If you are teaching social sciences of any kind, you will be teaching one of the following-Civics, Geography, Economics, and US History starting in Kindergarten and going right through high school and beyond homeschool to college levels.  Each theme will be presented through the years with an age or skills level for the child.  Example of that being, don't teach World History when a child does not yet have a realm outside their own small world. 

Some time around the fourth or fifth grade level, and right through your homeschool high schooling, you will incorporate more World History, and include all the past US History you have learned into that.  This is when your child begins to understand and comprehend world studies and how their US History plays a part in that.

History can go well beyond the standard classes too, and even include social studies of Political Science, Anthropology, Psychology, and many other themes.

The Value of Social Studies

There is a wealth of resources available online for lesson plans for social studies, which can be very beneficial when planning your curriculum. When attempting to form your lesson plans with study themes, you may want to take a moment to ask the question, as so many have before, “What is social studies?” When we work on the social science, they are usually related to one or more of the following topics:

Civics

There is an epidemic of adults that do not have a working literacy in the subject of civics, and it is our responsibility to reverse this phenomena. Civics gives attention to individual citizens in the operation of our government. From the study or our government structure, to our personal roles within this structure, we must be aware of the pieces that assemble the puzzle known as the US government, lest we be helpless in navigating them. When teaching this subject, careful attention should be paid to the civics curriculum, but application is just as important to include in this curriculum. Field trips can be planned to tour local government offices, or organize a group trip with other homeschooling parents for an interview with a local official so that your student can see your government at work.

Economics

Economics is a social science that deals with products and services, as well as their consumption, production, and distribution. You will find yourself deeply involved in the principles associated with supply and demand, and eventually you will find yourself searching for online help in delivering an effective lesson plan on inflation and recession. Personal economics have a place in this study as well. Children in the conventional public schools often refer to home economics as “cooking class”. Unfortunately, learning about wise spending, saving, and banking practices have faded from the forefront of economics classes and left many of today’s young adults ill-equipped for managing their own personal finances. We should endeavor to give our children the proper tools to manage their financial needs.

Geography

Geography is the study of where in the world things are, literally. Social Science websites have several resources for you to use when planning the geography units in your lesson plan. U.S. geography resources are undoubtedly more readily available, but world geography activities are to be found as well. Geography helps us understand our lives, as well as others, on a much deeper level. Your local geography dictates how often you perform certain tasks and your relationship with persons in your community, as well as the frequency of interaction that you have with them. If you lived closer to a different community, your life would be very different, and that is the same on a global scale. To understand geography is to compliment every other social study lesson plan that you attempt.

U.S. History

The study of U.S. History is suffering in today’s school system. A U.S. History homeschool curriculum needs to define more than just the abbreviated versions of the events we base our holidays on. In U.S. History, we learn of the actions and decisions that made our country what it is today. When we look back on our past, we learn lessons about how we are to deal with the events to come. A homeschool history curriculum is exciting to plan, especially when you start to understand the impact that your own community may have had in shaping historical events. In the lives and words of the great many that built this country, you can find answers and warnings to help build a better tomorrow. There are many websites that offer tips for your U.S. history lesson plan, as well as tips for finding your local place in U.S. history.

World History

World history and culture is endlessly important in understanding how we, as a country, have interacted with other cultures in the past, as well as how they have interacted with each other. In learning about a civilization, either one that exists today or one that has fallen into times past, you learn of what has been beneficial or detrimental to their society. There are all manner of discoveries to be made, from engineering, to economics, to governments. World history is catalogs of human error and triumph that can help a maturing mind correlate the rise and fall of nations to the decisions they themselves will make. Social Studies questions are not just US history, they are global history. Through the trials of many cultures may we understand them better, and through their rise and fall may we learn to better organize ourselves to prevent similar demise.

