Spain Segundo de Primaria School Syllabus - Social Science

This information is derived from the official Spanish Ministry of Education website and pertains to the Conocimiento del Medio Natural, Social y Cultural curriculum, which encompasses Social Science in Primary Education.

Overall Curriculum Aims:

The Conocimiento del Medio curriculum aims to equip students to be active, responsible, and respectful individuals, capable of transforming the world according to ethical and sustainable democratic principles. It emphasizes:

• Developing a systemic understanding of oneself and the surrounding environment.
• Recognizing diversity as a multicultural asset.
• Peaceful conflict resolution.
• Critical application of democratic participation mechanisms.
• Foundational understanding of human rights, children's rights, constitutional principles, and European values.
• Developing scientific literacy based on inquiry and critical thinking.
• Safe, effective, and responsible use of technology.
• Fostering an entrepreneurial spirit and applying basic technological skills.
• Promoting sustainable lifestyles and global citizenship.

Specific Competencies:

The curriculum outlines nine specific competencies for students to develop:

1. Digital Competence: Using digital devices and resources safely, responsibly, and efficiently for information retrieval, communication, collaboration, and content creation.

2. Scientific Inquiry: Posing and answering simple scientific questions using various techniques, instruments, and models to interpret and explain phenomena in the natural, social, and cultural environment.

3. Problem-Solving and Design: Solving problems through design projects and computational thinking, collaboratively creating innovative products that address specific needs.

4. Health and Well-being: Developing self-awareness of one's body, emotions, and feelings, applying scientific knowledge to cultivate healthy habits and achieve physical, emotional, and social well-being.

5. Heritage and Environment: Identifying the characteristics of different elements and systems in the natural, social, and cultural environment, analyzing their organization and properties, and recognizing the value of cultural and natural heritage, promoting its conservation and responsible use.

6. Human Impact and Sustainability: Identifying the causes and consequences of human intervention in the environment from social, economic, cultural, technological, and environmental perspectives, improving the ability to address problems, seek solutions, and act individually and cooperatively to implement sustainable lifestyles.

7. Social and Cultural Change: Observing, understanding, and interpreting continuities and changes in the social and cultural environment, analyzing cause-and-effect relationships to explain and evaluate the connections between different elements and events.

8. Diversity, Equality, and Ethics: Recognizing and valuing diversity and gender equality, demonstrating empathy and respect for other cultures, and reflecting on ethical issues to contribute to individual and collective well-being in a continuously transforming society and achieving European integration values.

9. Civic Participation and Democracy: Participating effectively and constructively in social life, respecting democratic values, human and children's rights, and the principles of the Spanish Constitution and the European Union, appreciating the role of the State and its institutions in maintaining peace and citizen security, fostering respectful interactions, and promoting peaceful conflict resolution.

Knowledge Areas:

The curriculum's knowledge areas are structured into three blocks:

1. Scientific Culture: Introduction to scientific activity, life on Earth, matter, forces, and energy.

2. Technology and Digitalization: Applying design thinking and computational thinking to create products cooperatively, and learning basic use of digital tools and resources for learning, information seeking, content creation, communication, and responsible digital engagement.

3. Societies and Territories: Addressing present-day challenges in local and global contexts, introducing civic, democratic, solidarity-based, sustainable, and committed perspectives on the world. This includes understanding historical thinking, cause-and-effect relationships, and the evolution of societies over time and space, as well as the interactions between human activities and the natural and social environment.