The Grade 6 curriculum for Social Studies is all about Democracy: Action and Participation. The curriculum was developed because of the need for change in how active Albertans are in their communities, municipalities and province. Voter turnout before 2015 had been dismal to say the least, with only about 50% of eligible voters turning up at the ballot stations. This is a dangerous statistic for our democracy and freedom which we hold dear. (Update: 2015 provincially saw a return to form at 75% for the Gold Bar constituency which was a Canadian record!) The youth of tomorrow are the voters and citizens of tomorrow. We need to teach them how to be citizens: to get involved in their communities, to make change in their world for the better, and to make informed choices to keep democracy alive and well.
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| Alberta Voter Turnout 1975-2008 |
The principles of democracy including representation, equity, freedom, and justice are the core pillars of democracy. The students will be exploring these concepts at the beginning of the year and use them as the foundations for their year. Topics include rights, the constitution, and local government this term.
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| The Alberta Legislature |
"School at the Legislature" takes place in late September or early October which will lead the students in the exploration of how our local government operates, and more importantly how we can become involved as citizens in our community. Provincial Government is another unit this year, which means a trip to tour Legislature. After, we take a historical look at democracy and how it originated in Ancient Athens as well as the Iroquois Confederacy. A big focus of the year is also the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, especially the individual and collective rights that people in enjoy in the land of the true north, strong and free.
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| The Parthenon in Ancient Greece |
Students will have the opportunity to choose causes to make a difference in. Grade 6 is the chance to take initiative on something that is close to the heart, and to make our world a better place. We will be doing social action on the topics of homelessness, racism, and discrimination as a class - but the opportunity is there for students to choose what they want to help with. I have had students make a difference in everything from animal abuse, child abuse, pollution and global warming to creating gifts for premature babies and their mothers, helping out senior citizens, and most recently our students got involved to help out Syrian Refugees and the Fort McMurray Wildfire Relief Effort.
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| Haudenosaunee Wampum (Iroquois Confederacy) |
Big skills that students learn in Grade 6 include detecting bias in media, text, and political cartoons; looking at different perspectives and viewpoints of people; and debating positions on local and global issues. This curriculum is not about learning facts; it is about learning skills to prepare students for a world in which they will need to be informed and active citizens.
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| Edmonton City Hall |
Current events are a big part of the Social Studies curriculum. We will be discussing daily events in the world and our backyard, and explore democracy and how people in our world fight for freedoms that we take advantage of every single day. The world is a hotbed of activity these days with Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries being highly unstable. Our neighbor U.S.A is constantly providing us with news surrounding President Trump, racism and protesting, and the rights and freedoms of the press. This is a prime opportunity for us to follow the events, and discuss the issues in relation to the 4 core elements of democracy: representation, fairness, equity, and freedom. Issues that are current in Canada, including elections, debate on laws, and closer to home like lowering the voting age to 16 will be discussed and debated by students on a weekly basis.
