Social Sciences
At Willow Park School, the social sciences are studied through units of inquiry. This curriculum integrated approach, focused on a central idea, readily lends itself to students exploring, engaging with, and developing understandings of, the key concepts contained in this learning area.
What are the social sciences about?
The social sciences learning area is about how societies work and how people can participate as critical, active, informed, and responsible citizens. Contexts are drawn from the past, present, and future and from places within and beyond New Zealand.
Why study the social sciences?
Through the social sciences, students develop the knowledge and skills to enable them to: better understand, participate in, and contribute to the local, national, and global communities in which they live and work.
How is the learning area structured?
Achievement objectives for social sciences at levels 1-5 integrate concepts from one or more of four conceptual strands:
· Identity, Culture, and Organisation – Students learn about society and communities and how they function.
· Place and Environment – Students learn about how people perceive, represent, interpret, and interact with places and environments.
· Continuity and Change – Students learn about past events, experiences, and actions and the changing ways in which these have been interpreted over time.
· The Economic World – Students learn about the ways in which people participate in economic activities and about the consumption, production, and distribution of good and services.