Exploring Social Studies

Chapter 1

Lesson 1: Thinking Like a Historian

• What does a historian do?

1. Research= the collection of information

• Measuring Time

1. Calendar= a system for breaking time into units and keeping track of those units

2. The calendar begins at the birth of Christ.

3. BC=before Christ

4. AD= “anno domini”- in the yest of the Lord

5. CE= common era BCE= before common era

• Reading a Time Line

1. Chronology= the order in which events happen

2. Time line= a diagram showing events chronologically

• Analyzing Sources

Five “W” questions:

1. Who created the source?

2. Why was the source created?

3. What is the source about?

4. Where was the source created?

5. When was the source created?

• Charts, Diagrams, and Graphs (mcgraw hill)

Lesson 2: Studying Geography

• What is Geography

• Maps and Globes

• Elements of Geography

What is Geography

1. Location-where something is

• Absolute location (longitude and latitude)

• Relative location (the Everglades are west of Homestead)

2. Place-physical and human features that make a place unique (theme parks in Florida)

3. Regions-areas that share common features (New England, Southwest)

4. Movement- how and why people move (demographics of an area)

5. Human-environment interaction= relationship people have with their environment (native homes in the Southwest)

Maps and Globes

• Globe is round model of the Earth

• Map is flat drawing of all or part of the Earth

• Physical Maps- shows landforms and elevation

• Political- shows names and political boundary, human made (cities, expressway routes

• Special purpose-relates a specific kind of information (ex. Map showing how many theme parks there are)

Lesson 3: Studying Economics

• What is Economics?

• National Economy

• International Economy

• Economic Literacy

What is Economics

• Economics-study of how people and nations make choices about using scarce resources to fill their needs and wants

• Scarcity=not enough resources to produce everything people want and need

• Because of scarcity people have to make choices about how to use resources. What to produce, how to produce it and for whom to produce

• Opportunity cost- the cost of passing up the second choice when making a decision

Factors of Production

• Land, labor, capital and entrepreneurs

• Land-farmland forest

• Labor- anyone who works to produce goods and services

• Capital- human-made goods that people use to produce other goods (machines, buildings, tools, money)

• Entrepreneurs-takes risk to bring in order factors of production to organize and manage a business

Market Economy

• Market economy= buyers and sellers freely choose to buy or make whatever they want

• Supply- the amount of a good or service available at a certain price

• Demand- how much customers will buy at a certain price

• Pg 24

National Economy

• Free enterprise system- people are free to control and own the means of production

• Pg 25

International Economy

• Currency http://www.xe.com/

• Tariff- tax on imports

Economic Literacy

• Do I really need this item?

• Is this worth the time I spent getting the money to pay for it?

• Is there any better use for my money? Should I save it for something in the future instead?

• Why save money?- interest

• What is credit?

• Maintaining good credit

Lesson 4: Civics and Government

• Rights of US Citizens

• Government: Structure and Function

• Citizens in Action

Rights of US Citizens

• You can become a US citizen by birth or by naturalization

• Naturalization= legal process to become a citizen

• After this you have rights like

• Due process= procedures the government must follow that are established by law

Government: Structure and Functions

• We live in a federal system- power is split between a central (national government) and state and local governments

Citizens in Action

• Duties: obey laws, pay taxes, serve on juries

• Responsibilities (voluntary): vote, respect diversity, help the community