Fundamentals of Social Studies
CONTENT
At the end of the topic, students should be able to:


Define the contents of Social Studies
List the types of contents of Social Studies with topics and types of content.
Definition and Explanation of Contents of Social Studies
Definition of Content & Contents
Content is the information or ideas contained in something written, said, created, or
represented.
Contents are the topics or ideas that are contained in something like a book or report.
In the case of textbooks for students, the Contents of a textbook are the ideas and
information a student is expected to learn and understand in a particular class or level.
Definition of Contents of Social Studies
Contents of Social Studies, therefore, is all the information, ideas, and topics the
teacher is expected to teach the students in Social Studies. They are the topics that are
and learn Social Studies as a subject. They are the topics that are included in the
Social Studies curriculum.
The content of any subject should be related to the aims, goals, and objectives of the
said subject. Therefore, the Contents of Social Studies are created in a manner in
which the aims and objectives of the study of Social Studies are achieved.
Types of Content In Social Studies
The topics included in Social Studies support the societal norms and values and are
categorized under facts, concepts, generalization, skills, values, and attitude relevant
to the student’s age and level to enhance the growth and development of the society.
There are 6 types of Social-Studies Content which include:
1. Facts:A fact is something that is known or proved to be true. It may also be
something that is known to have happened. Therefore, there are some topics in
Social Studies that are factual.
2. Concepts:These are ideas, information, and principles that are necessary to
know, learn and understand.
3. Generalization:This is a statement that is true in most situations or for most
people, but may not be completely true in all cases.
4. Attitudes:This refers to how you think or feel about something. It is the
behaviour of people towards something.
5. Skills:This is the ability to do an activity or job well because you have
practised it consistently over time. They are activities that are learnt over time
which brings about perfection.
6. Values: These are ideas and things that are cherished and important to an
individual or group. It also involves one’s belief of what is morally right or
wrong.
The table of contents of Social Studies below is identifying some topics in the
curriculum, the class, and the type of content.
Contents
JSS I
JSS 2
JSS 3
FACTS
Origin of Social
Studies
General objectives
of Social Studies.
Contents of Social
Studies.
CONCEPTS
Definition of
terms i.e. –Social
Studies Family
etc.
Readiness in
Marriage.
Harmful
Traditional
Practices.
GENERALIZATION
Common
problems in
Nigeria.
Dangers of Drug
Trafficking.
Managing and
resolving social
conflict.
ATTITUDE
Consequences of
large/small family
size.
Positive Group
Behaviours.
Cultism.
Road safety as an
agent of
socialization.
Characteristics of
different types of
groups behaviour.
Roles of extended
family members
in a child’s
development.
Culture.
Family bond and
living together as
one family.
Harmful
Traditional
Practices.
SKILLS
VALUES
Components Of Social Studies
CONTENT
At the end of the topic, students should be able to:
Enumerate The Components Of Social Studies Contents.
 Explain Each Component Of Social Studies Content.
Components Of Social Studies Contents
The components of Social Studies contents refer to the things that Social Studies is
made up of. Components are areas of knowledge or the domains of the ideas to be
acquired. There are 3 components which are also known as domains.

The 3 components of Social Studies contents are:
1. Cognitive contents
2. Affective contents
3. Psychomotor contents
Explanation of Each Component of Social Studies Content
The 6 contents of the Social Studies curriculum fall within these 3 components.
1. Cognitive contents:
This refers to the contents of Social Studies that have been discovered or learned. It is
the ability for people to understand, think and learn, it also relies on the person’s
ability to recall information.
There are different stages through which a person (or student) acquires knowledge,
these are;
1. Knowing the facts: first an individual has to learn of the fact by either hearing it
from someone or reading it in a textbook or newspaper. Then, they make
meaning of what was heard.
2. Understanding the facts: by understanding the facts the individual shows that
what was heard makes sense.
3. Applying the facts: after a fact has been heard and understood, the individual is
able to apply the fact in a similar situation.
4. Putting the facts together to serve a common purpose: the facts that have been
learnt and understood should be used whenever necessary.
5. Examining the effects of the facts on your community or society: the learner
has to examine the effects of the fact that has been understood and applied on
the society, this shows that learning has taken place.
For effective learning to take place the following Methods and Materials
can be used;
1. Use of instructional materials
2. Power point slides
3. Excursions or visitations
4. Use of human resources
5. Organized class notes
6. Debates
7. Affective content:
This refers to the effect of any content on the attitude and behaviour of an individual.
This component focuses on the emotion, attitude, and behaviour of the individual
towards the content studied.
This component is very important in teaching and learning, because;
Attitude of the learner – when the learner is receptive to listening, then they
listen.
 Call to Action – the attitude will bring the learner to take action.
 Willingness to Participate – having a positive attitude will make the learners
want to participate in the learning process.
 Value of Knowledge – the level of participation of the learner will determine
the value attached to the knowledge gained.
 Inclusion into way of life – when the learner has value for knowledge, the level
of inclusion of the fact learnt in the learner’s life will be high.
The above can be categorized into:
1. Receiving
2. Recording
3. Valuing
4. Organizing
5. Change one’s behavior
6. Psychomotor Contents:
This refers to the body movements and coordination derived from what has been
learned. It refers to the physical performance of the contents in a way that shows
learning has taken place. It brings together the activities of cognitive and affective
contents in a physical manner.

It also involves dramatizing (or performing) roles that are a part of Social Studies
content such as Father, Mother, Political leaders, Educational leaders, etc.
Stages of Psychomotor Contents
In order for Psychomotor content to be effective, it must undergo the following stages;
1. Elementary movement – This is the first stage, there must be action.
2. Synchronized movement – Action must be organized and arranged in a logical
manner.
3. There must be body movement which shows or represents the information.
4. Finally, there are results produced which are a combination of verbal and nonverbal movement.
EVALUATION
1.The topics and ideas an individual is expected to know and understand in a subject
area are known as _______.
1. objectives
2. contents
3. components
4. knowledge
2.The contents of Social Studies include all the following EXCEPT
1. culture
2. family
3. socialization
4. multiplications
3.All EXCEPT ________ is not a type of social studies content.
1. facts
2. acquisition
3. values
4. generalization
5. When something which is true or had existed or happened, is learnt in Social
Studies, this is an example of ________ content.
1. facts
2. values
3. concept
4. attitudes
5. Any activity learnt which brings perfection or is done well is of
1. facts
2. values
3. concept
4. attitudes
5. The content that reflects the behaviour or feelings of people is the knowledge
called ………..
1. values
2. concepts
3. attitudes
4. facts
5. The content that deals with one’s belief and things cherished is called
…………
1. concepts
2. skills
3. attitudes
4. values
5. There are …….. components of Social Studies contents.
1. 2
2. 3
3. 4
4. 5
5. How many stages are involved in the cognitive contents?
1. 3
2. 4
3. 5
4. 6
5. The components of social studies contents that deals with the intelligence
quotient are known as ………
1. cognitive
2. affective
3. psychology
4. psychometric