Social Studies Curriculum

The social studies program of the Belmont Public Schools is dedicated to developing informed, responsible, and active participants in democratic society who are prepared to live in an increasingly global and interconnected world.  The goal of our history and social science curriculum is to enable students to acquire the knowledge,skill, and judgment necessary to continue to learn for themselves; to participate intelligently, justly, and responsibly in civil life; to deliberate about local, national, and international issues; and to avail themselves of historical and cultural resources such as historic sites, museums, parks,libraries, and multimedia information sources wherever they may live or travel.  Learning a simple chain of chronological events does no thelp prepare students for the increasingly fast, diverse, and challenging world they will be entering upon graduation from the Belmont Public Schools. To enable them to do so, teachers must reinforce the development of 21st century skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, research and analysis,reading and interpreting documents and data, as well as oral and written communication.  Throughout all of their Social Studies course work, students are consistently reminded how history is relevant to their lives.

To achieve these goals, the social studies curriculum is aligned with the Massachusetts History and Social Science Frameworks that focus on a content-based curriculum revolving around the disciplines of History,Geography, Economics, Civics, and Government as well as the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy that incorporates the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies. 

Elementary, Grades K - 3:

Upper Elementary, Grades 4 - 6:

Secondary, Grades 7 - 12