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Curriculum Paths

Explore these curated curriculum paths to focus social studies time around core ideas, subjects or skills. Curriculum paths offered here are organized by key topics, essential questions, and instructional methods.

The curated curriculum paths below offer teachers guidance in selecting the lesson plans most suited to covering certain core ideas, like the essential questions that guide the "Moose" curriculum, topics that span more than one unit, and different instructional methods. As new curriculum paths become available, they will be added to this page, so be sure to check back frequently.

A note about the importance of teaching material in its proper context: Students will get the most from their social studies instruction when they develop a sense of the narrative arc of state history and develop a better understanding of how all these topics fit into the larger chronology of the story of New Hampshire. By teaching individual lesson plans instead of entire units, the history is pulled out of its proper context. In other words, students will likely struggle to appreciate the historical importance of this material if it is introduced without sufficient background information.
 
We recognize that educators often do not have time to teach the entire scope of state history and must therefore pick and choose only a few lesson plans, which is why we created these curriculum paths. However, we encourage teachers to supplement these lesson plans with material from the relevant units on the Student side of the site, which will provide children with a greater understanding about the people and places they are studying. At the very least, educators should help students place this material in chronological order to provide a framework of historical understanding.

To find lesson plans aligned with standards—whether Moose standards, state standards, or national standards—please visit the "Educational Standards" section of the Moose site.

Or scroll to the bottom of this page for suggested scope and sequencing for K-8 social studies instruction.

Essential Questions

Use the "Moose" curriculum's four essential questions about New Hampshire social studies to build your instructional plan.

Five Ideas Every NH Kid Should Know

Explore the five ideas that characterize New Hampshire and its people through these curriculum paths.

Topics of Interest

Explore curriculum paths that trace topics across units and the span of New Hampshire history.

Instructional Methods

Find lessons plans that use your preferred method of instruction.

Suggested Scope and Sequencing for Social Studies Instruction in Grades K-8

Present social studies in a sequence that is most accessible to children, starting with family and school, going through local, state, and national social studies.