Social studies begin in third grade and continue through the elementary school. History and geography are the major components of the social studies curriculum in the higher grades and are often taught together as parts of one lesson. For all history blocks, students create main lesson books that include compositions and creative writing assignments as well as maps, recreations of paintings of the period, and other illustrations. The class play usually draws on themes developed in main lessons.

Third-grade social studies focus on farming and house building. The heart of the third grade curriculum in all subject areas is the human effort to fulfill the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Students examine Native American farming practices and how they have changed, or not, over time. They also study the building of houses, including the ways in which houses must be built to accommodate varying climates and physical environments. At the end of the third-grade year, the class makes a one-week trip to the farm, where one of their activities is to plant vegetables, which they will harvest on their next trip in the fall of fourth grade.