Republic of the Philippines

City of Olongapo
GORDON COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ARTS AND SCIENCES
Olongapo City Sports Complex, Donor St., East Tapinac, Olongapo City 2200
Telefax No.: (047) 602-7175 loc 322
www.gordoncollege.edu.ph

DETAILED LEARNING MODUL

Title: How Social Studies Skills for Early Childhood

Social Studies and Basic Skills Impact to Early Childhood Development

Module No. 4

I. Introduction
When you say social studies to the majority of people, they immediately think of lectures and
textbooks that were based on events that occurred hundreds of years ago. Social studies, on the
other hand, is basically the study of human society as a whole, and children begin learning about
the world around them from an early age. The study of social studies aids in the development of
dynamic learners in children and has an impact on all elements of learning from an early age.
Experiences such as group and partner play, working constructively with others, and working
independently all contribute to the social development of pupils.
II. Objectives:
1. Explain and discuss how social studies skills impact for Early Childhood social studies and
basic skills impact to Early Childhood development.

III. Topics and Key Concepts

Social Studies Importance

Imagine if you had no understanding of the past. Imagine if you had never received an
education in the discipline of history. You would have no context for understanding your
national and racial heritage. You would have no concept of who you are as a citizen. Your
understanding of technology would be limited to only the present, and you would have no idea
of the ways it has progressed.
Social studies is a vital discipline, since it's the study of humanity's history and structure.
It's essentially the story of our humanity and, as human beings, it's essential we understand the
story of our humanity. Studying history allows us to learn from past mistakes, and think
critically about the present. It allows us to understand where we fit in with society, and gives us a
vision for the future. Because of this, it's essential that we provide quality social studies
education to children, beginning at a young age. We need to educate young children about the
social world around them and help them begin to think about the past.
Obviously, you're not going to teach a six-year-old about the political climate surrounding
the Election of your country, or different ways of interpreting theories and philosophies.
Educators need to be mindful and ensure that their content is grade-level appropriate. However,
 Republic of the Philippines
City of Olongapo
GORDON COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ARTS AND SCIENCES
Olongapo City Sports Complex, Donor St., East Tapinac, Olongapo City 2200
Telefax No.: (047) 602-7175 loc 322
www.gordoncollege.edu.ph

even at a young age, there are some basic social studies concepts that should be introduced and
some foundational skills that should be taught.
The social studies topics that work best for preschoolers are ones that hinge on the people in their
world, and the way their world works. Save the lessons on foreign governments and economic
theory for a later time. Right now you need topics that apply to your child’s life.

• Family- Understanding family relationships–mother, father, sister, brother, grandparents,

uncles, aunts, and cousins.
• Emotions- Identifying different emotions and recognizing them in yourself and others. •
Transportation- How do people get from place to place? Buses, cars, trains, planes, and
trucks.
• Road Rules- What are the rules of the road? What do basic road signs mean? • Community
Helpers- Who are people who help your community and what do they do? Teachers, doctors,
nurses, police, firefighters, lifeguards, crossing guards, librarians, etc. • Using Money-
Recognizing money and understanding the basics of how you pay for goods.

Social Studies Skills

Content, concepts, and skills form the basis for the learning standards and goals for the State
social studies curriculum. Social studies skills are not learned in isolation but rather in context as
students gather, organize, use, and present information. These skills are introduced, applied,
reinforced, and remediated within the framework of the K-12 social studies program. Students
understand the importance of social studies skills as they use them to interpret, analyze, and
evaluate social science concepts and understandings. Students aim for mastery of skill objectives
at the same time that they pursue the other cognitive and affective objectives of the socia l
studies program.
Learning, practicing, applying, extending, and remediating social studies skills is a
developmental process. Just as students who lack social studies facts and generalizations have
difficulty in applying information to new situations and analyzing new issues and historical
problems, students with limited understanding of social studies skills have great difficulty in
processing information, reaching higher cognitive levels, and learning independently. The
teaching of social studies skills needs to be built into every classroom activity so that students
engage in a systematic and developmental approach to learning how to process information.
Social studies skills can be classified into thinking skills and thinking strategies. (See: Barry K.
Beyer, Developing A Thinking Skills Program, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1988). Thinking skills
include the ability to gather, interpret, organize, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information.
Thinking strategies involve processing information as students engage in problem-solving,
decision-making, inquiry, and conceptualizing.
 Republic of the Philippines
City of Olongapo
GORDON COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ARTS AND SCIENCES
Olongapo City Sports Complex, Donor St., East Tapinac, Olongapo City 2200
Telefax No.: (047) 602-7175 loc 322
www.gordoncollege.edu.ph

Strategies in Teaching Social Studies Skills

• Teach the skill through modeling and guided practice.

• Prepare students to work in pairs.
• Set clear expectations, allow students to practice the skill repeatedly, and give immediate
feedback.
• Debrief the lesson to help students make connections to key social studies concepts.
Social Impacts of Studies

One of the most important effects of learning social studies at a young age is the impact
that these early skills have on a child's social and emotional development later in childhood.
Besides that, pupils develop communication and reading skills from the very beginnings of their
social studies education. For example, in the corner of Ms. Smith's preschool classroom, two
three-year-old pupils, Juan and Andrew, are engaged in block play. She challenges them to
collaborate in order to construct the tallest structure possible.
While Juan and Andrew are having a good time with the blocks, they are also learning
how to work together. Also being taught is effective communication, taking turns, and dealing
with feelings of anger or disappointment when they don't get their way in a situation. These
interactions are critical in the early childhood environment because children learn what is and
isn't proper behavior while interacting with their peers through these experiences.
Juan and Andrew are also learning how to enforce physical boundaries, such as asking for
a toy before taking it from another student or how to keep their hands to themselves when
working in a group so that they don't knock the tower over when they are working together. By
learning these social norms around their physical boundaries, the boys are gaining valuable skills
about how to interact with others in a group context that they may apply to other aspects of their
lives. For example, when Juan arrives home, he may notice a plate of cookies on the table, but
instead of reaching for the cookies right away, he asks his mother whether he can have one first
before proceeding.

Self-Development & Social Studies

While learning cooperative skills is important, learning personal skills is equally
important. Through social studies, students are able to learn both physical and cognitive skills
that will help them develop strong learning skills for life. They can also learn self-help skills that
will help them to cope with issues as they grow.

IV. Learning Task

Enjoy and have FUN in learning … Keep Safe!
 Republic of the Philippines
City of Olongapo
GORDON COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ARTS AND SCIENCES
Olongapo City Sports Complex, Donor St., East Tapinac, Olongapo City 2200
Telefax No.: (047) 602-7175 loc 322
www.gordoncollege.edu.ph

V. References

https://study.com/academy/lesson/basic-social-studies-concepts-skills-teaching-strategies.html

https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/your-preschooler-and-social
studies/?
fbclid=IwAR2W00VAyXhYTa0QQwTSAtHxMH2lrIJmOnjrwQpK3pE4Kb91pJnzbiRBmBM
https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-social-studies-skills-impact-student
development.html?fbclid=IwAR2kWwT6QBj
luox_d2ha8Voe1jKtzG4yZBfUu9nXrahZ1uhaw22vgPaPgU
https://mamateaches.com/preschool-social-studies-activities/
https://www.teachtci.com/blog/tci-s