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Why Is Social Studies Important? 8 Reasons To Study

Social studies. We all have to take it, and teachers have to teach it. But why? What aspects of social studies make it so important that it is always included? Social studies is a discipline that includes humanities such as geography, history, and political science. Why is social studies important? Let’s explore why.

“The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.”

– National Council for Social Studies

What Is Social Studies?

Social studies can also be referred to as social sciences. It’s a field which deals with human behavior, relationships, resources, and institutions.

Specific topics within social studies that are studied in school coursework include geography, anthropology, economics , history , sociology , political science , and civics.

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Aim and purpose of social studies.

The main goal of teaching social studies is to teach students to become good citizens. We are living in a diverse society — one that requires knowledge of social studies to succeed. With a social studies background, children become adults that can participate civilly in our democratic society.

Social Studies In The 21st Century

Social studies connect students with the real world. In today’s interconnected world, students must be prepared to interact with people of all cultures and communities, and social studies prepares them for this.

The Importance Of Social Studies In The School Curriculum

All children who go through the school curriculum become something when they graduate. And no matter what that something is, they will need to interact with others from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Students must study how society works, and how people work in a society in order for it all to work once they enter society after graduation.

8 Reasons: Why Is Social Studies Important For Students?

Students learn skills through social studies that help them succeed in further education as well as life. Here are all the amazing ways learning social studies benefits kids and society together:

1. Better Reading And Learning

Social studies is one area in education where content integration is key. Students are given reading material that corresponds with the current learning topics. Giving reading materials in context helps students become better readers. They also become better learners because they are asked to use analysis, critical thinking , and writing to show understanding.

2. Citizen Responsibilities And Values

How can we expect young people to contribute positively to society, engage in discourse, and thrive in a democratic society if they are not exposed to the topics and aspects of history and life that made society the way it is? Students need an understanding of history, political science, culture, and all humanities to be able to understand why it is important to be a good citizen.

3. Cultural Understanding

Students should be exposed to cultures far beyond what they experience personally every day. Not every student has the opportunity to interact with other cultures on a daily basis. We need students to learn about, understand, and appreciate cultural differences if we expect them to have meaningful interactions with people of all backgrounds in the future.

4. Economic Education

Economics is a crucial part of social studies, whether studied on its own, or as a part of history, anthropology, or political science. By learning economics, young people understand how their financial decisions have an impact on their future, as well as the future of society.

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5. critical thinking.

Critical thinking is a part of social studies — students are taught to evaluate others’ decisions and make connections between influences and circumstances. Young people get the opportunity to learn from others’ mistakes through social sciences.

6. Real-World Understanding

Studying social sciences gives students an understanding of the real world around them. Students learn about places, cultures, and events around the world, what conspired to make them the way they are, and can make inferences about how the rest of the world works.

7. Political Skills

From social studies classes, students learn about government, political ideas, country economy and resources, and more. Students gain political skills by analyzing and evaluating existing systems and imaging the future of the place in which they live.

8. Respect History

History is what made the world the way it is, and it is essential that people study it in order to have an appreciation for and understanding of the way the world works. Learning about history is what makes it possible to learn from the past and plan for the future.

Making Sense of the World: Social Studies for Young Students

One of the reasons for teaching young people social studies is for them to be able to participate civilly in a democratic society. Children start as early as kindergarten to understand the world around them, and schools should follow suit and start teaching social studies concepts such as communication, critical thinking, and culture as early as possible.

Photo by  Hal Gatewood  on  Unsplash

Qualities of purposeful social studies, 1. meaningful.

Social studies should be meaningful to students. Teachers should embrace the natural interests of students and plan topics around those interests.

2. Integrative

Integrating all aspects of life is key to a successful social studies curriculum. Not only should current events and other classes be integrated, but also aspects of daily life as well. Every moment is a teachable moment.

3. Value-Based

Key values of democracy are opportunity, equality, justice, and freedom of speech. These values should be echoed throughout all parts of social studies.

4. Challenging

Teachers can challenge children in social studies classes in ways they aren’t or can’t be challenged in other classes. In-depth critical analysis should be implemented — getting students to think and reflect will help them engage and challenge them to care about what’s going on around them.

Get students active and engaged with debates, discussions , role playing, projects, and simulations. This is one area of school where kids should really get into it!

Teaching Teachers At University Of The People

Teaching social studies is a fun challenge, and is a way to really have an impact on the future of a generation. At University of the People , we teach teachers how to be the most effective and passionate teachers they can be. Even better, our degrees are complete online and tuition-free – meaning you can study wherever and whenever, without any worries.

So if you were wondering, “why is social studies important?” Now you have countless answers! Social studies helps students and societies be the best they can be.

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• 26 Writing in Social Studies

Start-Up Activity

When your students arrive, have them spend five minutes writing about what they learned in class the day before. This exercise will not only reinforce their learning but will also introduce today's topic.

Have volunteers share their observations. No two will be alike. Some will be more in-depth and accurate, others more general and inaccurate. Some will emphasize one point, and others another. Students may nod and smile when someone recalls something they had forgotten. Point out that yesterday's class lies somewhere in all of those accounts—multiple reports from eye-witnesses of the events of the previous day.

Writing in social studies involves exactly this process, synthesizing the perspectives of many to discover what happened and why.

Think About It

“History never really says good-bye. History says, 'See you later.'”

—Eduardo Galeano

State Standards Covered in This Chapter

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.8
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.9
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.10
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.4
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.5
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.7
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.A
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.B
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.C
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.D
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.E
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2.A
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2.B
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2.C
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2.D
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2.E
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.6
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.1
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.2
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.6
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.7
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.8
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.9

LAFS Covered in This Chapter

Lafs.1112.whst.1.2, lafs.1112.whst.3.8, lafs.1112.whst.3.9, lafs.1112.whst.4.10, lafs.1112.whst.2.4, lafs.1112.whst.2.5, lafs.1112.whst.3.7, lafs.1112.whst.1.1, lafs.1112.whst.2.6, lafs.1112.rst.1.1, lafs.1112.rst.1.2, lafs.1112.rst.2.6, lafs.1112.rst.3.7, lafs.1112.rst.3.8, lafs.1112.rst.3.9, teks covered in this chapter, page 366 from write for college, taking notes in social studies.

Use this page to provide students tips for improving their note-taking. Each bolded direction at the top of the page can help students more efficiently and accurately record information from lectures and readings, as well as access it later to prepare for tests. The model notes page at the bottom shows these tips in action, including using graphics to visualize information.

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Page 367 from Write for College

Keeping a social studies log.

Encourage students to keep a learning log for their social studies class, reflecting on the ideas they are discovering. Provide the tips at the top of the page to help them get the most out of their logs. Present the example entry at the bottom of the page, noting how the writer thinks about the topic and connects it to other learning.

Have students get a start by reflecting for ten minutes on what they most recently learned in class.

Page 368 from Write for College

Guidelines: summarizing a social studies argument.

Summarizing helps students reflect on new learning, capture it in their own words, understand it, and synthesize it with other learning. Use this page to guide students through the process of summary writing.

Before they write their own summaries, have students read and discuss the sample article and summary on page 369.

Then have students use SQ3R to closely read a current-events article or part of a social studies textbook. Have students identify the focus of the reading and the main supporting points.

Present the suggestions for writing the beginning, middle, and ending of the summary.

Then help students improve their work by quipping them with the Checklist for Revising and Editing Social Studies Summaries .

Page 369 from Write for College

Article and summary.

Have students read the social studies article, "The Great Chain of the Hudson." Then have them read the summary. Point out that the topic sentence names the article and author and provides the focus. Then the body sentences capture the main points of the article. Also, note that the summary is less than a third the length of the original and is rendered in the writer's own words (paraphrased).

Page 370 from Write for College

Guidelines: writing an editorial.

Use this page to help students write editorials expressing opinions about current events, historical periods, or social concerns.

Before students write their own editorials, have them review the editorial on page 371.

Then have students choose a topic that relates to their current studies, research it, and form an opinion.

Once they are ready to draft their editorials, lead students through the suggestions for creating opening, middle, and closing parts.

Afterward, provide them the Checklist for Revising and Editing Editorials .  

Page 371 from Write for College

Have students read this editorial to themselves. Afterward, ask them their opinions about immigration. What ideas in the editorial swayed them, and what ideas did they find unconvincing? How did the writer express and support the opinion? What social studies topic would they like to express an opinion about?

Page 372 from Write for College

Guidelines: responding to document-based questions.

Document-based questions (DBQs) ask about ideas presented in a series of articles and graphics. Students need to analyze the documents and draw evidence from them to answer the DBQ. Use this page to help students learn best practices for responding to these kinds of questions.

Before they answer their own DBQ, have students review the documents and response on pages 373–375.

When students are ready, provide then a DBQ and ask them to analyze it using the PAST strategy. Then have them use the SQ3R strategy to closely read the documents. After they have done so, they should jot down a thesis statement and a quick list of main details.

Lead students through the instructions for creating an effective opening, middle, and closing.

Then provide them the Checklist for Revising and Editing DBQ Responses , noting that they will not have this checklist in real test environments. However, these are the kinds of questions they should ask themselves as they revise and edit.

Page 373 from Write for College

Documents 1 and 2.

Before students engage these documents, have them analyze the prompt on page 375:

We live in the Anthropocene—when humans affect all life on earth. How should we interact with nature? Write an essay expressing your opinion and use evidence from the documents to persuade your generation.

Keeping that prompt in mind, students should closely read these two documents. Ask them to think about the main point and supporting details of each, as well as how they relate to the question.

Page 374 from Write for College

Documents 3 and 4.

Have students closely read these documents, thinking about the document-based question on page 375. Ask them to note the focus and main points of each document.

Page 375 from Write for College

Document-based question.

Ask students to reread the DBQ at the top of the page, and then closely read one student's response. Afterward, lead a discussion of the student's thesis statement and main supporting points. Also, ask how the writer uses and credits evidence drawn from the documents.

Encourage students to use a similar approach when they answer DBQs.

Page 376 from Write for College

Using graphic organizers.

Graphic organizers help students visualize information in social studies. They capture ideas in notes, gather details during research, organize information before drafting, and allow students to think critically about issues. You can direct students to the minilessons for even more help with these graphic organizers.

Sequencing with a Time Line

Use time lines for critical thinking.

Evaluating with a Pro-Con Chart

Analyze good and bad with a pro-con chart.

Analyzing with a Cause-Effect Chart

Analyze causes and effects of any topic.

• 01 One Writer's Process
• 02 Traits of Writing
• 03 Prewriting
• 05 Revising
• 07 Publishing
• 08 Improving Sentences
• 09 Building Paragraphs
• 10 Mastering Essays
• 11 Writing with Style
• 12 Writing Terms and Techniques
• 13 Personal Writing
• 14 Narrative Writing
• 15 Explanatory Writing
• 16 Argument Writing
• 17 Literary Response Writing
• 18 Creative Writing
• 19 Conducting Research
• 20 Summaries, Paraphrases, and Abstracts
• 21 Report Writing
• 22 Writing the Research Paper
• 23 MLA Research Paper
• 24 APA Research Paper
• 25 Writing in Science
• 27 Writing in Math
• 28 Writing in the Workplace
• 29 Reading Nonfiction
• 30 Reading Literature
• 31 Reading Graphics
• 32 Listening and Note Taking
• 33 Speaking Effectively
• 34 Building Vocabulary
• 35 Writing on Demand
• 36 Answering Document-Based Questions
• 37 Taking Exit and Entrance Exams
• 38 Taking Advanced Placement* Exams
• 39 Marking Punctuation
• 40 Checking Mechanics
• 41 Understanding Idioms
• 42 Using the Right Word
• 43 Parts of Speech
• 44 Using the Language
• 45 Student Almanac

• Social Studies Resources

A Lesson Plan for Teachers

Writing in the social studies classroom.

W riting in the Social Studies classroom can be a challenge.  Teachers often face the reality that they have so much content to teach in so little time, and the writing process can easily be tossed out the window, sacrificed or passed back to the ELA Department. 

I n my Social Studies classes, I encouraged writing from the first moment of class to the last.  Using my own Interactive Notebook format, I assigned a writing prompt for each bellringer at the start and one for each wrap-up at the end.  In between, I also assigned research papers, creative writing, poetry prompts , and of course, traditional essays to assess student learning.

W hile other classrooms foster creative writing, the content-based essay writing , especially in a DBQ or Comparison format, could be a headache-worthy task.  It required a strong understanding of content, the application of prior knowledge, and the utilization of verified sources.

S o this month I teamed up with Lit with Lyns for Writing Wednesdays to show how I teach writing in my classes.  And the tip is easy – I filled them up with SPRITE !  Not the soda, but the acronym!

T eaching with SPRITE helps students remember the major categories so important for Social Studies, but it also helps them to organize their information in a way that simplifies the writing process.

O nce the basic organizational steps are mastered, students can learn to enhance their writing to add in quotes, document analysis, and more.  In my classes, enhancements had to be added for each category, and in the case of specific writing tasks (DBQ, comparison, change over time), students were charged with including those components for each category as well.

S o, here’s to writing (as I tip my cup of SPRITE)!

H appy Teaching!

