Marin

Social Studies

Through our social studies curriculum, our students explore the world around them.

Students learn how people and groups work together to resolve problems in a spirit of cooperation. As they study the collective ideas of their community, their family, their school, city, state and country, our students develop a deep appreciation of the cultural diversity that surrounds them.

Social studies is not passive at BHDS — children learn about history, anthropology, geography, current events and others’ values, customs and ways of life through lively debate, historical reenactments and other creative projects.

LS Social Studies News

Second Grade Visit Guide Dogs for the Blind and Botanical Gardens in One Week!

Posted May 9, 2013

The second graders were fortunate to get to go on two, sought-after, lottery-selected field trips this week—one day apart! On Monday, they toured the Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, following up on their classroom learning about the lives of Helen Keller and Louis Braille and the different kinds of blindness and how vision-impaired people navigate the world. "On the field trip, we got to see how these wonderful canines are born, raised, trained, and then paired with their human partners," said teacher Ruth Rosenthal. "Our students are true experts now," she added. On Tuesday, the class visited the San Francisco Botanical Gardens as part of their learning about flowers and their life cycles.
Fourth Grade Visits State Capital

Posted April 24, 2013

Our fourth grade students travelled to Sacramento this week to catch a glimpse of California, past and present. The trip included a visit to the Capitol Museum where students learned about the process of democracy and the power of citizens to make a change, followed by an interactive experience on the transcontinental railroad at the Railroad Museum and then a scavenger hunt in Old Sacramento. "It was great to see our students explore the history of California 'on location'" said Jamie Fox. "Our upcoming overnight trip to the Sierras will further our hands-on studies," she added.
Second Grade Explores the World of Careers

Posted April 18, 2013

As a hands-on connection to our second grade "Career" unit, second graders visited the California Court of Appeal in San Francisco and toured the court offices, sat in on a hearing, and even ate lunch with the justices. Our students were dressed in proper business attire for their field trip. They asked excellent questions, looking for examples of different careers and how they all work together as a team. Immediately after, they visited the Dandelion Chocolate Factory in the Mission for a tour and exploration of career opporunities in that type of work place.
Fourth Grade Explores Early California History on Field Trip

Posted April 11, 2013

Our fourth grade field trip to Mission Solano (Sonoma Mission) and General Vallejo's home provided hands-on exploration of early California history for our students.

"There is nothing like visiting historical places to really bring to life what we're learning in the classroom," said teacher Jamie Fox.

Our students were able to see how life has changed for the native Californians since the arrival of the Spanish padres, what happened to the missions once Mexico took over rule, and learn about the life of a famous californio (Mexican Californian in the 1800's), General Vallejo and the impact of the US trying to take over California had on his life and ranch.

"It was a beautiful day in Sonoma," said Jamie Fox...
Kindergarten Learns All About Lunar New Year

Posted February 28, 2013

After learning about special lunar new year’s traditions in Korea, China, and VietNam, our Kindergartners celebrated this special holiday by carrying their vibrant lion dancer through the halls of school, the JCC and the ECE preschool. They were joined by the first graders and the third graders, using instruments to make NOISE and chant happy new year's greetings in Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese...
Flat Stanley Gets Around - Now In Digital Format!

Posted February 7, 2013

Our second grade students travelled the world with Flat Stanley, a "flat" book character traditionally sent through the mail to students around the world through a pen-pal-like project. "But this year, Stan traveled the 'global village' and entered the 21st century through the special app and our school iPads," said teacher Ruth Rosenthal. Students created postcards through the app, used iPads as reference tools to find many different facts about the world, and found the cities where Stanley traveled on Google Earth...

SEE PHOTOS OF STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
Kindergarten Students Reenact the Alabama Bus Boycott

Posted January 23, 2013

Each year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday provides us with the opportunity to discuss diversity, freedom and equality with our kindergarten students. Our students re-enact the story of the Alabama Bus Boycott, learning about the actions of peple like Rosa Parks, Dr. King and Rabbi Abraham Heschel, who made a difference in the world by standing against injustice... SEE PHOTOS
Fourth Grade Develops and Shares Expertise through the Native California Museum

Posted November 28, 2012

Fourth graders celebrated their knowledge of first Californians and their relationship to nature through the Native California Museum project, designed to allow each student to develop "expertise" on a specific topic. Over the course of the last month they have researched, written about, and created projects depicting their area, demonstrating and sharing this knowledge by teaching others what they have learned through special presentations. "Our students' understanding of how the first Californians lived will help them better understand the impact the next group of people had on their life and beliefs," said teacher Jamie Fox...
Field Trip to Charles Shulz Museum Inspires Second Grade

Posted November 7, 2012

Our second graders learned a great deal about cartooning and a local hero during their recent field trip to the Charles Shulz museum in Santa Rosa. "Our students were very engaged learning about the life of this great, local hero...as well as the art of cartooning" said teacher Ruth Rosenthal. "They were incredibly inspired by the way Shulz followed his passion to make a difference locally and globally...and after the cartooning workshop on the fieldtrip, have been drawing actively on their own," she added.
Second Graders Tour Galaxy Desserts

Posted May 17, 2012

Our second graders traveled to Galaxy Desserts in Richmond to tour the bakery as part of their unit on work and careers. The field trip emphasized the kinds of skills and training needed to run a large bakery, and our students explored career choices such as C.E.O, baker, office worker, and shipper, and observed large-scale tools at work on industrial quantities of chocolate...