Many school-based curriculums have tried to compress the studies of history, geography, world civilizations, and civics into one “social studies” heading. Each of these subjects requires direct attention and careful study for the benefit of the child, and the community that the adult will one day be a productive member of.

Additional Social Studies Resources, Curriculum, and Supplies

American Heritage Education Foundation (AHEF) operates a non-profit website to promote the historical and perpetual values of this country through facilitating education to all of our fifty states in the USA. Among other partners and resources, the AHEF offers free US Social Studies. lesson plans for the entire K-12 age bracket.
American Minute - Former U.S. Congressional Candidate William J .Federer brings us the American Minute website, and is also the president of Amerisearch, Inc. His company produces research quality materials related to United States history. The American Minute gives you a United States history fact for each day of the year, as well as daily news related to our current Christian social concerns in today’s government.
America's Christian History - Mrs. Dorothy Kreiss Robbins and her husband are dedicated to the homeschooling movement in the US. America’s Christian History brings you the benefit of her twenty-five years of Christian teaching with lessons in history, politics, and other ethical, character building subjects.
BiblioPlan offers a range of study plans for your family to study the lives of great Christians and their roles in American history, ancient history, world civilizations, and the medieval and renaissance periods. These unique guides offer chronological lessons that integrate bible studies with important subjects related to your social studies curriculum.
Bright Ideas Press offers a wide variety of helpful resources, including helpful articles on a wealth of topics as well as an informative e-zine that you can have sent to your inbox free of charge stuffed with tips and the encouragement that we all need from time to time. They have a downloadable catalogue for you to find your next curriculum, as well as other resources for the homeschooling family. Science and social studies are this site’s primary focus, and they seek to procure affordable, high-quality educational products.
Brimwood Press has everything from organized texts to fact sheets, the Tools for Young Historians series from Brimwood Press is designed to compliment the fifth to eighth grade age range to assist in developing your child’s “historical literacy” with a focus on their three primary concepts. These three concepts for fostering this literacy are teaching the language historians use, understanding world views, and learning the flow of history. They have been offering their system for home use since 2004.
Cadron Creek Christian Curriculum has a unique approach to teaching subjects from important eras in US history to Christian studies through classic literary works, such as Anne of Green Gables, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Little House on the Prairie.
Christian Novel Studies was started in 1996 by the Roe family. They have provided study guides, mini guides, compact study booklets, and a curriculum on America at the same prices since they started. Their goal is to provide an affordable array of study aides for the homeschooling family. Christian Novel Studies even offers used materials for the ultimate in budget-friendly study materials.
Colonial Williamsburg's website offers several features for your US History curriculum, There you can find virtual field trips, a digital library, activities, and lesson plans that focus on subjects like the Stamp Act, Colonial culture, the American Revolution, and eighteenth-century living.
Corps of Rediscovery website is committed to educating, or reeducating, families on the travels of Lewis & Clark, the lives of the frontiersmen, the Native American’s role in our history, as well as the trials of the American pioneer.
History Portfolio Series presents a handsome portfolio approach to teaching history employing both classical and notebooking styles. Their website also offers ideas for teaching medieval history, full color map PDFs, and additional notebooking ideas. The History Portfolio Series helps your child build their own history book.
Homeschool in the Woods has U.S. history “Time Travellers” and bible study packs available. There are timelines, images for the historical timelines, and notebooks available for purchase from their fully downloadable catalog. Their unit studies include hands on activities to keep your child engaged.
Intercollegiate Studies Institute has been working toward a better understanding among Americans of beneficial spiritual, political and economic values. There are thousands of people each year that are given direction to a large number of educational programs that cater toward a more ordered liberty.
Intrepid Books uses providential history in their homeschooling aids to help instill Christian ethics and Godly principles in today's youth.
Lady Liberty Live is a living monument, literally. Rachael is a teacher that creates a learning environment that stands out in a child's mind by bringing Lady Liberty to life for them. She is available for a range of appearances and events, rates are stated on the web site.