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Social Studies Skills

The Past Is Present: Strategies for Bringing Current Events Into the Social Studies Classroom

By Michael Gonchar

• Nov. 29, 2018

Updated, Dec. 6, 2018 with related student contest.

Why do we insist that students study history?

Perhaps because the study of history promotes critical thinking, creates a shared cultural literacy or encourages responsible citizenship. Certainly one of the most important reasons is because history continues to matter.

Why has North Korea developed a nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States? Why are thousands of Hondurans camped out on the southern border of the United States? Why have many athletes decided to kneel during the national anthem? To answer any of these questions — or the myriad others posed by the news every day — students will need to understand what happened in the past.

In this teaching resource, we suggest different methods teachers can use to easily facilitate these connections. Each method is illustrated with two examples, one from global history and another from United States history, and each ends with a classroom challenge. The goal is to help this kind of thinking become a habit of mind for your students.

To encourage them, we’re running a contest from Dec. 6 to Jan. 21 that invites any teenager anywhere in the world to link a topic learned in school this semester with something in the news this year. The winners of last year’s contest came up with ideas such as comparing the Chinese Exclusion Act to President Trump’s ban of citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries .

What connections might your students make?

Connecting Through Essential Questions

Sinking islands, floating nation, rising sea levels are forcing the nation of kiribati to make difficult choices..

This is coming, and it is going to destroy our lives. So we cannot afford to stand on the sideline. And we will do everything, everything we can, to ensure that there is the land and the nation of Kiribati that will remain. For a long time I said there is nothing we can do. I was very angry. I was — there was a deep sense of futility, that no matter what I said, nobody’s listening. Nobody’s going to do anything about it. But I had to overcome that. And to overcome that, you’ve got to really throw away everything. Don’t think in straight, linear terms. Take it all apart and think about doing something crazy, like building an island. [speaking Japanese] These floating islands, I know when I first thought about it, it was unrealistic. I know it’s — in terms of the scale of thinking that we normally do in Kiribati. We don’t think in those terms. With the machines and the technology that we have at our disposal, we keep thinking that we can continue to destroy this planet because we believe we can fix it with our technology. And our arrogance to believe that we have control of everything. The one thing, of course, that’s been very difficult for our people in contemplating the possibility of moving and leaving their homeland is the deep link and connection with the spiritual world. Once we begin to build artificial structures, you will find that people who have left their indigenous homes and gone somewhere else seem to have lost that spiritual connection because they no longer regard themselves as being indigenous. [singing and music] If we leave Kiribati, then our ability to retain our culture as being distinct will no longer be very easy.

Essential questions are, by definition, open-ended and big-picture, and using them in the history classroom encourages students to relate history to current events.Here are two examples.

Global | How do geography and climate affect human life?

Let’s say you’re studying the significance of geography in shaping the development of civilizations, perhaps in relation to the rise of ancient river valley civilizations.

One way students can link these questions to current events is to take a close look at how climate change is affecting people around the world. One place to start is with the small Pacific island nation of Kiribati, which is slowly disappearing as ocean levels increase due to rising temperatures. You can use this eight-minute video to broach the subject, or perhaps a photo like this one from this slideshow to encourage student analysis as we do in our weekly “ What’s Going On in This Picture? ” feature. With more time, you can introduce students to Kiribati via this article and photo essay .

Student Challenge: Scan The Times to find other regions of the world where geography and climate are presenting new challenges or opportunities. Students then create annotated maps to document what they uncover.

U.S. | How much power should the president have? That’s a question the authors of the Constitution wrestled with, and it’s a question our society is debating today. And since Donald J. Trump was elected, a flurry of executive orders, court rulings, confirmation hearings and tussles with the press have made the question more relevant than ever.

If students are connecting the role of past presidents such as George Washington, Andrew Jackson or Franklin D. Roosevelt to our current president, there is a constant stream of related Times articles for them to explore. These lesson plans link to some of the best:

• Is Democracy at Risk? A Lesson Plan for U.S. and Global History Classes • Analyzing the Relationship Between the Press and the President: A Lesson Plan • Teaching and Learning About Governmental Checks and Balances and the Trump Administration

Student Challenge: Here’s a simple activity that can get students thinking about the power of the executive branch, and the role of checks and balances in our democracy: Have them look through the homepage of nytimes.com, or the first section of the print paper, and find articles about the president exercising his power. Then ask students to read closely to identify what institutions, groups or individuals are working to check that power. Finally, have the students explain how checks and balances are at work.

Connecting by Theme

Like essential questions, themes in the history classroom encourage students to make connections across time periods and places. They are also relatively easy to use to identify related current events. Here are two examples you might consider using.

Global | Human Rights Violations (or Religious Conflict)

If you’re studying 20th-century human tragedies like the Holocaust or the Rwandan genocide, students learn that human rights violations are unfortunately an enduring issue. The current persecution of the Rohingya clearly highlights that reality.

In 2017, more than 720,000 Rohingya fled slaughter, rape and village burnings in Myanmar. Thousands were killed in the outbreak of ethnic cleansing. The United Nations has recommended that top military leaders in Myanmar be put on trial for crimes that include genocide . And today, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees live in crowded camps in Bangladesh, uncertain of their future.

We have a lesson plan that uses Times reporting, videos, podcasts and photography to help students learn about the Rohingya crisis. The model also tackles universal questions about national identity, rights of minority groups and the responsibility of the global community.

Student Challenge: Look through The Times to find more news about human rights violations around the world, or simply scroll through the Times topic page for “ Human Rights and Human Rights Violations .” For each violation they find, students can use our Problem-Solution Organizer (PDF) to detail what they read, as well as their own ideas about the issue.

U.S. | Immigration

Whether it’s the the first colonists who arrived from England, the forced migration of millions of Africans as slaves, the waves of European immigrants from Europe in the 19th century or the new wave of immigrants from around the world today, one thing is clear: The study of United States history is the study of immigration. And, of course, the issue dominates the front pages today, including in the coverage of the migrant caravans trekking across Mexico and the thousands of United States troops stationed on the southwestern border.

We have done many lesson plans over the years on the topic, and we still like to recommend a classic New York Times interactive, The Immigration Explorer .

Student Challenge: Use the Times topics page for “ Immigration and Emigration ,” to find a wealth of articles about immigration to the United States. But since this issue is often seen through a partisan lens, students can also go to the Op-Ed page to select an opinion piece written by a contributor to The Times about the subject. They can either scroll through the articles to find the most recent Op-Eds, or they can plug in a search term below where it says “contributors” and change the way the results are sorted to “newest.”

Once they find a piece that interests them, they can identify what argument the writer is making and then decide if they agree or disagree. For balance, they can look for another opinion piece that argues a different position, either in The Times or elsewhere, and decide which point of view they agree with most and why. What issues that we’re still debating today were issues in the era they are studying? What images, quotes, data or other kinds of information can they find that might make interesting paired texts to link the two eras?

Connecting by Event

One of the easiest ways to find recent writing in The Times about a historical event and why it is still relevant today is to put the event into the search function . This will often bring up articles and essays that show how past events relate to present-day events, especially when one searches around the time of an important anniversary. For example, here is a lesson plan that pairs the Gettysburg Address with a 2013 opinion piece, “ Why the Civil War Still Matters .”

Global | World War I

The world just commemorated the centenary of the armistice that ended World War I. Katrin Bennhold writes about the unsettling similarities between 1914 and today:

Now as then, Europe’s political center is weak and the fringes are radicalizing. Nationalism, laced with ethnic hatred, has been gaining momentum. Populists sit in several European governments.

She asks: Can Europe’s liberal order survive as the memory of war fades? And we help guide students through related questions in this Article of the Day .

Student Challenge: Students can look in The Times for any signs of the main causes of World War I today: militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism. What can they find? In what ways are these parallels similar to 1914, and in what ways are they different?

U.S. | Reconstruction

Although Reconstruction took place 150 years ago, its impact is still being felt across the country — in college campus protests, the Black Lives Matter movement, an entrenched racial economic inequality and a longstanding voting rights battle . In 2015, we published a Text to Text lesson pairing Eric Foner’s Op-Ed essay “Why Reconstruction Matters” with an excerpt from W.E.B. Du Bois’s 1935 book “Black Reconstruction in America.” Both texts document how biased historiography from the early 20th century has helped to perpetuate inequality and injustice for generations of Americans.

Student Challenge: While the Civil War is commemorated extensively in the United States, and especially in the South, Reconstruction hasn’t received a similar treatment. Mr. Foner writes :

Reconstruction has long been misrepresented, or simply neglected, in our schools, and unlike Confederate generals and founders of the Ku Klux Klan, few if any monuments exist to the black and white leaders of that era.

Students can read The Times to find how communities in the United States today are grappling with memory and symbolism from the Civil War and Reconstruction periods, especially after a 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., turned violent. How do they think these eras should be commemorated? Why?

Connecting by Place

Since social studies students spend a great deal of time exploring historic places, one easy way to make that study relevant to them is to have them discover what those places look like today, and how life there has either changed or stayed the same. What remnants of the past are still present? Why?

Global | China (Silk Road)

The network of trade routes known as the Silk Road helped make ancient China powerful and wealthy. Today, China is creating what could be called a new Silk Road through its Belt and Road Initiative , promising more than $1 trillion in infrastructure and spanning more than 60 countries. In “ The Land That Failed to Fail ,” Philip P. Pan writes:

China now leads the world in the number of homeowners, internet users, college graduates and, by some counts, billionaires. Extreme poverty has fallen to less than 1 percent. An isolated, impoverished backwater has evolved into the most significant rival to the United States since the fall of the Soviet Union.

In “ The World, Built by China ,” the authors write:

China envisions a vast global network of trade, investment and infrastructure that will reshape financial and geopolitical ties — and bring the rest of the world closer to Beijing.

Both articles are part of a Times series published this month, “ How China Became a Superpower ,” exploring China’s recent rise.

Student Challenge: Have students look through The Times to find a photograph, illustration or graphic of some kind that they think helps tell the story about China’s rise on the world stage. They might even create a gallery walk of such images, and challenge themselves and each other to comment on the images with ideas and questions about how present-day China relates to what they are learning about ancient China.

U.S. | Harlem

Let’s say your students are studying the Harlem Renaissance, the artistic and intellectual explosion that took place in the 1920s in New York’s Harlem neighborhood. Well, perhaps your students want to know: What’s going on in Harlem today ?

In 2010, Sam Roberts reported :

For nearly a century, Harlem has been synonymous with black urban America. Given its magnetic and growing appeal to younger black professionals and its historic residential enclaves and cultural institutions, the neighborhood’s reputation as the capital of black America seems unlikely to change soon. But the neighborhood is in the midst of a profound and accelerating shift. In greater Harlem, which runs river to river, and from East 96th Street and West 106th Street to West 155th Street, blacks are no longer a majority of the population — a shift that actually occurred a decade ago, but was largely overlooked.

Student Challenge: Have your students find out what has changed, and what has stayed the same, in the region of the country they are studying. They can look for articles, maps, photographs, editorial cartoons and videos that document what life is like there now now. A good place to start searching is in Lens , the Times photography section. Then, they might do the same activity we suggest in the section about ancient China above: create a “then and now” gallery walk that invites them to make connections between the two eras.

Connecting by Historical Text or Artifact

Historians’ understanding of the past is typically grounded in what they glean from analyzing texts and artifacts. How are these still relevant today? Regular readers of The Times know that works of art, texts and structures created long ago are often featured in stories from the Politics, Travel or Arts sections as new generations discover them or reconsider their power and significance.

Global | The Ruins of Ancient Rome

When ISIS occupied Palmyra, the storied ancient city in Syria, in 2015, the group systematically demolished treasured ruins because it viewed the city’s artifacts as sacrilegious symbols. Rick Gladstone writes:

Islamic State propagandists considered Palmyra a bonanza for promoting their vision of a strictly religious caliphate devoid of homage to other cultures or religions. They publicized the work of their demolition teams with graphic photographs.

When the Russians reclaimed the city in 2016, before losing it again, they organized a televised concert from the amphitheater , the same one used for executions by Islamic State militants. The Kremlin actually painted the effort as a victory of civilization over barbarity.

Student Challenge: If you’re studying an ancient empire, your students can hunt within The Times for ways ruins and artifacts from that empire still appear in sections across the paper today, either because of their symbolic power, their role as cherished cultural relics or their continued functionality. For example, what can they find if they search for the Acropolis in The Times ?

U.S. | The Constitution

While Americans generally agree that the First Amendment to the Constitution protects the freedom of speech, there are disagreements over when, where, how and if speech should be ever limited or restricted. A recent lesson plan we published in collaboration with the National Constitution Center encourages students to explore current issues related to free speech, such as whether they are allowed to protest by kneeling during the national anthem during school hours or while on school property.

Student Challenge: Liberties protected by the First Amendment continue to be challenged and debated. Invite your students to find as many recent articles as they can that relate to the First Amendment and, for each, explain the constitutional issue at stake. You might then choose one or more of the issues currently in the news and stage a debate.

Connecting by People

Global | Fascist Leaders

Even though the rise of fascist leaders like Hitler and Mussolini pulled the world into the most destructive conflict in human history, World War II, the end of the war marked the end of fascism.

