Don’t Forget About Social Studies: A Unit Plan Project on Using Integration in Elementary Social Studies

Abstract

Social studies is one of the four core content areas in the elementary curriculum. With the current climate of standardized testing and the Common Core standards, social studies is facing marginalization in the elementary classroom. More and more time is being spent on English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics and less time is being spent on social studies. Elementary social studies is facing a problem that could greatly affect the future of the elementary classroom. This project looks at and addresses the problem of marginalization of elementary social studies. The literature review identifies the details of the current state of elementary social studies and identifies possible solutions. Integration of social studies can play a key role in addressing this problem. In this project a unit plan is created that shows how social studies can be integrated in to ELA and math and how ELA and math can be integrated into social studies content.