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At its core, the subject of social studies is about how people relate to each other within a community and within societies broadly. Students gain a better understanding of the social, political, and economic milieu they find themselves in. As our societies have become more global, social studies provides context of global interactions among people and nations. When your child learns social studies, they get familiar with the responsibilities and decisions that come along with being global citizens.
Help your children master social studies by navigating to the Kids Academy: Talented & Gifted learning app for kids for ages 2 to 10. There, find online social studies learning interactives, which can also be downloaded for use offline. Worksheets on citizenship, community, history, geography, civics, and culture allow your child to chart their own course through sometimes challenging topics.
For example, the Manners at School worksheet challenges young kids to recognize polite ways to interact with others, a part of social studies that will serve them well as they mature into broader interactions with the world. It supports them in using manners in other settings too, whether at a family gathering or a sports event. The Doctor Checkup for Kids video will help you to prepare your child for a doctors’ visit. They’ll come away knowing what the experience might be like, including what questions to expect from the doctor.
For school-aged kids, the Journey to Jamestown video takes learners on an adventure to the Jamestown Settlement of 1608. Not only does it support the social studies lessons on Jamestown they’ll experience at school, but also brings the journey to life with animation that’s bound to inspire curiosity and conversation.
For older kids, the Branches of Government and Bill of Rights activities orient learners to how the U.S. government was formed and how it works. Use these activities to enliven the story of how the Constitution was drafted and signed. The exploration will help learners gain the historical context needed to understand the functions of our government today. Expect these worksheets to stimulate family discussions about democracy and why our government is configured into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
The resources available on the Gifted and Talented writing app for kids also include skill-building resources related to social studies, such as the Community Signs app. Learners are challenged to match road signs to relevant places, like a sign for No Eating in the library, or a sign for No Diving at the pool. Practicing situating the signs in the right settings will your kids pay attention to the rules they’ll encounter in their community and prepare them for the independence that’s to come.
Learners that want to level up their navigation of their community can even build their skills in wayfinding. The Intercardinal Directions app challenges learners to read a digital compass, an excellent way to start paying attention to finding their way around.
To keep track of your child’s progress, you can view the weekly progress reports. You and your young learner can also take advantage of the interactive quizzes available on the site that are designed to assess their knowledge. For example, a lesson on urban and rural landscapes includes a quiz in which learners show their ability to distinguish between them.
Let the Kids Academy resources be a jumping-off point for making social studies interesting to your young learners. Couple the free educational digital resources with other opportunities for a more sustained learning experience. For example:
- Show your child how to record in drawings or text what they are thinking about as a result of using the online app;
- Encourage discussions of social issues, such as land use, voting, or rights that are highlighted in the app;
- Spend some time together talking about a particularly powerful moment in history that your child encounters in the app;
- Share video documentaries that about the people and happenings introduced in the online interactives;
- Visit historical sites, museums, or other points of interest that illuminate ideas from social studies;
- Act out historical events through a puppet show or play; bring the characters of the social studies lessons to life through imaginative play.
Overall, watch and listen for places where your young learners get inspired by the Kids Academy online resources and take a learning journey with them through the events that shape how we live today. Kids Academy supports your children in learning social studies through the Talented and Gifted learning app for kids, plus an array of other apps for kids.
