This course content guide identifies the objectives that form the basis for social studies in grades four through eight in Arkansas schools. Classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, administrators, professors, and the Department of Education personnel participated in the guide's development. The information for each grade is presented into three columns. The first column lists basic skills, the second developmental skills, and the third suggests teaching strategies. It is stated that although all of the skills should be taught, the basic skills are those on which the Minimum Performance Test (MPT) items are based. The strategies are offered as recommendations and may be used in any way a teacher or staff deems relevant. An outline of the scope and sequence of the social studies recommended for grades K-8 is included. (DB)