Social Studies for Year 4,5 and 6

SOCIAL STUDIES
For Years 4, 5 And 6

1. INTRODUCTION

In Brunei Darussalam, the subject Social Studies is being introduced as a replacement for 2 main subjects, History and Geography. The scenario of having these 2 subjects, History and Geography separately has left little space for developing an understanding of contemporary society and culture as experienced in our everyday lives. Thus, there has been a strong call for the introduction of a one single subject that incorporates the elements of both the subjects History and Geography. Hence, Social Studies, which is comparative and holistic in its approach to social life and hoping to have all the necessary elements is being introduced.

2. WHAT IS SOCIAL STUDIES?

Social Studies looks at society in totality and examines the forces that hold society together and those that transform it. The content includes our nation’s history, an awareness of human relationship and their interdependence to each other, economics and resources, and an understanding of global issues as we see happening around the world, and how these events affect our students’ views on world.

3. AIMS

The Social Studies curriculum for Years 4, 5 and 6 aims to:

i. provide students with the opportunity to acquire knowledge and understanding of Social Studies concepts, in order to help them understand themselves and the environment they live in.

ii. develop in students the basic Social Studies processes to enable them to learn about society and participate in their local and national community as informed, confident and responsible citizens.

4. OBJECTIVES

The three basic components of knowledge, skills, and attitudes and values are given emphasize in this syllabus towards achieving its aims.

a. Knowledge:
i. Understanding people’s interaction with places and the relationship between people, places and their surroundings;
ii. Acquire knowledge of how things were in the past and how things change and develop over time;
iii. Appreciate that resources are limited and that it is important to make wise and informed choices about the use of resources;
iv. Appreciate the multi-cultural way of living in Brunei Darussalam and to recognize the unique attractions of this country.

b. Skills:
i. Ability to express and present information and ideas clearly orally, visually and in written forms;
ii. Ability to work effectively in groups;
iii. Ability to develop and apply effective decision-making skills.

c. Attitudes and values:
i. Develop understanding and commitment towards the Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB);
ii. Develop a sense of responsibility towards the people, country and environment;
iii. Develop understanding and responsibility towards the social harmony;
iv. Develop a positive attitude towards life-long learning;
v. Develop flexible thinking skills by recognising the need for change.

5. GOALS

The Social Studies syllabus for Years 4, 5 and 6 prescribes three major goals:

i. Concept Formation
Concepts are foundational organisers in helping students to understand and apply knowledge, skills and values.

ii. Attitudes and Values
The attitudes that this Social Studies syllabus should develop – which means, what kind of feelings students should have about social issues, events, etc. It also teaches what students should value when they complete the program so that students are able to evaluate the ideas and beliefs facing citizens of a modern and tolerant society.

iii. Learning Outcomes
This includes knowledge and skills objectives that students are expected to develop at the end of each lesson. It deals with the question on what knowledge should we impart to our students from this subject - that is, what should students know when they complete the program so that students are able to organize, interpret, and communicate information about the Social Studies. It also deals with the question what skills should be developed - that is, what should students be able to do when they complete the program so that students understand those skills/abilities necessary in organizing, interpreting and communicating social studies information.

6. SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM CONTENT

This Social Studies syllabus was developed as an integrated body of content drawn from a multi-disciplinary subject, drawing its content matter and its relevant skills from several different disciplines. The most important of these are history, geography, economics and sociology. This approach suggests that children will learn about the world through coordination of information, concepts, structures, and methods of the sociologist, economist, historian and geographer. However, interdependence is very much in focus.

Furthermore, this syllabus was also organized around 4 following major issues:
i. Issues related to understanding of ourselves and the immediate environment;
ii. Issues related to understanding the founding and growth of a nation;
iii. Issues related to people in other places of our world; and
iv. Issues related to man living with nature.
7. SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM APPROACH

The Social Studies Syllabus for Years 4, 5 and 6 was developed by taking into consideration the content most suited to the students at this level. The syllabus adopts a thematic approach focusing on the essential content from four themes visited in all the 3 years of learning:
i. Our Heritage
ii. Our Resources
iii. Our Communication
iv. Our Places and Locations

The following model was the basis for the development of the Social Studies syllabus.



























