Social Studies

Mission: To empower SPPS students to be lifelong learners, we provide responsive instruction through culturally relevant content, fair & equitable grading methods, and multiple opportunities for discourse. 

Vision: We envision a dynamic learning atmosphere where K-12 SPPS students participate, learn, and engage in meaningful explorations of historical thinking, geographic inquiry, civic inquiry, economic analysis, and ethnic studies of multiple and absent narratives. 

MN Studies 6 helps students acquire the skills to engage in historical inquiry and study events, issues and individuals significant to Minnesota history, beginning with the early indigenous people of the upper Mississippi River region to the present day. Students will study Minnesota history and its government, placing the state and its people within the context of the national story. All students enrolled in this course will participate in History Day or create a Digital Storytelling product as part of this course.

American Studies 7 fosters an interdisciplinary “Studies” approach that enhances the study of United States history with important content from economics and geography. Students learn about people, issues, and events of significance to this nation’s history from 1800 to the current era of globalization. All students enrolled in this course will participate in History Day which satisfies the SPPS Common Core Rubric for Research Writing Product.

Global Studies 8 furthers the interdisciplinary “Studies” approach begun in pervious course by examining the features of geography with a secondary emphasis on contemporary world history. Students analyze important trends in the modern world such as demographic change, shifting trade patterns, and intensified cultural interactions due to globalization.