Social Studies, Geography and Tourism lie under the umbrella of Social Sciences. At Okaihau College Social Studies is a Year 7 to 10 subject and Geography is an NCEA subject offered at Levels 1, 2, and 3.
The learning area has four conceptual strands which are Identity, Culture and Organisation, Place and Environment, Continuity and Change and the Economic World. Learning for our students is also based on the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories. Themes and topics studied at each level are used to enable an understanding of the achievement objectives and the ideas or concepts from the four conceptual strands. Typically each unit of learning includes literacy and numeracy skills which relate to the topic for example mapping and graphing. Formative and summative assessments indicate to students where they sit in developing an understanding of the learning objective. There are a variety of assessment methods which include visual presentations, research, google maps and story maps and tests.
The progression from Social Studies is to Geography. Typically NCEA Geography and Tourism is tailored to the needs of the students who choose to study it. Geography includes both external and internal standards at each level and each course will offer between 14 and 20 credits. Tourism is also offered at the senior level during Year 12 and 13. It involves internal unit standards and can offer over 20 credits but on average 15 credits are achieved.