In many countries around the world, democracy has recently been dismantled or is being eroded by a strong elected leader and a ruling party. In a lesson plan published earlier this month, we asked students to study anti-democratic forces in three countries: Venezuela, Turkey and Hungary. But they could have easily looked elsewhere too, in countries like the Philippines, Nicaragua or Poland. Is the rise of a new crop of leaders with authoritarian tendencies in existing democracies a sign that fascism is on the rise again?

Student Challenge: Ask students to scan The Times to find evidence of authoritarian, or even fascist-leaning, behavior by democratically elected leaders around the world. Before starting, they should define what authoritarianism and fascism look like. How will they recognize when a leader is acting undemocratically? Once they find some examples, have them compare what is going on in these countries now with how the country was governed in the past.

U.S. | Robber Barons

American industrialists and business magnates in the late 19th century, like Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt and John D. Rockefeller, were called robber barons by critics because of ruthless business practices that helped make them incredibly wealthy.

Are the tycoons who control Silicon Valley the robber barons of today? The Times tech columnist Farhad Manjoo calls five of the companies they control — Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Alphabet, the parent company of Google — the “ Frightful 5 ” because of how much influence these companies hold over our lives and how much they dominate the consumer technology sector.

Student Challenge: Have students look for evidence in The Times for whether today’s Silicon Valley tycoons are robber barons reinvented, and whether the mammoth companies they control behave like monopolies from another era. Before starting, students should define “robber baron” and “monopoly” in the context of the Gilded Age. Then they should compare and contrast the business practices of these five technology companies and their leaders with the original robber barons. What similarities and differences can they find? What lessons from the past are relevant today?

Related Resources

When School Gets Real: Teachers Connect Classroom Lessons to Current Events

Making It Relevant: Helping Students Connect Their Studies to the World Today

Making Connections: 50 Teenagers Suggest Creative Ways to Link Classic Texts to the World Today

50 Ways to Teach With Current Events

How do you embed current events in your social studies classroom? What ideas do you have? Let us know by posting a comment.

• Let’s Connect
• U.S. History
• Government & Civics
• Global Issues
• Student Council & Leadership
• Student Council & Leadership

Essay writing is the one thing I felt the least prepared to teach when I become a social studies teacher. And by least, I mean not at all. 

Early in my career, I attended the National Social Studies Council conference specifically looking for sessions on teaching writing. I was shocked to find hardly any. 

Is it because we assume students know how to write by high school? Or because it’s regarded as such a fuzzy thing to teach that it’s unknowingly passed over in teacher ed programs and conferences? Or do we still think writing isn’t core to social studies the way it is to ELA? I have no idea. 

That’s when I accepted that I was on my own to figure it out.

And it really should not be like that. 

Over the years, I created and fine-tuned what I call a DBQ classroom, in which daily lessons build towards an overarching inquiry question and our end-of-unit essay answers it. In another blog post, I outline a  broad overview of my DBQ classroom structure so if you’re interested in this approach, check that out before heading back here.

Whether it is  US History , or  Civics , or  Global Issues , if it’s a core subject, I’m using an essay as the culminating assessment to answer the unit-long inquiry. I truly believe writing is  that  central to learning.

This post follows one I wrote on  developing inquiry-based learning units  and picks up where that one left off. That’s because these two core pedagogy elements—inquiry and writing—fundamentally belong together. 

In this post, I will walk you through the step-by-step process of what “Outline Day” looks like in my classroom—when my students turn their general understanding about a topic into a precise, personalized, and well-supported argument. This is the second-to-last day of each unit, prior to “Essay Day.”

However, these same basic steps work for all types of history and social studies writing: end-of-unit essays, on-demand DBQs or LEQs, and formal research papers.

This is my 6-step how-to guide for scaffolding your history and social studies students in outlining an essay:

1. Deconstruct the essay prompt

2. Recap the truths, not just the content

3. Decide a clear position to argue

4. Choose categories to support a position

5. Select the best supporting evidence

6. Write the thesis

1. Deconstruct the Essay Prompt

Don’t underestimated how crucial this step. Whether it is a unit inquiry question you wrote yourself or one provided for your curriculum, you must teach your students how to break it down. 

Some questions to pose to students as you work through analyzing the prompt:

• What topics or content must I cover? What must I exclude?
• What’s considered true and not what I’m arguing?
• What skill must I demonstrate? How do I do that?
• What evaluation must I make? 

If you want to go deeper on these 4 questions, check out my blog post on  deconstructing social studies essay prompts step-by-step .

If this is a unit-long inquiry, then this deconstructing work happens early on and is also revisited throughout your unit. Personally, I never assign essays unless the question is known and understood all unit long, but sometimes you don’t have that ability. 

If you’re preparing students for on-demand essays, like the AP Exam, develop a cheat sheet of your deconstructing system for students to follow. Then practice it with every essay. 

One of the easiest and most heartbreaking traps I see AP students, even strong ones, fall into is arguing what the prompt already implies is true, missing the nuances of what the prompt was  really  asking, because they rushed this step.

2. Recap the Truths, Not Just the Content 

After it’s understood what the question is asking, now it’s time to review what it covers. If you created an  inquiry unit with a central graphic organizer of at-a-glance notes  and students have already loaded it up with what they’ve learned, you won’t need to spend too much time here. 

Instead, focus this brief review time on the “truths” about the topic—the broad understandings about which historians, political scientists, and other experts generally agree. The first two deconstructing questions identified these things, so now it’s time to recap the details.

Keep it to 2-3 truths. Basically, you want to show that both or multiple sides of the question have support.

Continuing with our sample Gilded Age question from the  last post on building an inquiry unit ,  “Was late 1800s America a land of opportunity?,”  the core truths are that two things—unbelievable wealth as well as abject poverty—existed simultaneously. That is inarguable.

So review with students the most salient examples of both, one then the other. This scaffolds students in two ways. First, it prevents them from getting derailed by arguing that both existed equally, which honestly is just summarizing, because you have reminded students that this is already true and known.

Second, it reinforces everything they’ve learned in the visual of the graphic organizer. In our Gilded Age example we used a T-chart, but it could be a Venn diagram or a cause/effect flow chart depending on the question. 

3. Decide a Clear Position to Argue 

Pose the prompt once more. In big text on your screen.

And with their at-a-glance graphic organizer in their hands, students should now have a gut reaction answer. If not, they have their sheet to help them decide. Even if a lower-level student has just a few items listed, they can still decide one side or the other. 

With our Gilded Age question, a student must either argue “yes” or “no” that late 1800s America was the land of opportunity. They can’t answer “both.” This crucial, fork-in-the-road decision prevents them from summarizing and sets them in a firm direction. 

Next, students fine tune their decision into a more precise position. For most essay prompts, this is the  argument qualifier —a single “how much so?” word that up-levels their writing significantly. 

This  continuum line of qualifier words  on my classroom wall is my strongest tool to strengthen students’ writing and I have a  whole blog post dedicated to how I use it   daily, not only while essay outlining. 

I have students write their two-word position on the top of their outline form—phrases like “somewhat yes” or “decidedly not.” This keeps them laser-focused and on-track, and from a quick across-the-table glance, I know so much about the argument they are forming.

I am a firm believer that good inquiry questions have unlimited right answers and that I’ve done my job well when distinctly different arguments are forming around the room. 

4. Choose Categories to Support Position

After those couple of words are committed to their outline form, students now select their body paragraph categories. 

The options of possible categories change with the question. Sometimes there’re only three options so everyone has the same three (though argued differently); sometimes there can be up to a dozen options. 

To best support students, I suggest sharing a list of possible categories from which to pick. Of course, if students think of something not on the list, invite them to talk it out with you.

For our Gilded Age question, the categories could be groups of people, specific events, or even various popular ideas of the time. Lots of options depending on what you covered.

If you want students to include a counterclaim (and I  highly  recommend you do so!) in their essays, the clearest way to support them is by teaching it as its own paragraph. Meaning, if a student is arguing the late 1800s  was  a time of opportunity, their counterclaim paragraph might be on the plight of farmers. 

After students label each body paragraph spot on their outline form with its category, I have them next write their topic sentences. Their thinking for choosing those topics is fresh in their mind and this clarity makes the next step even easier. 

To recap, by this stage students have very little written in their outline form. Two words of position at the top and three body paragraph topic sentences. But the heavy thinking is done, and a clear path has been laid.

If a student is stuck or needs to talk out their thinking, it’s incredibly easy for me to glance at this uncluttered framework and immediately offer tailored support. 

5. Select the Best Supporting Evidence

With precise topic sentences written, students now can much more easily select their evidence for each body paragraph. Provide space on your outline form for however many examples you want them to use.

With our Gilded Age prompt, if a student picked groups of people as their categories and choose the word “hopeful” in their paragraph topic sentence about the late 1800s “New” immigrants, then it’s easy for them to select pieces of evidence that best support that description.

This is another reason why having a  unit-long graphic organizer  is extremely important. Students already have the best evidence pulled aside and sorted into a T-chart, Venn diagram, or flowchart that directly supports the skill at the center of the question. Now it’s just a matter of curating the pieces that are relevant to the argument they are making.

If a student gets stuck finding examples, you can quickly glance at their topic sentence and point them to something that could work. This keeps them in control of their argument, making a kind of student-teacher synergy that’s almost magical. You’ll also see students use evidence in ways you never thought of.

6. Write the Thesis

Ideally, you’ll have noticed that students are building their essay from the inside out. This order provides so much more accessibility to students at every level.  

Since writing in social studies  is  the process of thinking, the thesis is much more the finale than the beginning. Strong and emerging writers alike benefit from this reversed approach, which also allows for better scaffolding through multiple micro decisions.

However, in the actual essay, yes, the thesis still goes at the beginning.  

For years, I’ve used the  Even though X, A and B, therefore Y  formula with great success. X is the counterclaim paragraph, A and B are the two supporting body paragraphs, and Y includes the argument qualifier. I’ve never met a prompt this didn’t work beautifully to answer. 

In my materials I pose a tailored version for students to build from. In our Gilded Age example, it would say,  “Even though X was occurring during the late 1800s, A and B were more…, therefore America was/wasn’t <argument qualifier> the land of opportunity which…”

As much as we think formulaic writing isn’t what we want to teach students, we can’t ignore the fact that no formula at all is far more harmful. Strong and middle-leveled students naturally know how to build off of it and lower-level students know they can use every bit of the formula at no penalty. Trust that very few ever do.

After working through these 6 steps, students should have little issue writing a well-organized and well-supported essay.

Check out my  US History ,  Civics , or  Global Issues  courses if you’re interested in making inquiry and essay writing central to your teaching. Both individual unit and full course options are available. Each unit includes all the essay writing supports you’ll need to scaffold writing like a pro—graphic organizers, outline forms, and how-to guides.

Feature image credit: via Pixabay  

How to Create Inquiry-Based Learning in Social Studies

Deconstructing essay questions in 4 simple steps.

Related Posts

19 Ideas for Setting Up Your Social Studies Classroom

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• Professional Learning

Implementing norms and routines for discourse

What is implementing norms and routines for classroom discourse and work in social studies.

Each content area has norms and routines that reflect the ways in which people in their field construct and share knowledge. In social studies, norms include ways of thinking and working that social scientists and historians engage in. Examples of norms in history/social science include (1) analyzing sources by sourcing, contextualizing, and corroborating (see Wineburg, 2001, for seminal work in this area); (2) developing claims, evidence, and reasoning by weighing the evidence ; (3) recognizing multiple perspectives; or (4) considering causes and consequences . These norms are disciplinary practices and concepts that are central to understanding social and historical issues as well as developing and critiquing interpretations or arguments. They are norms for thinking in the social studies disciplines.

In this set of resources, we focus on the disciplinary norm of developing claims, evidence, and reasoning by weighing the evidence and draw on materials from Read.Inquire.Write . This norm may also be referred to as argumentation or constructing evidence-based interpretations. Any investigation of historical or social questions involves sifting through sources to determine what arguments emerge from the evidence. Students compare sources to identify possible responses to a central or compelling question, select relevant and reliable evidence that supports those claims, learn to introduce and cite supporting evidence, explain how the evidence supports each claim and why the evidence is reliable for the central question or problem under investigation. Through discussion and use of supporting tools, weighing the evidence leads students to identify stronger arguments on the basis of the claims, evidence, and reasoning.

Routines are ways of working in the classroom that allow students to learn about and practice these norms. In order to implement norms and routines effectively, teachers must introduce these norms and routines carefully, provide opportunities to practice, and maintain and revise students’ efforts by providing feedback and opportunities for reflection.

Advancing justice through implementing norms and routines

Acquiring the skills necessary for participation in academic discourse is essential to students’ future success. In social studies, students must be able to analyze sources, use evidence and develop arguments in order to compose essays that allow them to progress in secondary school, higher education, and beyond. Introducing and practicing with these norms makes explicit the codes or rules that undergird the “culture of power” (Delpit, 1988) in academic spaces. In other words, teaching norms and routines can provide more equitable access to learning.

Learning to implement norms and routines is a part of developing competence as a teacher. In the classrooms of skilled social studies teachers, students share their ideas about historical and social problems, identify more and less reliable evidence, and ask provocative questions about the world. This does not happen out of thin air; these students have been taught how to participate in social studies discourse and bring their own resources to such discussions. Competent teachers implement norms and routines by introducing, practicing, and maintaining these routines.

