From Our Family to Our Country

Social studies is one of those subjects that sounds dry until you realize it is really about us - our families, our town, our neighbors, our history, and how we all fit together. For homeschoolers in Maryville, social studies is especially fun because we live in a place with so much story to tell.

The social studies strand follows a natural progression from the familiar to the wider world:

• Family and home - who we are, family roles, community helpers
• Our community - Maryville, our neighborhoods, local government, local businesses
• Blount County and Tennessee - county history, state geography, Tennessee heroes and landmarks
• The United States - regions, states, national history, how our country works
• Maps and geography - reading maps, landforms, continents, oceans, and where we fit in the world
• Timelines and history - putting events in order, understanding cause and effect across time
• Biographies - learning about real people who made a difference

Grade Progression

Kindergarten - Grade 1: Me, My Family, My Community

Your youngest learners are discovering who they are, who their family is, what their community looks like, and who the helpers are (firefighters, librarians, mail carriers, teachers). Maps start with "my bedroom" and "my neighborhood." History starts with "my family."

Take your kindergartner on a walk through downtown Maryville and point out the courthouse, the library, the fire station. That is social studies.

👉 Browse K-1 Social Studies Lessons

Grades 2-3: Our Town, Our State

Second and third graders zoom out to explore Maryville, Blount County, and Tennessee. Local history, state symbols, Tennessee geography (mountains, rivers, regions), famous Tennesseans, and basic map skills. This is a wonderful age for field trips - the Sam Houston Schoolhouse, Fort Loudoun, and the Tennessee state symbols are all great starting points.

👉 Browse Grades 2-3 Social Studies Lessons

Grades 4-5: Our Country and the World

Fourth and fifth graders study American history, U.S. geography, the regions of the country, early explorers, Colonial America, the American Revolution, westward expansion, and the basics of how our government works. Timelines, biographies, and primary sources start to play a bigger role.

👉 Browse Grades 4-5 Social Studies Lessons

👉 See all Social Studies lessons in the library