What does a student learn in
California, Pre-Kindergarten, Social Studies ?

Notice, make observations, and ask adults and peers questions about the social world (people, places, institutions).

Make more detailed observations and ask adults and peers more specific questions (why, how) about the social world (people, places, institutions).

Gather information with adult support from resources (such as books and other media) related to questions of interest about the social world (people, places, institutions).

Gather information during extended inquiries, with adult support, from a greater variety of resources (such as informational books, magazines, media, and community members) to generate answers related to questions of interest about the social world (people, places, institutions).

Create representations (for example, drawings, three-dimensional models, embodied action, or stories) to show developing understanding of the social world (people, places, institutions), with adult support.

Create more detailed representations (for example, drawings, three-dimensional models, embodied action, or stories) to deepen and share their understanding of the social world (people, places, institutions), with adult support.

Show awareness of characteristics of self, including ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, gender, and ability identities.

Show greater awareness and understanding of characteristics of self, including ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, gender, and ability identities.

Exhibit awareness of the communities (for example, family, peer group) with whom they interact frequently.

Exhibit awareness of their membership in varied communities, including communities with whom they interact occasionally (for example, sports team, extended family, faith community).

Exhibit awareness of familiar everyday social roles (for example, parent, sibling, teacher, doctor).

Exhibit awareness of broader social roles beyond the everyday social roles they typically encounter.

Explore the cultural groups (for example, racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, ability) in which they participate and display curiosity about other people's practices.

Explore characteristics, practices, and traditions of cultural groups (for example, racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, ability) beyond their own cultural communities, with adult support.

Notice similarities and differences in people and families they know (for example, race, ethnicity, language, gender expression, family structures, ability).

Identify and name similarities and differences among people and families they know (for example, race, ethnicity, language, gender expression, family structures, ability), as well as people they are exposed to through learning materials, media, and daily interactions, with adult prompting.

Recognize members of their peer groups (for example, members of their classroom, team, or activity group) and include them in play and learning activities.

Identify members of their peer groups (for example, members of their classroom, team, or activity group), and include them in collaborative play and learning activities.

Notice the needs of other people (for example, adults, peers) and the physical space; show care by offering help and contributing.

Increasingly notice individual and group needs. Show care for others (for example, adults, peers) and for the physical space through actions like offering help, contributing, advocating, and leading.

Notice and communicate that peers have different needs by offering different resources and taking varied actions. (Even so, they may become frustrated by differences in the distribution of materials or opportunities.)

Demonstrate understanding that peers have different needs by working toward supporting rules and practices that allow for each other's needs to be met. (Even so, they may still become frustrated by differences in the distribution of materials or opportunities.)

Contribute to group efforts alongside adults and peers.

Contribute ideas, work toward group efforts, and show awareness of their individual contribution to collective group projects alongside adults and peers.

Recognize community rules and norms and, with adult support, follow rules while learning to coordinate personal interests with those of others.

Recognize rules and norms and follow community rules with fewer adult reminders. Enforce community rules and norms with peers.

Participate in group decision-making (for example, voting, group meetings, circle time) about everyday choices that affect the group, with adult support.

Participate in group decision-making (for example, voting, group meetings, circle time) with adult support. Express ideas of agreement and disagreement during decision-making practices.

Participate in problem-solving with peers (for example, interpersonal conflict resolution). Use simple bargaining or seek out adult intervention as strategies.

Solve problems with peers through strategies like negotiation and compromise to solve problems. Intervene on behalf of one another during problem-solving.

Offer simple ideas to address problems and issues affecting their group, school, or larger community, with adult support.

Develop solutions and take action, often engaging others, to address problems and issues in their group, school, or larger community, with adult support.

Use sequential words or phrases, such as "before" and "after," to describe the time order of everyday personal events.

Indicate time order with increasing accuracy and sophistication. Use words like "before," "after," "then," "next," "yesterday," and "tomorrow."

Identify change over time in themself, with some adult support, when recalling events from early life (for example, "When I was a baby ...").

Identify and describe change over time in themself, family, and community and share more detailed stories about recent experiences.

Recall past experiences easily and enjoy hearing stories about the past but require adult help to distinguish when past events occurred in relation to each other and to connect them with current experience.

Show improved ability to relate past events to other past events and current experiences but occasionally rely on some adult support.

Identify the characteristics of familiar locations, such as home and school and describe objects and activities associated with each.

Identify characteristics of their community and region, including geographic features, weather, and common activities.

Communicate location and directionality (for example, in/on, under/over, up/down, inside/outside) when describing nearby places and locations.

Communicate a greater diversity of directions to others (for example, near/far, next to, beside/between, in front/behind), including specific places and locations that are farther away.

Demonstrate an emerging understanding that drawings, globes, building materials, and maps can represent the physical world, but often interpret map symbols imprecisely.

Create their own drawings, maps, and models; use globes, maps, and map symbols and use maps for basic problem-solving (for example, locating objects) more skillfully, with adult support.

Show an interest in the natural and built world, including animals, plants, and the built environment, especially as they experience it directly. With adult support, develop understanding of the interaction between humans and the environment, including taking care of the natural world (for example, not polluting a lake).

Show an interest in the natural and built world both within and outside direct experience. Understand the positive and negative impacts of human interaction with the natural world. With adult support, develop actions to take care of the natural world and humans impacted by natural disasters (for example, forest fires).

Recognize that community members have basic needs (for example, shelter, food) and that there are different ways to meet those needs.

Recognize that community members have basic needs (for example, shelter, food) and demonstrates emerging ability to identify people and places within the community that help community members meet their needs.

Understand that people do different types of work, both inside and outside the home.

Explore with adult support a wider array of work that people do both inside and outside the home. Understand how different types of work help communities meet their needs.

Recognize use of different forms of exchange, including trading and using money to buy and sell.

Understand more complex exchange concepts, like choosing one item over another (opportunity cost), limited access to or limited amounts of a resource (supply and demand), and the exchange of money to buy and sell goods and services.