Learning Adventures series are made up of five books that include a full 180-day lesson plan for every subject, less math, for the 4th-8th grade age bracket. The second through fifth books also include US History, as well as world history and culture studies relevant to the current history lesson.
Learning Through History Magazine features at least fifteen articles in each issue from authors of the world. The articles are all focused on one centralized theme per issue (Ancient Egypt, The Great Depression, etc.), and they are most suitable for ages nine through sixteen.
Learning with Ease is the home of the National Registry of Living Historians, as well as the online Historian Marketplace. Learning with Ease offers several history-related learning aids, and are the creators of the staircase learning system.
Living Learning Books has a range of books to serve each of your subjects. In science they have materials for life science, earth science, astronomy, chemistry, and physics. For history, there is a selection of ancient history, medieval history, early American history, and even the history of flight. There are audio aids for ages from elementary to high school, as well as musical programs in audio and visual format.
Mantle Ministires offers you the guidance of Richard "Little Bear" Wheeler as he travels with your family the map of our American history, and passes on "the Mantle of Christian Heritage."
Notgrass Company offers history, civics, and religious education and application. Notgrass Company is a family based organization that structures their curriculum around Biblical studies.
Papa Lemon Education is a site that brings you the teachings of diversity in our country's heritage with the help of Papa Lemon, Mama Sarah, and their magical train.
The Plymouth Rock Foundation was founded in Plymouth, MA by John Gl Talcott, Jr. It is dedicated to the Christian heritage of early America. Their goal is to "preserve, rehearse and propagate the rich Christian heritage of the United States of America, beginning with the Pilgrims."
Rosedale College is an evangelical junior bible college that is designed to lay a solid foundation on which our children can structure their education and learn to become functional members of society and the church.
Sons of the American Revolution is a non-profit agency that has been established to further facilitate education in history, citizenship, patriotism, national symbols, and the true meaning of e pluribus unum.
State History by A Helping Hand from a Christian perspective, is the focus of StateHistory.net. Their catalog includes lesson plans, notebook instructions, as well as pertinent state information at a very reasonable price for grades 3-12. They also offer a State History Under God and Church History selection to enhance your child's Christian based state history education.
The Henry Ford Museum is an impressive collection that pays homage to the inventions of the past, now taken for granted, that make our everyday life what it is. The Henry Ford museum not only offers educational resources on-site, they also have a wide variety of educational resources for students and teachers online, including online exhibits.
The Lukeion Project is an online learning institution that does not employ ageism for your gifted child's benefit. Their history lessons are interdisciplinary to allow for a broader scope of understanding in each topic.
The Mariners Museum is an impressive collection of maritime history and artifacts. They offer both distance learning opportunities and homeschooling resources through online exhibitions and lessons that are designed to cater to specific grade level learning.
Timelines, Etc.. has a broad range of timelines to help you and your student better understand the history of the bible and the world. From U.S. studies to world civilizations, you can find excellent material to support your lesson plan. Enjoy their freebies page while you visit.
TRISMS or Time Related Intergrated Studies for Mastering Skills is a series that is available for homeschool, charter, private school, or public school use. Their materials offer many areas of support in social studies that are meant to be presented in a classical learning environment.
Vision Forum offers age-relevant books, audio and video tools, toys, and more for your homeschool learning experience. These products can be browsed by age range, author, media, gender, or even family focused material. Visit their Ministries in the News, Book Blog, video ENN (Everyday News Network) or register for their electronic newsletter to be kept in the know.
Find the Fun Productions presents American History for Kids, where DVD media is used to engage and entice children in their US History studies. From colonial learning to the civil war, their visual learning aids are available to help your child navigate their nation's historically significant events.
Sequoia Ministry offers support for your family through faith-based nature and history study tools. Ranger Bruce's CDs and DVDs are meant to help your child learn about their own history and environment while encouraging Christian principles.

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