BC Social Studies Report Card Comments, Grades 4-9
Social Studies builds inquiry skills (asking questions, gathering and interpreting information, communicating findings) and the thinking concepts significance, evidence, continuity and change, cause and consequence, perspective and ethical judgment. Content moves from families and local communities in K-3 to Canadian history and government, global issues, ancient civilizations and world history to 1919.
Below are 9 sample sentences for Grades 4-9: one strength and one next step for each of the 4 comment levels (Extending / Proficient / Developing / Emerging), plus a tip for families. They are a small selection from the 144 social studies sentences in the full pack. Copy one, then add a detail only you know about the student.
Jump to: Extending · Proficient · Developing · Emerging · Writing tips
Fills in the name and pronouns on this page. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Extending X
Strengths
- Given a community or global issue to study in social studies, [Name] develops a workable plan of action and explains who it would help and what trade-offs it involves.Grades 4-7
Next step
- As a next step, [Name] could research how an issue from our social studies learning, such as resource use or human rights, affects people today and propose a realistic plan of action.Grades 4-7
Proficient P
Strengths
- [Name] regularly assesses the credibility of historical sources by considering who created them, when and why, and adjusts [his/her/their] conclusions when needed.Grades 8-9
Next step
- Moving forward, [Name] could sharpen [his/her/their] historical writing by addressing a counterargument and explaining why [his/her/their] conclusion still holds.Grades 8-9
Developing D
Strengths
- When researching, [Name] gathers facts from a source and is learning to check them against a second source before using them.
Next step
- [Name] will benefit from using a timeline organizer to see how historical events connect and which changes mattered most.
Emerging E
Strengths
- With small-group support, [Name] is beginning to read map features such as a legend, a compass rose and a scale.Grades 4-7
Next step
- With a model and sentence starters, the goal is for [Name] to write two or three sentences sharing a finding from a social studies inquiry.Grades 4-7
Support at home
- Visiting a local museum, archive or cultural centre together gives your child a chance to ask questions about the history of your community.
How to write social studies comments for Grades 4-9
- Name the thinking concept the student used, such as cause and consequence or perspective, and the evidence: a source they interpreted, a timeline they built or an inquiry question they answered.
- For inquiry projects, describe the process as well as the product: asking a focused question, finding and comparing sources, judging which ones are reliable and presenting findings clearly.
- In Grades 8-9, ask for analysis: whether the student weighs the significance of an event, explains why people at the time saw it differently, and backs a conclusion with evidence. Handle difficult history neutrally and factually.
Watch out: Avoid turning the comment into a list of facts the student memorized. BC social studies is built on inquiry and historical and geographic thinking, so describe how the student thinks about the past and the world.
The Ministry's guidelines describe Emerging as an initial understanding of the concepts and competencies, Developing as partial, Proficient as complete and Extending as sophisticated. Proficient is the goal and does not mean perfect; Extending is about depth and complexity, not extra work or work from a higher grade. Here the four names only choose the wording: report the indicator itself in your reporting tool, and let the comment describe the learning behind it.
What Social Studies covers
Big ideas and curricular competencies for social studies:
- Inquiry: asks questions, gathers and interprets information from sources, and communicates findings
- Thinking like a historian or geographer: significance, evidence, continuity and change, cause and consequence, perspective and ethical judgment
- Understands communities, cultures and regions in Canada and the world, from families, local communities and Indigenous peoples near and far (K-3) to Canadian history and government (4-5), global issues (6), ancient civilizations (7) and world history from the 7th century to 1919 (8-9)
- Learns about First Peoples in B.C. and Canada, and how past and present events shape identity and relationships
- Uses maps, timelines and graphs
More British Columbia subjects comments
- English Language Arts, Grades 4-9
- Mathematics, Grades 4-9
- Science, Grades 4-9
- Social Studies, K-Grade 3
- Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies, Grades 4-9
- Arts Education, Grades 4-9
- Physical and Health Education, Grades 4-9
- Opening and closing sentences
- All British Columbia subjects skills and grade bands
- For the same report: BC Core Competencies Report Comments, K-9
- Build a comment with the comment picker
How these sentences were made, and what has been checked: About these comments.