern for the community and self

Our overarching goal is that each student will demonstrate a growing knowledge of history, geography, economics, and the political process. This enables each student to recognize the rights and responsibilities of diverse cultures and realize his/her role as a citizen in various communities.

The student learning goals for the Social Studies program incorporate the New York State Learning Standards. Students will demonstrate:

  • understanding of significant historical events and developments in our community, our state, and our nation
  • understanding of significant historical events and developments in world history
  • understanding of the geography of the interdependent worlds: local, national and global
  • understanding of how people/societies develop economic systems
  • the necessity for establishing government
  • understanding of the roles, rights and responsibilities of citizenship
  • understanding of the roles and contributions of individuals and/or groups in society

Middle School Science Education

The goal of the Middle School Social Studies program is to present students with Social Studies experiences based on national, New York State and South Colonie Standards.

High School Science Education

High school students must complete 4 units in Social Studies (including 1 unit of American History, ½ unit of Participation In Government, and ½ unit of economics)  to complete the New York State’s requirements for earning a Regents or an Advanced Regents diploma.