Finally, teaching norms and routines for discourse and work conveys respect and high expectations for students. Teaching norms and routines communicates to students that they are capable of high levels of thinking and that their thinking is valued.

Why work on implementing norms and routines for classroom discourse and work in social studies?

Educational experts have long noted drastic differences between what students do in social studies class and what social scientists do in their daily work (see for example, Bruner, 1960). While memorizing facts and learning a single story or set of information has dominated social studies classrooms, research has found that historians show specific ways of reading and working such as sourcing, contextualizing, and corroborating sources (Wineburg, 1991) or argumentation and writing to communicate (Monte-Sano & Thomson, 2015). The C3 Framework argues that these skills, among others, are central to preparing good citizens and college-ready students. But, students need to practice these discipline-specific ways of thinking and working. Teachers, then, can develop norms and routines for inquiry that make this type of thinking part of the fabric of the social studies classroom.

Decomposition

The areas of work below create a sequence of steps that are often employed in classrooms where social studies inquiry is commonplace. In terms of activity structures, we typically see teachers start off as a whole class to introduce the norm, then rotate between pair or small group work and whole-class discussion so that students have regular opportunities to participate in talk about the norms. As a consequence, transitions between activity structures are important and require basic management skills. Taken together, these areas of work create a routine for inquiry which provide opportunities for students to learn and try out disciplinary practices or other ways of thinking common to social scientists and historians. This decomposition might be used to help teacher candidates analyze a video, structure a lesson, or reflect on an enactment.

Supporting Novice Teachers

Implementing norms and routines for classroom discourse and work in social studies requires novices to pull together several high-leverage practices in social studies (modeling, supporting small groups, leading whole-class discussion). Novice teachers often have difficulty pulling together and coordinating multiple high-leverage practices while also managing students and materials. So, some practice in transitioning between activity structures and activities used to participate in norms and routines and practice in planning out the different steps involved in the routines they’d like to use will help novices. Another area of challenge is novices’ knowledge of disciplinary norms; therefore, time spent learning and practicing disciplinary norms will support novices’ implementation of norms and routines. The first two activities in the social studies modeling learning cycle support novices’ disciplinary learning, as do the first few activities in this learning cycle.

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Integrating Social Studies in the Early Grades

Elementary teachers can ensure that students are exposed to social studies by setting up interdisciplinary lessons that focus on real issues.

I’m on a board that oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card , and the most recent report card was a shocker. It showed that 13 percent of U.S. students hit the NAEP “proficient” mark in U.S. history and 22 percent reached that goal in civics. How are students supposed to learn from the past or participate in civic life with scores like those? 

The students who took that test were in eighth grade, but their knowledge and skill gaps didn’t start in middle school. These results were a wake-up call for me to add social studies into my already-packed day. Like most elementary teachers , I don’t have a set social studies curriculum or many resources to work with. Elementary teachers get limited time to teach social studies, particularly with the intense focus on improving reading and math, core subjects that took an enormous hit during the pandemic. But we can’t just throw up our hands. Here are some of the strategies I’m focusing on this year. 

I plan to work with peers to find more resources and collaboratively plan social studies lessons. I’ll start by getting together with my fourth-grade team to look at the standards and research strategies and resources. We’ve had some success in recent years teaching social studies with a newspaper-style resource written specifically for elementary students. My fourth graders find the topics engaging and articles accessible.

A priority is to create real-world experiences for our students centered on history and government. We are planning a field trip to Raleigh to visit our state capitol, legislative building, executive mansion, and history museum. 

While we don’t have a prescribed curriculum, North Carolina, like many states, has social studies standards, so it’s good to look for materials that align to those and spend time with colleagues in professional learning circles analyzing those standards and thinking collectively about how to meet them.

MAKE IT CROSS-CURRICULAR

One way to expand time on social studies is to integrate it with other content. A natural way to do this is by embedding lessons on history and civics into English language arts instruction. I’m fortunate that our school uses an ELA curriculum that systematically builds student knowledge on important topics, devoting time in fourth grade on themes like the American Revolution and the Constitution. Research shows that building background and content knowledge improves reading comprehension, while also helping students learn more about the topics they’re studying. It’s a win-win.

Writing assignments offer another way to deepen student learning. In my class this year, students analyzed three different texts on the American Revolution. They then wrote a short essay on the differences between the loyalists and patriots. Finally, they had to choose a side and explain why they chose that side. This assignment met history, writing, and ELA standards.

KEEP IT REAL 

One goal for next year is to enhance our engagement with authentic civic leaders in our community. One of my former classes worked together to come up with questions about issues they cared about for our school board members, county commissioners, and district superintendent. We reached out to them through emails. Students created a slide show to share with their peers what they learned about that specific civic leader’s position and responsibilities. 

Next year, I hope to invite local civic leaders to come to my classroom and talk with my students about issues they care about and how these issues can be solved. I’m also thinking about asking students to come up with a specific problem in the community that they’d like to work on collectively and solutions they can propose to policy makers or elected officials. This would be a great way to build their advocacy skills. Knowing my students pretty well, I think better playground equipment and new skateboard parks might be on their agenda. Research suggests that this kind of project-based approach to social studies instruction , in which students engage and interact with authentic audiences, really improves student learning.

Students can also learn about and understand local history by visiting nearby local historical sites or civic institutions. Next year, I’m looking forward to taking students to important sites near us, like Bath, North Carolina’s first town, and Tryon Palace, the official residence of the British governors of North Carolina in the 1700s.

FOCUS ON YOUR GROWTH

It’s not just kids who need field trips. One of my goals is to find meaningful professional development opportunities related to social studies instruction. I used to teach in Florida and recall colleagues going to St. Augustine as part of a professional development opportunity to learn about and better teach Florida history. A range of organizations also offer professional development opportunities for teachers in social studies. These include the National Geographic Society, museums and institutions like the Smithsonian, and state education agencies. I plan to learn more about what’s out there and encourage other educators to do the same. 

On summer break this year, I added a few historical and civic books to my reading list, including The Lost Colonists: Their Fortune and Probable Fate (America’s 400th Anniversary Series) and Civic Education in the Elementary Grades: Promoting Student Engagement in an Era of Accountability .

The challenge before us is huge. If we do not begin focusing on social studies in early grades, we will continue to have young adults who lack critical knowledge about their government, how to engage in the democratic process, and our collective history. That worries me terribly, but it also motivates me to work for change.

147 Social Studies Topics for Your Research Project

Social studies is an integrated research field. It includes a range of topics on social science and humanities, such as history, culture, geography, sociology, education, etc. A social studies essay might be assigned to any middle school, high school, or college student. It might seem like a daunting task, but perhaps the most challenging part of the job is choosing the best topic from the many research topics in social studies. Sure, you might have a specific topic assigned to you.

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If you’re looking for social science research topics, you’re in the right place! Custom writing experts have prepared a fresh list of ideas! This article contains 147 social studies project topics on history, culture, politics, law, migration, and other fields.

New headings & sections:

• Social Study Areas => Social Science Topics & Research Areas
• Social Studies Topics on History => Social Studies Project Topics on History
• Other Social Studies Topics => Other Research Topics in Social Studies
• 🔝 Top 10 Topics

👨‍🎓 Social Study Areas

🎨 social studies topics on culture, 🏛️ social studies topics on politics & governance, 🏧 social studies topics on economics & consumption, 🏺 social studies topics on history, 💡 other social studies topics, 🔗 references, 🔝 top 10 social studies topics.

• Pros and cons of monarchy.
• Is voting a civic responsibility?
• Should democracy be everywhere?
• The causes of mass consumption.
• Globalization vs. Americanization.
• The elements of personal identity.
• What are the USA’s major resources?
• Do communication technologies impact politics?
• The importance of cultural diversity in the workplace
• How do religious institutions reinforce social stability?

Social studies can be represented by ten aspects described below:

• Culture. While working with social studies, you need to understand how culture shapes our society and affects our lives. It includes learning how people create, adapt to, and share their cultural diversity.
• People and the environment. This aspect helps students create their perception of the world and how human beings interact with their environment. It is achieved through learning about different locations, people, and resources that are there.
• Production and consumption. Here, it is all about studying how people manage the production and distribution of goods. Usually, this theme is represented by subjects connected with economics.
• Time. It is mostly related to history. Therefore, students get to know about the significant events and changes that influenced our present. In addition, they learn about the beliefs and values of our ancestors.
• Identity. This theme is vital because it allows learners to understand how personal identity develops. They find out how family, culture, and friends affect people’s actions and personal growth.
• Institutions and groups. There are multiple institutions created by people: families, colleges, governments, and religious organizations. This theme lets students understand how institutions are formed and maintained and what changes they bring.
• Authority and governments. One of the essential parts of social studies is the theme of authority. Thanks to it, students can understand how different forms of governance are created. It also includes analyzing the functions and purposes of political systems.
• Globalization. Learners are helped to discover the interconnections between societies and the issues they create on a global scale. Everything is interdependent nowadays, and the importance of global connections is rising.
• Civic ideas. Students need to understand civic ideas to be fully functioning independent members of society. This vital theme includes learning about citizen’s rights and responsibilities.
• Science and technology. This aspect is not only about the development of technology and scientific achievements. It is also about how society is connected to those processes. Moreover, students learn about their impacts on people.

If you are looking for social studies project topics on the culture, you might consider the following aspects.

Every social study project would focus on how cultural attributes, such as traditions, arts, literature, are created and shared. It is important to remember to highlight both differences and similarities while doing comparative research.

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One of the features of culture is that it’s dynamic and continuously changing, which means it is correlated with the personal development and beliefs of citizens. Moreover, you can look into the influence of culture on different political and religious institutions.

All in all, the list of topics in social studies below is all about the interconnection between culture and society. If you’re not a fan of the listed options, you can at least take the keywords and use a generator of random topics to write about . This will give you a lot more variants to choose from.

• The principles of the multicultural policy of Australia : benefits. Australia is one of the countries that support cultural diversity. The government even created an official policy based on four principles to ensure that everybody has equal rights to participate in the community.
• Indonesian communities and ancestor worships. Practices connected to ancestor worship are based on the belief that the spirits of the dead have the powers to affect the destinies of the living.
• The domestic etiquette of modern Americans . All cultures have different etiquette – a set of rules that governs social behavior. Those norms are changing along with the culture, but can also be different depending on the social situation.
• Gender issues and women in Medieval society. In the Middle Ages, women were not allowed to receive education, had limited social rights, and had to obey their fathers’ and husbands’ will.
• Gender roles : how are boys and girls raised in American families? Gender roles enforce some specific standards and expectations of how men and women should behave. Study the socially appropriate gender roles in modern families.
• Taboos and emotions in modern society. Taboo is something prohibited from doing under the fear of punishment. Even though taboos are originally related to the sacred and spiritual practices, today, people are banned from expressing some emotions.
• How have hippies created the US? This research would focus on the ways the hippie movement made a change in the history of the country. Their cultural practices have influenced many aspects of our lives.

• Family values and religion. The family has always been considered the base of a happy American life. However, to what extent has religion affected the most common family values?
• Why does political correctness matter so much today? Political correctness means the ban on using some phrases that may be inappropriate. As a cultural phenomenon, it was created by college students in America in the 1980s.
• Is our future in social responsibility ? Social responsibility is a policy that encourages people to act for the benefit of their community and society as a whole. Could this approach help us build a better future?

One of the most important themes of social studies is about politics. When conducting science research related to this topic, you should possess a considerable amount of knowledge and experience in the issues described below.

Understanding the existing systems of governance means also knowing how political views and institutions were created. In the constantly changing world, the functions of authorities are dynamic as well.

However, you should not forget to include the relationship with citizens in this equation. Every member of society has needs, rights, and responsibilities, issues with which should also be addressed.

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Here are some examples of social studies topics related to politics, which you may find useful:

• The American Whig party: a case study of the South. In the 19th century, the Whigs were one of two main political parties in the US. In this research, you could concentrate on analyzing the political tensions of this party in the South.
• Political parties and violence in the US. There are two major political parties nowadays. However, have you ever thought about why there are so much political violence and harsh competition between them?
• The change of the ideology of the Republican party after the Civil War. The Civil War has changed the perception of many people. It left a mark on the political views as well. Track the transformation of the Republican party’s ideology since then.
• Tory party and the British welfare under their rule. For the sake of some diversity, we have included a topic on the British political party as well. In this research, you would look into the social issues caused by the Tories.
• Is there a connection between anti-Americanism and anti-Semitic movement? Study the roots of anti-Americanism as a political view. Also, you can work on contrasting and comparing it to anti-Semitism.
• Student activism and the Black Power movement. This civil rights movement has been around for ages. For this research, you would need to study the Black Power’s topic and the student activism involved in it.
• The difficulties of the civil war in Sri Lanka. This island country has suffered the Sinhalese- Tamil conflict and the proceeding civil war. Your task would be to look into the complexities of this conflict.
• The power of Congress over presidential elections. It is one of the social science topics that requires gathering a lot of materials. You would have to analyze the Constitution and find the related cases in history.
• Voting technology: what can the law do against election fraud? Bribery and other corrupt practices in relation to the election process is not anything new. However, how can the law make a change?
• The most prominent political machines of the last decade. This paper would be interesting for students you prefer analyzing and comparing. You would need to gather information on the most prominent political machines in the US.
• A discussion of judicial independence
• Political culture in the U.S.
• A comparison of the models of democracy
• A comparison of electoral systems
• Authoritarianism vs. totalitarianism

Research topics in social studies on economics would always be related to the theme of production and consumption. You would have to understand how people manage to produce and sell goods and services worldwide.