Spiral Developmental Approach


This model is derived from the well known spiral model which develops progressively from year to year. This approach has been named as ‘spiral developmental approach’, as in all the three years of study, students will look at the 4 themes which develop progressively from one year to the next. At the same time, the three objectives of ‘knowledge’, ‘skills’, and ‘attitudes and values’ are given utmost importance in developing the content of all the themes. This approach which gives the opportunity for gradual progression from one year to the next will help students to understand how a new idea or concept is related to the idea or concept that they have learnt before. This way, students’ understanding of the particular idea or concept can be reinforced.


8. PRIMARY SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHING MATERIALS

i. Social Studies for Brunei Darussalam Textbook 4, Workbook 4 and Teacher’s Guide 4 were produced in 2008, and being implemented in schools from 2009 for Year 4.















ii. Explore Social Studies for Year 5 Textbook, Workbook and Teacher’s Guide were produced in 2009, and being implemented in schools from 2010 for Year 5.















iii. Currently, Explore Social Studies for Year 6 Textbook, Workbook and Teacher’s Guide are being produced and will be implemented in schools from 2011 for Year 6.
iv. Apart from these, D-Books for Year 4 to 6 are being developed and will be available in schools in stages beginning with Year 4 in 2010.

JADUAL LAWATAN BAGI MEMANTAU PELAKSANAAN PENGAJARAN DAN PEMBELAJARAN
MATA PELAJARAN SOCIAL STUDIES TAHUN 4 DAN 5

TARIKH & HARI MASA SEKOLAH
14 April 2010 (Rabu) 9.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah DMW Lambak, Brunei IIA
17 April 2010 (Sabtu) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Birau, Tutong I
19 April 2010 (Isnin) 9.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Mabohai, Brunei I
21 April 2010 (Rabu) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Sengkurong, Brunei IV
24 April 2010 (Sabtu) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Panchong, Tutong II
26 April 2010 (Isnin) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Putat, Brunei IV
01 Mei 2010 (Sabtu) 9.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Hj Md. Jaafar Kiulap, Brunei III
03 Mei 2010 (Isnin) 10.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Pg. Setia Negara Pg. Mohd Yusof, Seria
05 Mei 2010 (Rabu) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Junjungan, Brunei IV
08 Mei 2010 (Sabtu) 9.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Amar Pahlawan, Brunei IIA
10 Mei 2010 (Isnin) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Kiudang, Tutong I
01 Jun 2010 (Selasa) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Bukit Beruang, Tutong II
02 Jun 2010 (Rabu) 9.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Datu Godam, Brunei I
26 Jun 2010 (Sabtu) 9.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Haji Tarif, Brunei I
28 Jun 2010 (Isnin) 10.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien, Belait
29 Jun 2010 (Selasa) 10.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Sungai Tali, Belait
30 Jun 2010 (Rabu) 9.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah OKBI Kilanas, Brunei III
03 Julai 2010 (Sabtu) 9.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Delima Satu, Brunei IIB
05 Julai 2010 (Isnin) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah SUAS Muara, Brunei IIB
07 Julai 2010 (Rabu) 9.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Raja Isteri Fatimah, Brunei I
12 Julai 2010 (Isnin) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Limau Manis, Brunei IV
13 Julai 2010 (Selasa) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Kampong Menengah, Tutong I
19 Julai 2010 (Isnin) 10.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Pg. Setia Jaya Pg. Hj. Abd. Momin, Belait
21 Julai 2010 ( Rabu) 9.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Bendahara Sakam Bunut, Brunei III
27 Julai 2010 (Selasa) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Pg Muda Mahkota, Tutong I
31 Julai 2010 (Sabtu) 10.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Semabat, Temburong
02 Ogos 2010 (Isnin) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Lubok Pulau, Tutong II
04 Ogos 2010 ( Rabu) 9.30 pagi Sekolah Rendah Penapar, Tutong II
07 Ogos 2010 (Sabtu) 10.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Piasau-Piasau, Temburong
09 Ogos 2010 (Isnin) 9.00 pagi Sekolah Rendah Tungku, Brunei III

