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Jamestown Public Schools Social Studies/History Department

Jamestown Public School students learned what it was like to be a new immigrant through a unique project that mixed Social Studies and English Language Arts. Eighth grade students in Jeff Kresge’s Social Studies class studied Ellis Island as part of their curriculum. He and English teacher, Charlie Ingram, decided to give students a first-hand look at the hardships endured by new immigrants to our country. Mr. Kresge and Mr. Ingram became immigration officials and gave students monopoly money to get through Ellis Island. They also introduced the students to the idea that there was some corruption to the immigration process at that time. Certain students received less money than others to demonstrate how differently they would be treated. Students filled out identification forms and those with less money to pay the immigration “officials” received forms in Hungarian or Bulgarian, and struggled to fill out the forms in a language they did not understand. Meanwhile, students with more money were given the forms in English. Some of the students began reacting to the corruption just like the immigrants did in the past and tried to take the fake money from each other so they could pass through immigration easier. During the process, students wrote journal entries about the different stages of emigrating from another country and immigrating to the United States.

"This project was really hands-on. I learned what it was like to really be there,” said Persell eighth grade student, Steve Johnson. “I had less money and it was running out so I tried to take more from the bank. We learned how people related to each other based on the amount of money they had and how badly people wanted to leave their country to come to the United States."

Mr. Kresge’s class is just one of the many social studies classes offered in the Jamestown Schools. The Social Studies curriculum from kindergarten through 12th grade includes geography, history of the United States, History of the World, Economics and Civics.

"The focus of the Social Studies curriculum is to show students why people live the way that they do,” said Carl Calimeri, former Department Chair. “ We use geography, history, economics and civics to show kids that wherever you are in the world these factors influence how a person lives."

All social studies teachers use current events to enhance their students’ knowledge of how the past affects the present. Students can see how they can learn from the past and apply it to current events.

All students must take two New York State social studies tests. There is an Elementary Social Studies test that is given in November of their fifth grade year and covers all information learned until fourth grade. There is also an Intermediate Social Studies test given at the end of eighth grade. Of the five Regents required for graduation, two are social studies. One is usually taken after the Global Studies units in 9th and 10th grades and the second is usually taken after 11th grade and covers U.S. history.

Teachers are continually working with students on Document Based Questions (DBQs) that are part of the state assessments. Starting in third grade, teachers give students practice DBQs so they are familiar and ready to take the exams.

The district social studies department has been busy implementing the new NY state standards that have come through in the past four to five years and recently completed curriculum mapping for 5th through 8th grades.

Elementary School

Social studies begin in the primary grades. Kindergarteners learn who they are, who their family members are and community helpers. Second and third grader students learn more about their local community including organizations like police and fire and local businesses. In third grade, they start to learn about other communities of the world and how they live. Fourth grade students learn more specifically about New York State including units on the history of Jamestown. Many students do local lore units with help from the Arts in Education program and Fenton Museum where students learn about the city’s founding fathers and stories about the area.

Middle School

At the middle school level, students continue learning about geography, history, economics and civics but they study these subjects in more depth. In sixth grade, they continue to study communities of the world. Seventh graders learn more about the United States. In seventh and eighth grade, student study U.S. History the beginnings of America to the present.

High School

Ninth and tenth grade students at JHS learn about Global Studies. Ninth graders work more extensively on geography and maps looking at different regions of the world and their physical and human characteristics. Students study countries and their capitals. In tenth grade students learn about historical events such as the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. In 11th grade students study U.S. History and government. The emphasis is on studying the U.S. Constitiuon and the development of our government by looking at important events in U.S. History that influenced the role of government. Such things as the Great Depression, the Progressive era, and the Civil Rights movement, all caused our government to change and adapt to important trends and changes in American Life. The main idea is that we live with the government we have today as a product of our original constitution as well as the customs and changes that have been added at important times in history.

In 12th grade, they take Government/Economics. Students learn more about political parties, how they work and how the media affects politics. They talk about voting and voter behavior, the election process and interest groups and what they do. Students learn about the organization of state and local governments. In the Economic portion of the class, students learn about economic systems, the basics of supply and demand, and types of businesses, Federal Reserve, and the stock market.

“Social studies is an excellent way for students to develop critical thinking skills,” said former Department Chair, Mr. Calimeri. “Social studies uses extensive reading and writing skills, which helps reinforce English Language Arts standards. Social studies helps students relate to today’s world by looking at how and why other people live the way they do.”

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