Typically children in elementary sc

Typically children in elementary
school spend between 900 and 1,200
hours per year in school, with most of that time being spent in a particular classroom or homeroom. In the second grade
classroom in Michigan photographed
here, children are in class from 8:30am
until 3:30pm; however, the majority of
their time is officially dedicated to learning subjects other than social studies,
such as two uninterrupted sixty-minute
periods of language arts instruction each
day.
Organizing the available space of the
classroom to offer students information,
images and artifacts that are rich in social
studies concepts does more than make
the room attractive—it shapes students’
incidental learning and helps build a
sense of community. The primary grades
classroom that is designed to maximize
social studies learning will provide
students with opportunities to interact
with and analyze maps and globes,6
time
lines, and co-constructed materials.7
It
will also have designated interest areas
and resources for communication that
are easily accessed by the children.