The Social Studies Department is committed to helping students understand their place in the world. Students will be learning about the past in order to make connections to the present so as to understand how their lives have changed because of events in history. To make these connections and to prepare students for high school and college, they will be using their critical thinking skills in a variety of non-fiction texts, inclusive of primary and secondary sources. Students will also be practicing their research and writing skills throughout the curriculum which support the English Language Arts and Social Studies Common Core Standards.  There will be collaborative and independent opportunities for students to gain a deeper understanding of classroom contents.