There are multiple issues in the global economics that you, as a student, could address in your argumentative paper. It includes the unequal distribution of goods along with the growing demand.

You might as well find it interesting to research how the production of specific goods is organized and the role of technology in that process. It is also essential to look into how governments cope with market failures and how they improve the well-being of the economies.

• The flaws of the economic democracy system: a case study. Pick and analyze the issues that this socioeconomic system might have. It would be better if you add real-life cases to the analysis.
• Morality and global capitalism. Your task would be to analyze the five features of global capitalism and determine how it can be socially acceptable. Look through every moral issue that arises.
• The bankruptcy of the middle class in the US. This research focuses on the root causes, as well as consequences, of so many cases of bankruptcy among American middle-class families.
• Can we foresee the future of the European Monetary System? Ever since 1979, the Euro has been serving its purpose. However, this paper would highlight the economic factors that can lead to disruptions in this system.
• Wall Street : did we learn from the 2008 crash ? The year of 2008 punched many Americans, leaving their wealth reduced noticeably. But did we learn from past mistakes? Can we prevent the crisis from happening again?
• Understanding stock markets : profitable investments. To make a profitable investment, you need to know everything about the industry sector and stock market cycles. Compile the tips and tricks that can make it work.
• How has the Silk Road influenced the current global economy? Connecting East and West, those trade routes existed for centuries. For this cool research, you would need to analyze the current economic situation and find the features that exist thanks to the Silk Road.
• Coffee beans and fair trade . Selling coffee beans internationally, some communities and families depend on this business. However, how fair is this fair trade market? Who looks after social justice?
• Pros and cons of dollarization: a case study. Currency substitution or dollarization can’t solve the economic crisis. Study some cases of this process in different countries and analyze the benefits and problems of it.
• How to predict the exchange rate behavior? In this research, you would need to study the sources of changes in the exchange rates. You might as well look into the tools that might help predict the behavior of the rates.

• Provide real-life examples of how you or someone else plans their studies, controls pocket money, or organizes their working day.
• How organizations foster social and civic responsibility
• Crisis management post-9/11
• The growth of management in developing countries
• Conflict management in virtual and global teams
• An analysis of the benefits vs. cost of attaining a post-secondary education
• Wealth distribution and the availability of resources
• An examination of the trickle-down effect in today’s society
• Is the financial crisis of 2008 really over?
• How advertisements can create a sense of separation and association with the feminine identity
• The role of censorship in advertising
• The image of perfection in advertising
• Gender roles in advertising
• Rhetorical analysis of various marketing campaigns . How global corporations influence people’s decisions?
• Transnational organizations analytics. Determining the most appropriate and effective marketing strategies
• Advertisement analysis . The significance of the assessment in a rhetorical essay.
• Marketing reports . Explain the primary objectives of the document. When writing business or marketing essays, it is crucial to include analysis of particular examples.
• The importance of an analytical paragraph in a business essay. How does it help to define specific company’s strengths and weaknesses?
• Unethical advertising examples. What must be avoided when developing another strategy?
• Is it always worth it to spend immense amounts of money on risky advertising campaigns?
• Will the most common advertising methods work for every kind of a product?
• What issues must be considered when organizing an ad campaign?
• Positive and negative effects of advertising .

In the list of social science essay topics, there should always be at least a few questions dedicated to history. Unless we know our past, we can’t possibly understand human nature.

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For high school students, it is necessary to learn about the changes and different experiences in society. The way that values, traditions, and rules have been changing shapes our current development.

While looking for interesting social studies topics in this field, consider analyzing the root causes and consequences of different changes. Look into the ways how our social system has been developing, and you would find something exciting, for sure!

• What was the social meaning of corsets in the 20th century? Corsets are the part of the outfit that was designed to shape or modify the figure. By the 20th century, it has somewhat shaped the culture as well.
• Demystifying the stereotypes about 19th-century women in the US . There was war, and there were changes. How did the life a woman look like back then? Find the most common misunderstandings about it and conduct a historical analysis.
• African American : the historical study of social factors affecting crime. For this research, you could look into the cultural and social aspects that have influenced the response of African Americans to crimes and injustice.
• The changes in the lives of average American citizens in the 1930s. Urbanization and technological development shook the world in those years. Find out how Americans were adjusting to their new lives.
• How the environment shapes the perspective: the baby boomers ? In the example of the baby boomers’ generation, study the effects of the social and cultural aspects on identity and personal values.
• The process of development of Italian fashion and the US. You would be studying the historical facts in support of the idea that the US played an essential role in the Italian fashion industry development.
• Generation X and global leaders. This topic focuses on the most prominent world leaders in different areas. Your task would be to find the connection between the personal specifics of generation X and global leaders.
• Women in the Victorian Age and domestic rules. Conduct research on the ideology of Victorian women. What social challenges connected to industrialization were they forced to face?
• Servants in the American houses in the middle of the 20th century. In the 1920s, women started quitting their housewives’ chores and hiring servants to do them instead. You would look into the social sources of such a change in the domestic life of that time.
• What is the connection between social change and the American schooling system? Look into the development of the educational institutions in the US over a chosen period. Find out what social factors have affected the process.
• Civil disorders
• Political terrorism
• Non-political terrorism
• Limited political terrorism
• Expand on the problem of democracy and domestic terrorism
• A study of terrorist groups
• State-sponsored terrorism
• The tactics of terrorism
• The history of terrorism
• The causes of terrorism
• Responses to terrorism and counter-terrorism global policy
• For more topics ideas, check out Research Guide for Students .
• How enlistment in the U.S. Army works
• The top five army bases
• Customs and courtesies in the military
• The history of Memorial Day
• The threat of homelessness for veterans
• Turkic migration
• Mongol invasions
• Great migration of the 1630s
• Great migration of African Americans
• Government regulations
• Socially irresponsible corporations
• Antitrust provision
• International business law and legal regulations for international corporations and companies
• Business law in the Islamic world and how it differs from that of other countries

Criminology

• Crime prevention
• Juvenile delinquency
• Victimology
• Deviant behavior

When you write an essay on justice, you have a great opportunity to present your opinion on the subject. Here are some potential topics:

• Justice: A Myth or Reality?
• Tell about today’s idea of justice. What do people do to establish justice in the world?
• Give your reasons why absolute justice is impossible.
• How justice is portrayed in Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky
• Discuss the Heaven Justice

Gender Studies

• Women and the Taliban
• Chinese women as seen through the Chinese culture
• Women and Confucian cultures in Korea
• Witch hunts in the Western world
• The influence of feminism on men
• The challenge of feminist biblical interpretation
• Gender identity and the particulars of word-of-mouth communication
• How leadership styles differ based on gender
• Women empowerment
• Why do women think that their rights are neglected in free countries?
• Gender inequality : are men more likely to receive well-paid jobs than women with precisely same characteristics?
• Are men considered to be better employees than women ?
• Can feminists persuade the government to make changes in the law beneficial for them?
• Gender discrimination in everyday life
• The purpose of feminist demonstrations
• Are people concerned about the problem of gender inequality in their everyday lives?
• Where are the human rights of women neglected and why?
• Causes of gender inequality
• Is the factor of overall equality necessary for the development of the world or not?
• What are the most popular examples of equality among citizens of one country?

• Gender stratification definition. Where can it be observed in the modern society?
• What can be changed because of mass feminism?
• Gender stereotypes . Is everything that we hear about discrimination right?
• What is gender stratification ?
• Are females discriminated in the modern society, or this issue is fabricated?
• Gender roles in the workplace
• Factors contributing to gender inequality
• Disadvantages of gender equality
• Gender equality theory
• Gender imbalance definition. What is the origin of the term and where it is used?
• Gender superiority. Is it true that males were always dominant figures in the history?
• History of gender discrimination . Was this societal rule present in the prehistoric times, and when it was introduced?
• Gender disparity definition. What is the origin of the term and where it is used today?

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Social Studies Warmups: Exercises to Get Students Thinking

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Social studies  involves the study of human beings as they relate to each other and their environments. This interaction can include current events, politics, social issues—such as gender equality or the impact of wars in  Vietnam , Afghanistan , and  Iraq —medical issues, local, and global architecture and its effect on people, political issues, energy production, and even international issues.

Any topic that affects how people relate to each other, locally, nationally, or globally, is fair game for social studies discussion. If you need a warmup activity for your social studies class, the difficulty is not in finding a suitable subject but choosing which one best fits your overall lesson plan for the day. Below are some of the best warmups to get students thinking. 

Travel Back in Time

This warmup is simple because students will only need a sheet of paper and a pencil. Ask students: "If you could travel back in time—to the time of your choosing—and could change one thing, what would it be?" You may need to prompt students with a couple of examples. For example, author Stephen King wrote a book titled "11/22/63: A Novel" about an individual who was able to travel back to a time shortly before President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. He did so and was able to prevent the assassination—to tragic results. The world did change, according to King's alternative history, but not for the better. 

Have each student write two paragraphs if they are freshmen, three paragraphs if they are sophomores, four paragraphs if they are juniors, and five paragraphs if they are seniors. (These "essay" lengths generally correspond well with students' abilities in their respective grades.) Give students 10 or 15 minutes, depending on how long you want the warmup to be, then ask for volunteers to read their papers.

Give extra credit if students are shy about reading aloud, or offer to read students' papers for them. Even one brief essay can lead to a rich discussion that can last for five to 10 minutes, depending on how long you want the warmup to take. Alternatively, if you are studying a particular issue, such as the civil rights movement , assign a specific time and place in history for students to "visit," as King did in his novel.

Who Is Your Hero?

Every student has a hero: It might be her father or uncle, a favorite coach, a favorite former teacher (or maybe you), current sports or political figure, historical character, scientist, or leader in the civil rights or women's movement. It doesn't really matter. The key point here is that students are writing about a person they know—no research needed. Make the warmup essays the same length as those discussed in the previous section. Give students 10 to 15 minutes to complete the exercise. Then, ask a few students to read their essays and discuss as a class.

Alternatively, have students write three goals they want to accomplish in your class. Ideally, do this at the beginning of the year. But, you can actually do this warmup at any time of the year. Indeed, you can use this warmup three times during the semester or year—once at the beginning, once at the midpoint and once at the end.

For the second attempt, ask students how they feel they are doing in moving toward meeting their goals. For the final essay, have students explain whether they met these goals and explain why or why not. Self-reflection is a key part of social studies or, indeed, for any class. Tip: Keep the first essays the students write in a file. If they forget their goals, just hand them their papers to review.

Small-Group Discussion

Break students into groups of four or five. Feel free to have students move desks and chairs to gather into groups—this helps them expend some energy and tap into their  kinesthetic intelligence . Too much sitting during lectures can lead to student boredom. Getting up and gathering into groups allows them to interact with each other, and people interacting with other people is at the heart of social studies. Have each group choose a leader who will move the discussion along, a recorder who will take notes on the discussion, and a reporter who will present the group's findings to the class.

Assign a social studies topic for each group to discuss. The list of possible topics is endless. You can have each group discuss the same topic or different topics. Some suggested ideas include:

• Is the media biased? Why or why not. 
• Is the Electoral College fair? Why or why not?
• What's the best political party in the U.S. Why?
• Is democracy the best form of government?
• Will racism ever die?
• Is the U.S.  immigration  policy fair? Why or why not?
• Does the country treat its military veterans well? How could the country improve their treatment?

Make Posters

Hang large pieces of butcher paper on the walls at various spots around the room. Label the posters "Group 1," "Group 2," and "Group 3." Break students into their assigned groups and give them each a few colored markers. A good way to break students into groups is simply by numbering them— that is, go around the room to each student and give him a number, such as: "You are No. 1, you're No. 2, you're No. 3, etc." Do this until all students have a number ranging from one to five.

Have the students go to their assigned groups. This forces students who may not be friends—or may not even know each other—to work together, another key component in social studies. As in the previous discussion, have each group choose a leader, recorder, and reporter. You may be surprised how artistic and clever the students are in creating original posters. The topics can include any of the issues you are studying currently in class or topics related to issues you plan to cover in the near future.

King, Stephen. "11/22/63: A Novel." Paperback edition, Gallery Books, July 24, 2012.

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What Do Students Learn In Social Studies Class?

It is important for both parents and their children to ask what do students learn in social studies class? Many students may take their school curriculum for granted, but if they understood the basis and objectives for the subject matters that they take up in class, they might be able to better appreciate the facts and information, and study harder. They would be able to understand why they are studying such information, and therefore appreciate them better in the right context.

Social studies is defined by the American National Council for Social Studies as "the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence." In other words, social studies basically seeks to arm American citizens with knowledge about the world, nation and society around them, through the help of other disciplines as well such as political science, history, economics, religion, geography, anthropology, as well as psychology. With such knowledge, children and young adults may better understand and make informed decisions about civic issues that affect them and their families as well, especially when they grow older. Such issues include health care, crime, migration, foreign policy, and the like.

