Parents Helping Students Learn Social Studies

You can help your child become excited in history and the humanities!

Most parents of elementary students feel comfortable helping their child with basic reading, spelling and math.  But often as parents we feel less confident about what we can do to assist our child with social studies.

We know that student achievement in social studies improves when students apply what they learn in school to real life situations.  You have opportunities each day to encourage your child to apply the ideas and concepts learned in social studies at home.  When we use ideas we make them real.  Your home is an exciting laboratory for applying social studies knowledge.

The goal of social studies is to create responsible citizens.  Responsible citizens use knowledge from history, geography, economics and government; thinking skills; and a commitment to democratic values to make informed choices and decisions.  The social studies curriculum encourages student to actively participate in their community.

We believe that many parents are already doing a variety of things that connect what students learn in social studies with their daily lives.  Keeping a family calendar, watching specials on the History Channel or public television, discussing whether to save or spend a gift of money all reinforce social studies ideas learned at school.  Every time you make a connection between the world at home and an idea learned at school you are contributing to your child's success.

Here are some fun and interesting ideas you can use.  You don't have to do them all.  We have listed many ideas so that you can choose ones that interest you or are easy to incorporate into your family routine.  Ideas marked with a '*' are particularly appropriate for early grade children.

Have fun!

  • If you have a computer, bookmark some websites that are family-friendly for easy access when a question pops up that needs an answer.
     
  • If you have subscriptions to news magazines, a daily paper or specialty magazines like National Geographic or the Smithsonian choose one article to read together and discuss.
     
  • If you do not subscribe to magazines and newspapers show your child how to access them using the Internet at home or the public library and choose an article to read together and discuss.
     
  • *Choose books that have social studies themes to read aloud to your child.
     
  • Visit historic sites and museums in your community and on family trips, get on their mailing lists so that you are aware of special programs and events planned for children.
     
  • Use family pictures to construct a family history for your child.
     
  • Discuss your family heritage with your child.
     
  • Ask older members of the family to tell a story from when they were young to your child.   Your child can make a book of the story.  A collection of these stories can become a treasured part of your family history.
     
  • Observe and question things in your environment like: How did your street get its name?  How were other streets in your city named?
     
  • *Make a timeline for your kitchen or child's room and record birthdays of all family members, holidays and events important to your family.
     
  • Discuss how do your family's religious or cultural values effect the decisions that you make as a family?  These decisions are an important part of their cultural heritage; discuss them with your child.
     
  • Make a penny box with your child.  Save up pennies for several weeks so you will have a selection of years.  Your child should decorate the penny box with designs that are meaningful to him/her.  Establish with your child the year of their birth.  Find a penny that was made that year and put it in the box.  Now look for a penny that was made the year your child was one and put that in the box.  Continue for each year until now.  Have the child try to remember what happened each year, and write it down.  If you have a computer, you could begin a computer log, if not keeping the log on a piece of paper is just fine.  You will have to supply information for the early years.  On the child's birthday they should add another penny representing that year and add more to their log.
     
  • Make a scrapbook with your child about his/her life.  Before you start discuss with them what might be kept in the scrapbook.  Certificated from school, photographs, religious awards, ticket stubs to amusement parks or museums, sports awards, a piece of music that was mastered, or the like.  It is important that your child's personality is reflected in the scrapbook.  There is no "right" way to do this activity.  It should be fun and include what is important to him/her.
     
  • *Mark your child's height on the edge of a door and record the date.
     
  • When you are in the car:  Ask questions about the commercial vehicles on the road.  What is the truck carrying?  Where is the truck from?  Who will use what is in the truck?
     
  • Repeat directions to where you are going when in the car.
     
  • Post a map of Indiana or Michigan (or your state) in your home.  Use it to show distances and where things are happening.
     
  • Plot your family vacation or trip on a map.
     
  • Watch the TV news together and talk about the stories represented.
     
  • When at a store or restaurant show the receipt to your child.  Show them where the tax is added.  Discuss the ways that the local community, state and national governments use taxes.
     
  • *Know the name of your state's governor and the President of the United States and use them so that your child will use them.
     
  • Know who the leader of your community is.
     
  • Know who your state and national representatives and senators are.
     
  • Vote and tell your child when you are going to do it.  Take them with you when you vote!
     
  • Engage in a community service project with your child.
     
  • *What is your work?  Do you provide a good or service?  Talk to your child about your job.  Tell them what you do.
     
  • *While you are putting together meals for your family have your child read labels and discover where things in your home were made.  What country?  Look at the labels of the food you eat.  Where did it come from?  Find the state or country on a map.
     
  • *When you are in the car identify the businesses that you pass as ones that produce goods and ones that provide services.
     
  • Take your child with you to the bank and talk about the services that are advertised in the bank while you are waiting in line.
     
  • *What do things cost?  Collect change over a few days.  Ask you child to count the change.  Now have your child look around the kitchen cupboards and discover what they could buy with the money on the table.  To fully understand the concept of "money" children need to find out how we get money, and what it buys.

    • adapted from Michigan Department of Education's "Curriculum Framework"