Social Studies Curriculum

Lower School

The goal of the Lower School Social Studies program at the Girls’ School of Austin is to provide kindergarten—4th grade girls with an expanding context in which to appreciate their own lives and begin to gain insight into the elements that shape the lives of others. The program uses hands-on activities to help the girls explore the different communities they are a part of: family, school, city, and beyond. Geography and history are interwoven throughout the lower school curriculum, as students become familiar with physical features of land, maps, and the globe.

  Kindergarten

The kindergarten social studies program focuses on a study of people through group discussions, classroom play, literature, and field trips. The girls learn to interact positively with others while also building their self-confidence and improving the work habits necessary to be a successful member of their community. The curriculum takes the girls through a progression from self, families, school, community, and finally to the world, by comparing/contrasting diverse family customs with their own.

  First Grade

The 1st grade social studies program is an engaging experience that helps young students learn about their place in the school and home communities. Through teaching strategies such as visual discovery, experiential exercises, response groups, problem solving groups, and writing for understanding, the girls learn the value of a cooperative community and discover why rules are needed at both school and at home. They also begin to use interactive notebooks to help them access and record main ideas and supporting details from their lessons.

  Second Grade

The 2nd grade social studies program is designed to help students build listening, speaking, and critical thinking skills through many engaging units on community dynamics. Students learn cooperative interaction as they work along side their peers on numerous problem solving group activities. They also think about and respond to social studies materials, while learning the difference between expository and narrative text. By reading and writing about the concepts they are learning, the girls become engaged in an interdisciplinary study with language arts. During 2nd grade social studies the girls analyze/compare/contrast images of urban, rural, and suburban communities, discover how to use a compass rose and map grid to locate important places in a community. For a mock city council meeting activity the girls role play concerned citizens as they learn the inner-workings of our city government.

  Third Grade

The 3rd grade social studies curriculum utilizes an interdisciplinary study with language arts and science. The program’s interactive approach creates awareness for girls as they focus on geography, community diversity, economy, global trade, and government. Students learn about the southern hemisphere, the continents, geographic climate, and different species of penguins in a unit centered around the book Mr. Popper’s Penguins. A mystery unit researching enigmas and other mysterious phenomena ends with a project to create a mystery game board. A study of marine ecosystems focuses on the geography and climate of salt and freshwater habitats.

  Fourth Grade

The 4th grade social studies curriculum focuses on the history and geography of Texas, using the text Texas: Adventures in Time and Place, library books, websites, literature, and artifacts to explore the history of Texas. Course content covers a timeline that begins with the first Native Americans and progresses through the European settlers, the struggle for independence, statehood, the civil war, and economic growth. Students use globes, atlases, and maps to build general geography skills and vocabulary, with particular emphasis on state climate, resources, culture, and geographic features such as canyons, plateaus, and aquifers. The 4th grade social studies program also strengthens research skills, as the girls collect information and use a variety of methods to present their conclusions and compare cultures.

Middle School

  Fifth Grade

In 5th grade, students tour the medieval world and beyond. Beginning and ending the year in Europe gives the girls important bookends to a journey that will allow them to trace changes across the globe. Students recognize the role of the church and the legacy of the Roman Empire as they study the rise and fall of feudal societies in Europe. They also explore the rise and expansion of Islam across the Arabian Peninsula, building an understanding of the tenets of the religion and various contributions of Muslims to world civilizations. In a unit about China, students will learn about important inventions and discoveries that have impacted China and the West. Experiential exercises in the Japan unit teach the girls about the rise of the warrior class and the role of the samurai. While studying the Americas, students investigate the achievements of the Mayan, Aztec, and Incan civilizations. The year then culminates with a return to Europe where students consider the impact of the events and transformations involved in the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Age of Exploration, and the Scientific Revolution.

  Sixth Grade

6th grade GSA students begin an exciting two-year Global Issues curriculum that is interdisciplinarily linked with their literature study in Language Arts and designed to help them build an understanding of the world around them through a combined World Cultures and Geography curriculum. The Cultural studies component encourages the girls to investigate a wide variety of worldviews and ways of life. Through Geography study, which emphasizes such skills as map reading, data interpretation, and the extrapolation of meaning, students consider the impact of natural events and human behavior. During the course of the year, 6th grade students begin to see how diverse peoples, issues, and events are interrelated, as well as gain a sense of themselves as a vital part of the global community.

  Seventh Grade

7th grade Social Studies continues to build upon the Global Issues curriculum focus begun in GSA’s 6th grade year. Students apply their knowledge of culture, geography, and demographics to current events and global issues. Topics include: the impact of Western values and lifestyle on developed and developing countries, the effect of wars on economies and governments, push and pull factors affecting immigration, and the relationship between literacy rates and other demographic measures. Throughout this study of global challenges, students consider the roles and implications of national, local, and personal responsibility. As they use problem-solving skills to devise potential solutions for these challenges, students deepen their understanding of their roles in the global community and of future opportunities for positive leadership.

  Eighth Grade

GSA’s 8th grade United States History course draws on a variety of sources to present students with multiple perspectives on the story of our country. Relying on critical reading of primary source material and two core texts, students explore America from its earliest exploration through the Civil War and Westward Expansion. Reading excerpts from the journals of Bartolome de las Casas and Christopher Columbus, students imagine a Native American perspective on European exploration. Later they chafe under the tyranny of both British and Colonial elitist rule, and join the Founding Fathers in debating crucial points of the constitution. Students listen to the neglected and marginalized voices of slaves, Native Americans, and women, and seek to understand the importance of the Frontier in the development of a unique American identity. Students apply this growing understanding of their country to current events, considering local/national/global issues from historical and multicultural perspectives.