Just recently, the American National Council for Social Studies published the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: A Framework for Teaching, Learning and Assessment. This seeks to update and revise the earlier curriculum published in 1994. Given the numerous events and changes not only in American history but in the whole world, it is but fitting to have updated the curriculum in order for children and young adults today to gain better, more accurate and more precise knowledge as a basis for their further learning. These updates form bulk of what do students learn in social studies class these days.

The National Curriculum Standards outlines an articulated social studies program for the federal K-12 schooling system, which serves as a framework for schools to integrate other national standards in social studies and its specific areas of study, such as US and world history, geography, economics, civics and government. Basically, the National Curriculum Standards ensures an approach that integrates social sciences, behavioral science, and humanities. These are expressed in ten themes or fields of studies contained in the framework:

- Culture - Time, Continuity, and Change - People, Places and Environments - Individual Development and Identity - Individuals, Groups, and Institutions - Power, Authority, and Governance - Production, Distribution, and Consumption - Science, Technology, and Society - Global Connections - Civic Ideals and Practices

Thus, while most students would think of social studies as just a discussion of American history, for instance, or geography, the scope of information is even wider than that. Actually, more than the mere statement of facts and information, social studies seeks to integrate this knowledge in the context of the society that human beings exist in today.

Social studies tackles a great number of topics that are surely of interest especially to young minds. It is no surprise that social studies are one of the school subjects that many kids feel comfortable and naturally interested in. Of course, with the help of the right approach and teaching tools from the instructor, social studies is indeed one of the most enjoyable subjects that kids can learn from in school.

General History would give kids an idea and appreciation of how the country came to be the way it is today, along with topics on Government and Politics. The basic information studied here includes who the United States presidents were, as well as what the major wars and battles of the nation were fought. Geography and Culture is another topic that is very exciting to illustrate. These are answers to the question what do students learn in social studies class.

Websites For Learning All About Social Studies

• Biography.com
• Choose Your Own Adventure Through History
• History Channel
• History Place
• Kids @ nationalgeographic.com
• The Whole World Was Watching

121 Social Class Essay Topics & Examples

🏆 best social class questions and topics, ⭐ simple & easy social class research questions and ideas, 📌 most interesting social class topics, 👍 good topics and questions about social status, ❓ research questions about social class.

• Essay on Social Class Inequality & Discrimination In this paper, I analyze three articles on social class and inequality to find out whether the authors’ views agree with mine on the negative attitudes towards the poor by the middle class and the […]
• Social Class Status Differences Social class is the status of the society in which individuals are classified on basis of political, economic and cultural perspectives. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Social Classes in “Metropolis” Film by Fritz Lang Some of the most important issues raised in Metropolis are the class division in the society, the gap between the rich and the poor, loyalty, brotherhood, and friendship, the tyranny and autocracy of politicians, the […]
• How Social Class Influences Mental Health After a thorough evaluation of class differences in mental health, it becomes clearer that people from the working classes face more problems with mental health in comparison to people from the middle class: downward drift, […]
• Warner’s Model of Social Classes According to the description given to this social class as those professionals whose earnings and their level of education is considerably of a higher standing in comparison to those of the lower middle class workers. […]
• Social Class and Race From 1865 to 1920 In the late 1870s, the Farmers Alliance was established to fight for the lower social classes’ freedom and success. The 1890s marked a significant evolution of the Alliance to the People’s Party that did not […]
• How an individual’s ascribed social class position at birth may affect life chances Therefore the social class that one belongs to is a key determinant of the ability of an individual to attain most of the valued ‘things’ of the society as Max Weber described.
• Evicted: Sociological Theory and the Concept of Social Class There are many ways in how human society could be understood and examined, and the application of a sociological theory is one of the available options.
• Race and Social Class Relationship The formation of the society and the pace of its development directly depend on people living in it and determining the norms of life.
• Cultural Representation of Social Class Viewing the society in a hierarchical manner, the Upper class can be considered as the group of people at the top of the hierarchy, followed by the Middle class and then the Lower class at […]
• Income and Social Class in Marketing Strategy Consumers of different social classes and levels of income have different buying behaviors and this scenario is a function of marketing orientations that are taken to meet expectations and demands or needs of different customers […]
• Identity and Social Class Issue A social class provides the child with a sense of identity, a set of values, and the motivational base for his later actions, while the school provides him with the knowledge and skills necessary to […]
• Social Class and University Education Correlation The main goals of the research paper is to investigate the number of aspects that affect the level of enrolment into institutions of higher education of undergraduates from lower social circles; to determine the comparative […]
• Racial and Social Class in South Africa No doubt, the anti-apartheid movement was found and directed mainly to oppose the racial segregation in South Africa, but racial segregation in the country defined everything else notably; the economic and social status of the […]
• Families and Social Class: Chapter 4 of “The Family” by Philip N. Cohen In conclusion, Chapter 4 provides an overview of the theories of the American class structure, social class, the American class structure, mobility, and persistence, as well as the impact of social class on family dynamics […]
• The Impact of Social Class and Poverty on Schooling Aspects such as the American social class and socioeconomic status have significantly affected the efficiency and reliability of the education system.
• A Preliminary Look at Social Class in the US The existence of the rich and the poor illustrates the class division because it represents the extremes in the level of life and income.
• Social Class Questionnaire and Analysis I know how to get someone out of jail. I know how to live without a checking account.
• Social Classes in American Society Sociologists dispute the range of social groups in the United States, although the traditional belief is that there are four: upper, middle, laboring, and lower.
• Social Class: The Stratification of Society The current system relies on the principle of social mobility, meaning that a combination of subjective and objective factors determines a person’s class and ensures the possibility of changing it.
• Social Class Impact on Public Health This is because they live in communities that are under-developed in terms of physical and social infrastructure and as a result, they are exposed to poor health conditions.
• Poverty, Social Class, and Intersectionality I prefer the structural approach to the issue as I believe the created structures are responsible for the existence of diverse types of oppression.
• Social Class: Stratification on the Menu In economic differences, it is essential to know the status and honor of the person in the society as earned from the respective occupation.
• Smoking Differentials Across Social Classes The author inferred her affirmations from the participant’s words and therefore came to the right conclusion; that low income workers had the least justification for smoking and therefore took on a passive approach to their […]
• Shopping Patterns: Social Class and Consumption Preferences The analysis of the grocery stores in Jacksonville FL shows that there are certain differences in consumption patterns caused by race, class and family traditions. In sum, the analysis shows that social class and consumption […]
• Social Class and Health: Qualitative Research The effects of class also affects mortality and lifespan of people in lower strata is of society, since chronic poor health and disease cuts down the life span and accelerates mortality The right to good […]
• The Question of Social Class Inequality The difference between the indicators used determines the various views on the problem of social class inequality. The rules which the people in power establish are expected to be followed by the rest of the […]
• Social Class, Stratification, and Group Pressures Formal group pressures are the dominant force in this equation, as poverty and social stratification is often a result of poor governance.
• Social Classes and Their Role in American Society One of the best examples of class division in the system of education is the existence of boarding schools, the so-called “elite” schools for privileged young people.
• Social Class and Religious Affiliation in the US The most powerful people, who have a lot of money, are the ones that belong to the high class. These people have the capability to influence the rest in terms of ideas and decision-making.
• Karl Marx on Social Classes in a Letter to John Mayer I share your sentiments on alienation and pain in lower-class imprisonment by the ruling class who have the resources to manipulate and twist social, religious, development, and political aspects of the society as opined by […]
• Gender Roles and Social Classes in Wartime The message is as simple as “The women of Britain say ‘Go.’” It points to the role of both men and women in wartime.
• Social Class Lesson and Implications To enhance the learning environment in the classroom, one has to consider the implications of social class on schooling. Consequently, this aspect creates a wrong perception of a student in the classroom and leads to […]
• Social Class and New Form of Consumption Marx describes the workers as ‘a class in itself’ in the sense that they share the same objectives and relationships to the means of production, that is, they are laborers who are paid in wages.
• Poorer Social Classes in Hindu and Islamic Religions The caste system leads to the isolation and exploitation of the weak classes of the society by the upper privileged classes, since the Hindu religion and traditions view poverty and their respective social classes as […]
• Relationships of Social Class and Happiness In the United States, for instance, the gap between the rich and the poor has been on the rise and the government seems to be doing very little to curb the sad realities of the […]
• What Is Social Class and How Does It Contribute to Our Understanding of the Social Determinants of Health? This section of the population normally consists of individuals with useful skill sets or levels of educational attainment that are valued by companies resulting in people from this class obtaining high paying jobs that allow […]
• Children’s Social Class Origins and Educational Attainment In order to explain the differences in education attainment between the children of the rich and those of the poor, it is important to decompose the social origins of the children into parental status, parental […]
• The Role of Gender and Social Class in Media Presentation: A Case Study of Roseanne and the Female Working Class Over the years, the place of the woman in the society has remained in the home. In addition, she is depicted as a member of the lower middle class.
• The balance between different social classes in Qin In this case, the law dictates that the needs of the meritorious people should be addressed before those of the less fortunate.
• Social Classes and Class Structure Marx and Engels argue that the communist in the manifesto ‘…the history of all hitherto existing in the society is the class struggles”.
• Social Class and Stratification The discussion in the chapter revolves around two main issues: the impact of social class on youth criminalization and the impact of globalization on social inequality.
• The Paradox of Social Class and Sports Involvement The study in that article was to establish the role of sports involvement in the creation of social classes within the society.
• Social Class and Voting patterns in Britain In fact, people in the upper working class and lower working class tended to vote for the Labour Party while people in the middle class mostly voted for the Conservative Party.
• Marxist Theory and Social Classes According to the Marxist theory, the current structure of the factors of production is in direct relation to the structure of social classes in the society.
• Stratification: Social Class in American Society Americans have a weak sense of class consciousness, and in addition, this class consciousness is not the same for the upper class and the middle class.
• Exploring the Topic of Class and Its Impact on Dreams Achievement How class affects one’s education The relationship between class and education can be evident in the article by Leonhardt and Scott, who observe that the number of students who belong to the upper class in […]
• Does Social Class Make a Difference? In most cases, individuals of high social class tend to have no barrier in social mobility in comparison to their counterparts in lower social ladder.
• Naturalistic Observation of Racial, Gender and Social Class Stereotyping in Serving Clients in Public Catering The focus of our investigation is manifestations of gender, racial and social class stereotyping in serving clients in public catering: we will observe behavior of waitresses in “Cafe” and analyze it from the perspective of […]
• Social Class and Alienation On the other hand, the proletariats are the workers, owners of labor and they are the majority in numbers but are powerless since they are oppressed and exploited by the rich and they always lose […]
• Can physical traits assess a person’s social class? Middle class are the members of a society with white collar jobs and a post degree education and lastly the lower class level; the semi skilled manual.
• The Relationship Between Social Class And Educational Achievement
• The Great Recession and the Changing Distribution of Economic Vulnerability by Social Class: The Irish Case
• Social Class Structures During 19th Century France
• Cultural Representations Of Social Class
• Social Class And The Hidden Curriculum Of Work By Jean Anyon
• Women’s Body Dissatisfaction, Social Class, and Social Mobility
• Love and Loyalty vs. The Pursuit of Social Class and Wealth
• Economic Behavior, Social Class Income, and Consumer Behavior
• Social Class And Public Health: Determining Your Health
• The Benefits and the Negatives of the Impact of Social Class in the Pieces by Staples, Graff, Rose and Barry
• From Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work
• Social Class Theories and Social Stratification
• Cognition and Cultural Change in Social Class
• Agency and Communion From the Perspective of Self Versus Others: The Moderating Role of Social Class
• Assess Different Marxist Views of the Relationship Between Crime and Social Class
• How Social Class Affects The Educational Attainment Of Boys And Girls
• Absolutism: Social Class and Absolute Ruler
• Video Games And Its Effects On Social Class
• The Correlation Between Education, Social Class And Success
• Compare And Contrast Social Class In 16th Century England
• White Collar Crime The Influences of the Social Class
• Buying Tesla and the Social Class of Green Technology
• Social Class Between The South During The 1930s
• Social Class and Conversion Capacity: Deprivation Trends in the Great Recession in Ireland
• Social Class, Alcohol Business, and Crime During the Prohibition in the 1920’s
• Gender Inequality and Social Class Differences in Society
• Feudalism: Social Class and National Government
• Lifestyle, Health and Social Class in Adolescence
• The Relationship Between Social Class And Delinquency
• Education And The Effect Of Selfishness, Social Class And Consumerism
• Rethinking the Health Consequences of Social Class and Social Mobility
• How Social Class Can Influence the Buying Behavioral Pattern of Consumers
• Race, Gender And Social Class Within The School System
• Social Class, Social Support And Obesity Risk In Children
• What Are Three Effects of Social Class on Family Life
• Home Factors May Affect Social Class Differences in Educational Achievement
• What Role Does Social Class Play in Great Expectations?
• Social Class, Power, and Unethical Behavior Relationship
• Sex, Gender, And Social Class Influence Institutions Of Society
• Social Class Affect Childs Attainment Levels In Education Education
• How Can Social Class Help Us Understand Conflict in Contemporary Britain?
• Does Social Class Affect Nutrition Knowledge and Food Preferences Among Chinese Urban Adults?
• How Does Dickens Present Social Class in Great Expectations?
• Does Social Class Affect the Probability of Being Sexually Attractive?
• How Does Marx’s Analysis of Social Class Differ From Theories of Today?
• Does Social Class Affect the Probability of Suffering From Sexual Violence?
• How Does Social Class Affect Education?
• Does Social Class Have Any Correlation With Education?
• How Does Social Class Affect Life Chances?
• Does Social Class Have Any Impact on Voting Behavior?
• How Does Social Class Affect the Quality of Education?
• Does the Association Between Self-Rated Health and Mortality Vary by Social Class?
• How Does Social Class Influence Parenting and Child Development?
• Does Your Social Class Determine Your Future?
• How Does Social Class Shape Religious Affiliation?
• What Accounts for the Relationship Between Social Class and Smoking Cessation?
• How Far Would You Agree That Marriage Is Based on Social Class?
• What Are Effects of Social Class on Family Life?
• How Does Social Class Affect Happiness?
• What Does Language Usage Affect a Person’s Social Class?
• How Does Social Class Affect the Educational Attainment of Boys and Girls?
• What Does Social Class Mean?
• How Does Social Class Affect Us Who Live in America?
• What Problems Are Associated With Trying to Measure Social Class?
• How Can Social Class and Power Affect the Lives of Different Individuals?
• How Do Social Class and Race Limit Opportunity?
• How Can Social Class Be Defined Within Different Ways?
• Why Has ‘Social Class’ Been of Such Significance in the History of Nineteenth-Century Britain?
• How Can Social Class Influence the Buying Behavioral?
• How Does Social Class Shape Adolescent Financial Socialization?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, February 29). 121 Social Class Essay Topics & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/social-class-essay-topics/

"121 Social Class Essay Topics & Examples." IvyPanda , 29 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/social-class-essay-topics/.

