The Easy and Meaningful Integration of Social Studies and Language Arts

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It is not enough for our students to be citizens of the United States of America; they are faced with the challenge that no other generation has: they are citizens of the world. Social studies, as a focus in classrooms today must be more than a history class. In fact, social studies should include all content areas and be included in all content areas. In math, it is not enough to learn isolated logarithms; students should explore economics and the interdependence of the world economies. A current events guiding question might include, Will the failure of Greece’s economy affect those of its neighbors and beyond? Science class should not be the teaching and learning of statics and dynamics and origin of life, but how bridges have influenced the world; and what regional, religious, and socio-economic factors have influenced the debate on the origin of life.

English should not be the only language studied in U.S. classrooms; in order to be competitive our students must learn and use other major languages of the world: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, or Farsi. While a classical education is still competitive, incorporating modern functionalities is vital. In order to achieve a country of global citizens, our students must become well versed not only in reading, writing and arithmetic, but also in the study of societies and their impact on one another.

Enter the surprisingly overlooked curriculum of social studies. This untested, citizen- producing, rich curriculum, invites participants to explore the interactions of people, cultures, economies, religions, governments and more! As a throughline for all subject areas, social studies could very well be the unifying thread that pulls the world together.

An English teach...

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...tures and dynamics of human interactions should permeate all areas of our students’ lives. As it is outside of the classroom, so should it be within.

Works Cited

Skillings, P. (2009, July 2). Hypnotize with your words. Retrieved March 21, 2010 from

http://www.escapefromcorporate.com/hypnotize-with-your-words/

Sleeter, Christine E. (2002). State Curriculum standards and the shaping of student consciousness (history-social science framework for California Public Schools). Social Justice, 29(i4), 18.

State of Connecticut. Retrieved March 21, 2010 from http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/site/default.asp

Volger, Kenneth,. (2003). Where does Social studies fit in a high-stakes testing environment?. The Social Studies, 94(5), 207.

Writing workshop home. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2010 from http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/writing/index.asp?topic=Women

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