The National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) has identified 10 themes (or ideas) around which social studies instruction can be organized. We have adapted these ideas for Mother Goose Cares About Social Studies.

Individual Development and Identity
For young children, this includes…

• Describing characteristics of self
• Comparing own similarities and differences to others
• Understanding basic needs and wants of themselves and others
• Observing and trying to understand the behavior of siblings, peers and adults
• Remembering the past and imagining the future
• Comparing patterns of behavior evident in age and ability
• Exploring, identifying and analyzing how individuals relate to one another
• Developing a personal sense of history by examining evidence of change over time (photos of self, sorting outgrown clothes, etc.)
• Placing individual and family experiences in historical time and place

Individuals, Groups and Institutions
For young children, this includes…

• Exploring the interactions among and within various groups and institutions (families, schools, churches, government agencies, and the courts, for example) that affect their lives and influence their thinking
• Understanding family structures, careers and roles

People, Places and Environments
For young children, this includes…

• Using personal experiences as a basis for exploring geographic concepts and skills
• Matching objects to geographical locations (sorting tools, people etc.)
• Mapping (neighborhood, classroom, etc.)
• Using spatial and locational words (up, down, near, around, beside, over, under, etc)
• Talking about and dramatizing transportation, including how animals move
• Exploring similarities and differences between their own environment and other locations

Culture
For young children, this includes…

• Understanding themselves as both individuals and members of various groups
• Identifying and comparing the common characteristics and behaviors of people in different climates, locations and societies: What’s the same? What’s different?
• Exploring the cultures represented by the families in the classroom and community
• Understanding that there are different nations with different traditions and practices

Global Connections
For young children, this includes…

• Exploring issues and concerns common to people around the world
• Understanding that there are other nations with different traditions and practices

Civic Ideals and Practices
For young children, this includes…

• Helping set classroom expectations
• Examining experiences in relation to expectations and ideals
• Determining how to balance the needs of individuals and the group
• Understanding the balance between rights and responsibilities
• Understanding how an individual can make a positive difference in the community
• Understanding cause and effect and how they relate to personal experiences

Production, Distribution and Consumption
For young children, this includes…

• Understanding the difference between wants and needs and making decisions based on this understanding
• Exploring economic decisions and experiences
• Observing, discussing and dramatizing basic economic concepts such as buying and selling and producing and consuming
• Understanding money and how it’s used
• Identifying and discussing the duties of a variety of community occupations

Science, Technology and Society
For young children, this includes…

Power, Authority and Governance
For young children, this includes…

• Exploring fairness in their relationships with others
• Understanding how individuals and groups attempt to resolve conflicts
• Understanding and making classroom rules
• Understanding that there are different rules within different contexts
• Becoming effective problem solvers and decision makers

Time, Continuity and Change
For young children, this includes…

• Gaining experience with sequencing to establish a sense of order and time
• Understanding the linkages between human decisions and consequences
• Describing similarities and differences with families in the past
• Beginning to understand the measurement of time
• Understanding how the world has changed and how it might change in the future
• Observing and documenting changes that take place over time in their immediate environment

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