IvyPanda . (2024) '121 Social Class Essay Topics & Examples'. 29 February.

IvyPanda . 2024. "121 Social Class Essay Topics & Examples." February 29, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/social-class-essay-topics/.

1. IvyPanda . "121 Social Class Essay Topics & Examples." February 29, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/social-class-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "121 Social Class Essay Topics & Examples." February 29, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/social-class-essay-topics/.

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Several Ways We Can Teach Social Studies More Effectively -- Part One

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(This is the first post in a three part series. Part Two can be read here )

What’s the best advice you can give to Social Studies teachers who want to be more effective?

Today, I’ll share guest responses from three talented and experienced educators: Stephen Lazar, Bill Bigelow, and Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez.

I’ll publish “Part Two” on Thursday, which will include the comments from several other contributors.

“Part Three” will appear next Wednesday, and will share many suggestions shared from readers (there’s still time if you would like to share yours!), along with my own advice.

The next “question of the week” will appear in ten days.

Response From Stephen Lazar

Stephen Lazar is currently a National-Board Certified social studies teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y., and is a co-founder of Harvest Collegiate High School , a new public school opening this September in Manhattan. He works with teachers throughout New York to support inquiry-based instruction. He is on the executive board of ATSS/UFT and is a member of the Teacher Leaders Network . His article, “Septima Clark: Organizing for Positive Freedom,” appears in The New Black History , edited by the late Manning Marable and Elizabeth Hinton. He blogs about teaching and reflects on his practice at Outside the Cave :

Teaching Social Studies presents teachers with a unique set of challenges not always found in other disciplines. Students tend to see Social Studies in general, and History in particular, as the subject matter that has the least relevancy to their current lives and their future needs. And while a certain degree of cultural literacy and understanding of the past is a worthy goal, I have to concede that our students have a point. The best advice I can give Social Studies teachers who want to be more effective is to remember that we teach students, not content.

While standards may dictate that students be able to explain the Green Revolution, the human beings in our classes demand that the information we help them learn also help them develop as people. Students may enter our rooms asking, “when am I ever going to need use this information?” We need to help them leave wondering, “what lessons can I learn from the past to help myself and our society make better decisions in the future?” A study of the Green Revolution, then, becomes a lesson in how a seemingly wonderful solution to problem (hunger) can have unintended consequences that are potentially far more catastrophic (overpopulation, increased reliance on polluting fossil fuels). By focusing on transferable goals, students will not only be more engaged, but will better remember and understand the content.

It is far easier to focus on teaching students when there is less content to worry about; less becomes more. But for those like myself who face high stakes exams, as we have in New York, this is not always an option. Nonetheless, teachers can and should still focus on larger transfer goals.

To do so, it becomes imperative that teachers prioritize content. Even though I personally have a far greater interest in the ancient Greeks than the Romans, I spend far more time in my global classes on the Romans as their civilization yields far more transferable lessons to the decisions students will have to make as citizens. To be able to do this, I rush through the Greeks in a day. I sacrifice understanding of the different views of Plato and Aristotle, as much as it pains the former philosophy major inside me, so that my students can examine how a republic can turn into an empire, so that students may be on the watch for similar conditions in our American republic.

As you sit down to plan your next unit, start by asking two questions: “What do I want my students to remember about this unit in ten years?” and “How can my students use the information and skills outside of my class right now?” The answers to these two questions can then guide the assessments and lessons your students will experience.

Response From Bill Bigelow

Bill Bigelow is the curriculum editor of Rethinking Schools magazine, and co-director of the Zinn Education Project. He is the author or co-editor of many books on teaching, including Rethinking Columbus, A People’s History for the Classroom , and Rethinking Globalization: Teaching for Justice in an Unjust World . He taught high school social studies in Portland, Ore. for almost 30 years.

Perhaps the most important piece of advice I can pass along to new social studies teachers is the reminder that the textbook is not the curriculum. Increasingly, fewer and fewer giant multinational corporations produce our social studies textbooks. And all these for-profit entities have a vested interest in students (and teachers) not developing a critical awareness of the patterns of power and wealth that benefit those corporations.

That means that social studies teachers need to rely on ourselves, on networks of critical teachers, on non-profit publishers, and on the communities we serve, as the sources of curriculum.

Teach about what matters. Our job is to excite students about the world, to help them see the role that they can play in making society more equal and more just, to express their ideas powerfully, to see that social studies is about real people’s lives and about their relationship to each other and to nature. Enter the profession as a scholar, an historian, an activist, a curricular artist -- not as a subordinate to some “official” curriculum established far away from our classrooms by self-interested parties.

Creating a lively, playful, experiential curriculum about things that matter is more fun for students, and for us as teachers, too. The more that your students find meaning and joy in the social studies curriculum, the more vital your professional lives will be and the longer you will likely stay in teaching.

By “experiential,” I mean that we need to show students the world, not just tell them about it. We need a curriculum of role plays, simulations, and demonstrations that can bring social dynamics alive in the classroom, which is another reason to see yourself as a curricular artist and not as a mere dispenser of information. (See the Zinn Education Project for numerous models of different kinds of role plays and participatory curricula.)

Don’t forget that our students’ lives are also part of social studies. Bring those lives into the curriculum. Issues of race, class, culture, gender, language, and nationality all play out in the broader society, but also in students’ day-to-day experiences. Social studies is not just about famous people and Big Events, it’s about our students and the choices they face everyday. Find ways to blend their stories into the curriculum. (For example, see Linda Christensen’s books Reading, Writing, and Rising Up and Teaching for Joy and Justice.)

Especially these days, to teach social studies requires us to push at the boundaries that have traditionally confined our discipline. Arguably the most pressing issue facing humankind is climate change. Social studies teachers may not feel comfortable talking about atmospheric parts per million of carbon dioxide, but this is our issue as much as it “belongs” to science teachers. The causes of the climate crisis, its social impact, proposals for its mitigation, and ultimately how we can create a world of ecological sanity--these are all social issues, albeit ones marginalized in state standards and textbooks.

Remember, social studies is not only about chronicling events and memorizing dates. It’s less about description, than about explanation. It’s about questioning society, searching for patterns, and developing the tools to make the world a better place. Teaching social studies means showing how ordinary people have made a difference throughout history. In countless ways, we need to bring that activist sensibility to our students.

Response From Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez

Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez is a fifth-grade teacher in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District, and was named the district’s 2010 Teacher of the Year. Sarah is a National Board Certified Teacher and a former Sacramento County History Day Teacher of the Year. She is a member of Accomplished California Teachers :

As elementary school teachers, we have an incredible responsibility. Though our students will no doubt specialize in their own favorite subjects later in their educational careers, it is our job as elementary teachers to lay a foundation upon which they can build. It’s impossible to do this job well without, as the Beatles would say, a little help from our friends.

Surround yourself with the best (and use their ideas in your classroom!)

Find ways to connect with teachers throughout your district. In our district we have something called Vertical Team, where teachers who teach fifth-grade through twelfth come together. The meetings are teacher-run, and thus teacher-centered, providing us all with rich, meaningful professional development. There may be similar things in your district already established.

I was incredibly lucky to be part of a master’s program comprised of teachers in my district. Together we supported one another through the National Board process. As a result of National Board, I find myself constantly asking how lessons will impact student learning. If an approach isn’t going to have significant impact on student learning, I abandon it. While the National Board process in itself was extremely meaningful, the relationships I forged with my colleagues were equally, if not more, valuable. Consider joining a group of teachers pursuing National Board, or bringing the idea of doing Take One! to your school site.

If you can’t find an already established group that meets your needs, create your own. A handful of my colleagues and I formed a writing group four years ago. We meet every month or so to share student work, stories about writing, and tips that work well in our rooms.

Groups like these provide opportunities to share knowledge, reflect on classroom practice, and push yourself and your colleagues to the next level. You will leave meetings re-energized and excited about trying new things in your room.

Step outside of your school, district, and even state

There are lots of incredible opportunities out there, just waiting for someone like you to apply. The summer programs I have attended have had long-lasting effects. The Writing Project , specifically the Area3 Writing Project’s Summer Institute, transformed the way I teach writing and it’s no wonder so many participants describe it as “life changing.”

For fifth-grade teachers, the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute in Virginia is a must. This truly makes history come alive, and it offers scholarships!

Another great opportunity is the National Endowment for the Humanities Landmark Grants . The NEH offers workshops in a variety of states on an assortment of topics. The stipend will cover all of your costs, which is an extra bonus.

Bring in the reinforcements!

Guest speakers can make learning come alive for your students. Find areas where your expertise may be lacking, and invite an expert to come and talk with your students. Recently I had a cardiologist and a surgeon teach different aspects of the human body. Not only did they do a terrific job and provide my students with important content knowledge, but my students were also provided role models for a possible future career. Look for areas where you can bring in people from the outside -- by bringing in parents, and community members, your students benefit tremendously.

Get informed, and involved

This is a tough time in education, and our voices are often being ignored when it comes to policy decisions. Write letters to the editor to offer your insight after “educational” articles have been published, pick up the phone and ask your elected officials to fund education, and speak out to families. Together, we can be a powerful group!

Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your reactions to this question and the ideas shared here.

Thanks to Stephen, Bill and Sarah for sharing their responses!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] .When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind. I’m way behind in acknowledging questions that have been sent in, but I promise to get caught up in the summer!

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a selection of twelve published by Eye On Education .

I’ll be posting Part Two of this series on Thursday and the next “question of the week” in ten days.

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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Why the Conemaugh Township Area School District has apologized for a social studies homework assignment

DAVIDSVILLE ―The Conemaugh Township Area School District has made a public apology for a homework assignment a teacher gave to a fifth-grade social studies class that asked the students to make statements from the perspective of a slave owner.

A national conversation: Mock slave auctions, racist lessons: How US history class often traumatizes, dehumanizes Black students

In an email sent to the Daily American, district Superintendent Nicole Dull said, “The Conemaugh Township Area School District Administration and Board of Directors have become aware of a student assignment that was utilized in a social studies class to teach the subject of slavery. We understand that the assignment was intended for students to comprehend the horrors of slavery; however, a different approach should have been taken with due consideration given to the sensitive nature of such a difficult time in American history.

“The assignment has been eliminated from the class and the district deeply apologizes to those who were offended by the assignment.  The matter is, otherwise, being handled internally and measures are being taken to ensure that an unfortunate event like this does not happen again.”

The teacher was not named.

'This is not okay'

On March 14, the mother of a student in a fifth-grade social studies class posted her child’s assignment on social media sites Facebook, Reddit and TikTok asking others to give their opinions on the assignment's appropriateness.

“Yes, I’ve been in contact with the school and superintendent,” read the post made by username Renee Renee on her Facebook page . “My goal is for this to be publicly addresses (sic) so other educators can think twice and will NOT make this mistake.”

A new place to learn: What is happening at the old Daily American building? Think kids, fun, learning

She added that her child had one point deducted from the assignment because of comments they made on the assignment on how they would “treat the slave nicely” by “laying out nice cloths (sic) for the slave every day” and how “the slave can also eat with the family.”

The mother concluded her Facebook post by writing, “My black daughter doing a bidding exercise and pretending to be a slave owner is wild to me.”

Under the screen name “ohshellyeah_,” the mother posted a TikTok video saying that she reached out to the child’s teacher, asking for more information about the class curriculum and where this assignment came from. She said the teacher responded that it was made up by that teacher and a co-teacher.

The mother then said she requested a meeting with the teacher and contacted the elementary school principal’s office.

The principal called back, accompanied by the teacher, the mother said.

