Learning activities and teaching methods based on the social science disciplines and language arts skills are presented to aid classroom teachers in grades one through three as they develop and implement social studies education programs. Major objectives of the handbook are to identify social studies concepts which are within the realm of experience for primary school pupils, identify cognitive skills associated with learning about those concepts, and suggest activities which help pupils explore the concepts. Three approaches are stressed--conceptual framework development (derived from the social science disciplines), modified inquiry (carried out through structured questions), and skill development (including information acquisition, reading, organizing, communicating, citizenship, geographic location and map and globe skills, and time relationship skills). Activities are presented in six categories, representing the major social science disciplines--sociology, political science, geography, economics, anthropology, and history. Students are involved in a variety of activities including making collages, analyzing short stories, working with maps and globes, reading about celebrations in other cultures, filling in blanks, role playing, and writing paragraphs about the activities of political officials. For each activity, information is presented on a question to reinforce the major concept, skill, objective, process, and materials. A brief overview of teaching strategies is included in the document. (DB)