Keep Social Studies in the Elementary School (Issues in Education‪)‬

In my elementary social studies methods course, I ask my students to discuss three social studies topics they studied during their elementary years. After some thought, most students could name one topic, without prompting. With some prompting, most could name two topics. Yet even after prompting, only a few students could name three topics! Following this activity, we discuss the state of social studies in today's elementary schools. It is startling to discover my methods students' perceptions about social studies content in the elementary school. From their own experiences and observations, these students believe that there is some social studies content in the 3rd through 5th grades, but very little in kindergarten to 2nd-grade classrooms. As a methods professor, I became concerned, because their beliefs mirrored my experience teaching social studies in my final year as an elementary school teacher.