An innovative idea: Can a drone be used to save lives? A group of area organizations are working on a project to do just that.

“(The call) didn’t go too well, and I want to preface this with I do like this teacher,” she said, adding that the teacher had taught her child before, in an earlier grade and at a different school.

“However, I don’t like this assignment that (the teacher) gave my child, my Black child. Any white child, even at that, it’s unacceptable, and I’m sure I don’t have to explain over and over why this assignment is not okay.”

The mother said on the video that she decided to post her comments about the assignment on social media to promote an open conversation among parents, educators and the public.

“I don’t feel good about it; again, I like the teacher. I think it was poor judgment, (the teacher is) misguided, I don’t know what’s going on,” she said.

“I don’t want heads to roll, I want this to be a learning experience. I’m sure (the teacher) has learned by now, after what I’ve said to (the teacher). I don’t want (the teacher) fired. I want this to be a learning experience for other educators, for other parents, for everyone. We need to learn from this, (that) this is not okay.

“There’s so many ways to teach about slavery. It’s just not okay. I just want this to go viral, I want people to get involved, to have conversations with each other, with other educators and let them know this is not okay. This is 2024, we’re not going to have Black and white students pretending, role-playing as slave masters as a graded assignment.”

The Daily American tried to contact the child’s parents through Facebook to request an interview but did not receive a response.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Parent blasts Conemaugh Township Area School District for 'misguided' fifth-grade homework assignment

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• Digital adoption: Digital channels are expected to continue to grow, with data showing that 60 percent of adults who have a mobile phone and internet access have done a digital financial transaction. 8 “Financial inclusion dashboard: First quarter 2023,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, February 6, 2024. Businesses in this sector, however, will need to remain vigilant in navigating cybersecurity and fraud risks.
• Unsecured lending growth: Growth in unsecured lending is expected to continue, but at a slower pace than the past two to three years. For example, unsecured retail lending for the banking system alone grew by 27 percent annually from 2020 to 2022. 9 “Loan accounts: As of first quarter 2023,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, February 6, 2024; "Global banking pools,” McKinsey, November 2023. Businesses in this field are, however, expected to recalibrate their risk profiling models as segments with high nonperforming loans emerge.
• High interest rates: Key interest rates are expected to decline in the second half of 2024, creating more accommodating borrowing conditions that could boost wholesale and corporate loans.

Supportive frameworks have a pivotal role to play in unlocking growth in this sector to meet the ever-increasing demand from the financially underserved. For example, financial literacy programs and easier-to-access accounts—such as BDAs—are some measures that can help widen market access to financial services. Continued efforts are being made to build an open finance framework that could serve the needs of the unbanked population, as well as a unified credit scoring mechanism to increase the ability of historically under-financed segments, such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to access formal credit. 10 “BSP launches credit scoring model,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, April 26, 2023.

Energy and Power

The outlook for the energy sector seems positive, with the potential to grow by 7 percent in 2024 as the country focuses on renewable energy generation. 11 McKinsey analysis based on input from industry experts. Currently, stakeholders are focused on increasing energy security, particularly on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet power plants’ requirements as production in one of the country’s main sources of natural gas, the Malampaya gas field, declines. 12 Myrna M. Velasco, “Malampaya gas field prod’n declines steeply in 2021,” Manila Bulletin , July 9, 2022. High global inflation and the fact that the Philippines is a net fuel importer are impacting electricity prices and the build-out of planned renewable energy projects. Recent regulatory moves to remove foreign ownership limits on exploration, development, and utilization of renewable energy resources could possibly accelerate growth in the country’s energy and power sector. 13 “RA 11659,” Department of Energy Philippines, June 8, 2023.

Gas, renewables, and transmission are potential growth drivers for the sector. Upgrading power grids so that they become more flexible and better able to cope with the intermittent electricity supply that comes with renewables will be critical as the sector pivots toward renewable energy. A recent coal moratorium may position natural gas as a transition fuel—this could stimulate exploration and production investments for new, indigenous natural gas fields, gas pipeline infrastructure, and LNG import terminal projects. 14 Philippine energy plan 2020–2040, Department of Energy Philippines, June 10, 2022; Power development plan 2020–2040 , Department of Energy Philippines, 2021. The increasing momentum of green energy auctions could facilitate the development of renewables at scale, as the country targets 35 percent share of renewables by 2030. 15 Power development plan 2020–2040 , 2022.

Growth in the healthcare industry may slow to 2.8 percent in 2024, while pharmaceuticals manufacturing is expected to rebound with 5.2 percent growth in 2024. 16 McKinsey analysis in partnership with Oxford Economics.

Healthcare demand could grow, although the quality of care may be strained as the health worker shortage is projected to increase over the next five years. 17 McKinsey analysis. The supply-and-demand gap in nursing alone is forecast to reach a shortage of approximately 90,000 nurses by 2028. 18 McKinsey analysis. Another compounding factor straining healthcare is the higher than anticipated benefit utilization and rising healthcare costs, which, while helping to meet people's healthcare budgets, may continue to drive down profitability for health insurers.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies are feeling varying effects of people becoming increasingly health conscious. Consumers are using more over the counter (OTC) medication and placing more beneficial value on organic health products, such as vitamins and supplements made from natural ingredients, which could impact demand for prescription drugs. 19 “Consumer health in the Philippines 2023,” Euromonitor, October 2023.

Businesses operating in this field may end up benefiting from universal healthcare policies. If initiatives are implemented that integrate healthcare systems, rationalize copayments, attract and retain talent, and incentivize investments, they could potentially help to strengthen healthcare provision and quality.

Businesses may also need to navigate an increasingly complex landscape of diverse health needs, digitization, and price controls. Digital and data transformations are being seen to facilitate improvements in healthcare delivery and access, with leading digital health apps getting more than one million downloads. 20 Google Play Store, September 27, 2023. Digitization may create an opportunity to develop healthcare ecosystems that unify touchpoints along the patient journey and provide offline-to-online care, as well as potentially realizing cost efficiencies.

Consumer and retail

Growth in the retail and wholesale trade and consumer goods sectors is projected to remain stable in 2024, at 4 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Inflation, however, continues to put consumers under pressure. While inflation rates may fall—predicted to reach 4 percent in 2024—commodity prices may still remain elevated in the near term, a top concern for Filipinos. 21 “IMF raises Philippine growth forecast,” July 26, 2023; “Nomura downgrades Philippines 2024 growth forecast,” September 11, 2023. In response to challenging economic conditions, 92 percent of consumers have changed their shopping behaviors, and approximately 50 percent indicate that they are switching brands or retail providers in seek of promotions and better prices. 22 “Philippines consumer pulse survey, 2023,” McKinsey, November 2023.

Online shopping has become entrenched in Filipino consumers, as they find that they get access to a wider range of products, can compare prices more easily, and can shop with more convenience. For example, a McKinsey Philippines consumer sentiment survey in 2023 found that 80 percent of respondents, on average, use online and omnichannel to purchase footwear, toys, baby supplies, apparel, and accessories. To capture the opportunity that this shift in Filipino consumer preferences brings and to unlock growth in this sector, retail organizations could turn to omnichannel strategies to seamlessly integrate online and offline channels. Businesses may need to explore investments that increase resilience across the supply chain, alongside researching and developing new products that serve emerging consumer preferences, such as that for natural ingredients and sustainable sources.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is a key contributor to the Philippine economy, contributing approximately 19 percent of GDP in 2022, employing about 7 percent of the country’s labor force, and growing in line with GDP at approximately 6 percent between 2023 and 2024. 23 McKinsey analysis based on input from industry experts.

Some changes could be seen in 2024 that might affect the sector moving forward. The focus toward building resilient supply chains and increasing self-sufficiency is growing. The Philippines also is likely to benefit from increasing regional trade, as well as the emerging trend of nearshoring or onshoring as countries seek to make their supply chains more resilient. With semiconductors driving approximately 45 percent of Philippine exports, the transfer of knowledge and technology, as well as the development of STEM capabilities, could help attract investments into the sector and increase the relevance of the country as a manufacturing hub. 24 McKinsey analysis based on input from industry experts.

To secure growth, public and private sector support could bolster investments in R&D and upskill the labor force. In addition, strategies to attract investment may be integral to the further development of supply chain infrastructure and manufacturing bases. Government programs to enable digital transformation and R&D, along with a strategic approach to upskilling the labor force, could help boost industry innovation in line with Industry 4.0 demand. 25 Industry 4.0 is also referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Priority products to which manufacturing industries could pivot include more complex, higher value chain electronic components in the semiconductor segment; generic OTC drugs and nature-based pharmaceuticals in the pharmaceutical sector; and, for green industries, products such as EVs, batteries, solar panels, and biomass production.

Information technology business process outsourcing

The information technology business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) sector is on track to reach its long-term targets, with $38 billion in forecast revenues in 2024. 26 Khriscielle Yalao, “WHF flexibility key to achieving growth targets—IBPAP,” Manila Bulletin , January 23, 2024. Emerging innovations in service delivery and work models are being observed, which could drive further growth in the sector.

The industry continues to outperform headcount and revenue targets, shaping its position as a country leader for employment and services. 27 McKinsey analysis based in input from industry experts. Demand from global companies for offshoring is expected to increase, due to cost containment strategies and preference for Philippine IT-BPO providers. New work setups continue to emerge, ranging from remote-first to office-first, which could translate to potential net benefits. These include a 10 to 30 percent increase in employee retention; a three- to four-hour reduction in commute times; an increase in enabled talent of 350,000; and a potential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 1.4 to 1.5 million tons of CO 2 per year. 28 McKinsey analysis based in input from industry experts. It is becoming increasingly more important that the IT-BPO sector adapts to new technologies as businesses begin to harness automation and generative AI (gen AI) to unlock productivity.

Talent and technology are clear areas where growth in this sector can be unlocked. The growing complexity of offshoring requirements necessitates building a proper talent hub to help bridge employee gaps and better match local talent to employers’ needs. Businesses in the industry could explore developing facilities and digital infrastructure to enable industry expansion outside the metros, especially in future “digital cities” nationwide. Introducing new service areas could capture latent demand from existing clients with evolving needs as well as unserved clients. BPO centers could explore the potential of offering higher-value services by cultivating technology-focused capabilities, such as using gen AI to unlock revenue, deliver sales excellence, and reduce general administrative costs.

Sustainability

The Philippines is considered to be the fourth most vulnerable country to climate change in the world as, due to its geographic location, the country has a higher risk of exposure to natural disasters, such as rising sea levels. 29 “The Philippines has been ranked the fourth most vulnerable country to climate change,” Global Climate Risk Index, January 2021. Approximately $3.2 billion, on average, in economic loss could occur annually because of natural disasters over the next five decades, translating to up to 7 to 8 percent of the country’s nominal GDP. 30 “The Philippines has been ranked the fourth most vulnerable country to climate change,” Global Climate Risk Index, January 2021.

The Philippines could capitalize on five green growth opportunities to operate in global value chains and catalyze growth for the nation:

• Renewable energy: The country could aim to generate 50 percent of its energy from renewables by 2040, building on its high renewable energy potential and the declining cost of producing renewable energy.
• Solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing: More than a twofold increase in annual output from 2023 to 2030 could be achieved, enabled by lower production costs.
• Battery production: The Philippines could aim for a $1.5 billion domestic market by 2030, capitalizing on its vast nickel reserves (the second largest globally). 31 “MineSpans,” McKinsey, November 2023.
• Electric mobility: Electric vehicles could account for 15 percent of the country’s vehicle sales by 2030 (from less than 1 percent currently), driven by incentives, local distribution, and charging infrastructure. 32 McKinsey analysis based on input from industry experts.
• Nature-based solutions: The country’s largely untapped total abatement potential could reach up to 200 to 300 metric tons of CO 2 , enabled by its biodiversity and strong demand.

The Philippine economy: Three scenarios for growth

Having grown faster than other economies in Southeast Asia in 2023 to end the year with 5.6 percent growth, the Philippines can expect a similarly healthy growth outlook for 2024. Based on our analysis, there are three potential scenarios for the country’s growth. 33 McKinsey analysis in partnership with Oxford Economics.

Slower growth: The first scenario projects GDP growth of 4.8 percent if there are challenging conditions—such as declining trade and accelerated inflation—which could keep key policy rates high at about 6.5 percent and dampen private consumption, leading to slower long-term growth.

Soft landing: The second scenario projects GDP growth of 5.2 percent if inflation moderates and global conditions turn out to be largely favorable due to a stable investment environment and regional trade demand.

Accelerated growth: In the third scenario, GDP growth is projected to reach 6.1 percent if inflation slows and public policies accommodate aspects such as loosening key policy rates and offering incentive programs to boost productivity.

Focusing on factors that could unlock growth in its seven critical sectors and themes, while adapting to the macro-economic scenario that plays out, would allow the Philippines to materialize its growth potential in 2024 and take steps towards achieving longer-term, sustainable economic growth.

Jon Canto is a partner in McKinsey’s Manila office, where Frauke Renz is an associate partner, and Vicah Villanueva is a consultant.

The authors wish to thank Charlene Chua, Charlie del Rosario, Ryan delos Reyes, Debadrita Dhara, Evelyn C. Fong, Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, Frances Lee, Aaron Ong, and Liane Tan for their contributions to this article.

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