Geography

GEOGRAPHY IN OUR CURRICULUM

i. About Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". In simple term, geography is all about the earth and how people are managing it.

The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes (276-194 B.C.). The four historical traditions in geographical research are the spatial analysis of natural and human phenomena (study of distribution), area studies (study of places and regions), study of man-land relationship, and research in earth sciences.

Like Science, Geography is also concerned with the enquiry process through which certain questions might be asked, data collected, interpreted and evaluated, and possible solutions / answers given. This requires pupils/students to integrate geographical knowledge and skills, together with attitudes and values to enquire into the many phenomena in the environment as well as to develop pupils' understanding of the nature of Geography.

Geography can help children to develop their understanding of the world around them. It is the study of people and environment and the interaction between them. By studying geography, it can help to develop understanding of the physical and human elements of a place and how these elements interact between each other to create special characters of a particular place.

Hence, it is important for geography to be taught from the early years, since geography can help children to understand their own private geographies better.

In general, Geography has so much to offer to the pupils/students. It is a subject which can impart geographical knowledge and skills to the pupils. The best way to see what geography has to offer, and why it is important to be taught, is to map it out as in the table below.

Knowledge Understanding
(Key concepts) Skills Attitudes & values

• Places, their physical and human characteristics.
• Locality of the school.
• Contrasting locality.
• Evidence.
• Location.
• Spatial pattern and distribution.
• Similarity and difference.
• Processes and systems.
• Change and stability.
• Cause and effect
• Map work.
• Fieldwork.
• Enquiry, asking and responding to geographical questions.
• Interpreting a range of sources.
• Using geographical vocabulary.
• Awareness of, and respect for, different lifestyles and cultures.
• Ability to see other’s points of view.
• Awareness that people’s values affect their actions.
• Concern for quality in the environment.





ii. Geography in our Curriculum

The subunit Geography of the Social Studies Unit handles Geography at the following levels, namely:
A. Geography at Upper Primary (Primary 4 to 6)
B. Geography at Lower Secondary (Form 1 – 3)
C. Geography Level II at Lower Secondary (Form 1 to 3)
D. Geography at Upper Secondary (‘O’ Level)

A. Geography at Upper Primary (Primary 4 to 6)

The available records indicate that the primary geography has been in place since 1981. At that time, this subject was taught in Bahasa Malaysia. This 1981 syllabus has undergone a revision in 1987, and subsequently, a revised syllabus was introduced in 1988 with the medium of instruction changed to English.
Then in 1990, a new trial edition of Geography Syllabus for Upper Primary Schools (Darjah IV – VI) was developed and introduced. In the same year, this syllabus was confirmed and implemented as the proper syllabus at this level.
For this syllabus, textbooks and workbooks entitled “Primary Geography for Brunei Darussalam” Darjah 4, 5 and 6 were produced in stages through a joint venture project between Curriculum Development Department and Macmillan Publishers Ltd, UK.

Samples









In 2009, a new subject called Social Studies was introduced to replace the subjects Geography and History at upper primary level. Hence, this new subject has replaced Geography at Year 4 in 2009, Year 5 in 2010 and Year 6 in 2011.
B. Geography at Lower Secondary (Form 1 – 3)

Geography Syllabus for the Brunei Junior Certificate of Education 1981 was first developed in 1981. This syllabus was implemented in 1982 for Secondary 1 students. (Curriculum Development Centre, Education Department, Brunei). This syllabus was revised in 1983, and implemented in 1984. (Curriculum Development Centre, Education Department, Brunei).

This syllabus again revised and improved in 1990 (Trial Edition). It was implemented in 1991 (Curriculum Development Department, Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam). The same syllabus was reprinted in 1991 (Second Print) and in 1998 (Third Print).
For this syllabus, textbooks and workbooks entitled “Secondary Geography for Brunei Darussalam” 1, 2 and 3 were produced in stages through a joint venture project between Curriculum Development Department and Macmillan Publishers Ltd, UK.

Sample









Usage of this syllabus was abandoned when the Interim Stage of the SPN21 was introduced in 2008. In line with this, Scheme of Work (SOW) for Year 7 and 8 was produced in 2007 and implemented in 2008 beginning with Year 7. A revised Scheme of Work for Year 7 and 8 was produced in 2008 and implemented in 2009.
Based on this Scheme of Work, a Differentiated Instruction SOW for Interim Geography was produced in 2009 and being implemented from 2010 for both Year 7 and 8.
This interim Geography Scheme of Work for Year 7 and 8 will be replaced by the subject Social Studies for Year 7 and 8 in the year 2012 when the actual SPN21 for secondary level is implemented beginning with Year 7 in 2012.
C. Geography Level II at Lower Secondary (Form 1 to 3)

The Geography Level II syllabus was implemented in 1997 in line with the decision by the Ministry of Education to introduce Level II Programme to studentswho did not pass the Primary Certificate of Education (PCE) or the Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (PSR) at the second attempt. This programme was introduce with the aim of giving opportunity to such students to proceed their education to the secondary level. It was decided then that each Level II syllabus should contain at least 70% of the content of the mainstream syllabus.

As the content is mainly taken from the mainstream syllabus, there was no specific textbooks or workbooks produced for this programme. The students and teachers are asked to use the same textbooks and workbooks used by the mainstream level, but water the content down to suit the level of the students in this programme.

Feedback from teachers during the implementation of the programme indicated that the majority of Level II students were still unable to cope with this amount of content. Hence, in the year 2000, the Geography Level II syllabus was re-written in order to help teachers to better understand the objectives to be attained by the students at the end of each lesson. However, there were no changes made to the amount of content as the constraints of having to have at least 70% of the content of the mainstream syllabus were still in place at that time. Lower ability students need activity-based lessons and the Level II syllabus did not allow time for this.

In view of this, the Curriculum Development Department decided that an entirely new Geography Level II syllabus, which is not heavy in content, but very much activity orientated, was necessary. Hence this Geography Level II (Revised) syllabus, which is unrelated to the mainstream syllabus, is produced after a number of consultations between officers from the Curriculum Development Department and Level II Geography teachers. During the consultation sessions, discussions centred around ways of ensuring that Level II students were engaged in meaningful activities which would ensure they gained the maximum benefit from studying Geography. Subsequently, a revised Geography Level II syllabus was introduced in 2005















However, in 1997 this Level II programme was replaced with another programme called PMV Programme. So, this Geography for Level II subject was also replaced with another subject called Social Studies for PMV beginning with Form 1 in 1997.

D. Geography at Upper Secondary (‘O’ Level)
This ‘O’ Level syllabus is under the jurisdiction of the Cambridge International Examinations, with the cooperation of our Ministry of Education.

The sub-unit Geography is tasked to develop any teaching resources pertaining to the subject, as well as giving briefings to teachers on the teaching and learning of geography at this level. So far, this unit has produced 2 resource books:
1. Teacher’s Source Book for Brunei Darussalam (1986)
2. Geography of Brunei Darussalam : Source Book for Upper Secondary (2004)















The latest revision of the ‘O’ syllabus was done by CIE in 2009, and implemented in stages beginning with Year 9/Form 4 in 2010.