6th Grade Social Studies Strands

1. 6th Grade Social Studies Strands OBJECTIVE: Describe the eight major areas of study in Social Studies

2. Bell Ringer • Bell-ringer questions need to be written on your own paper with your heading in the upper-right corner • Your heading MUST include your full name, today’s date and the period. • Be Careful – the questions are not difficult, but the easy answer is almost always the wrong answer • You must approach the question differently If nine thousand, nine hundred nine dollars is written as $9,909, how would you write twelve thousand, twelve hundred twelve dollars?

3. Turn in homework • If you have brought back the signature page of the Parent Letter you took home yesterday, make sure that everything is filled in • You can fill in your Last Name, First Name and Student ID number. I forgot to remove the “Teacher Only” part before printing it. • Pass it to the front of your row. • If you did not bring it back, bring it tomorrow. Your grade will start dropping on Thursday.

4. Classroom Rules • Comply with all federal, state and district policies • Do not do anything that creates unsafe or unhealthy conditions in my classroom • Do not do anything that interferes with your learning • Do not do anything that interferes with anyone else’s learning • Do not let anyone else interfere with your learning

5. Classroom Expectations • Bring and use the proper materials at the proper time • No gum or food • Do not talk except when the activity permits or when you have a question (raise your hand first). • Stay in your seat unless you have permission • Do not do work from other classes unless you have permission • Listen carefully to instructions, execute them to the best of your ability, and ask if you do not understand them • Participate in the lesson by doing the correct activity at the correct time: listen, ask questions, discuss, read, write, research.

6. ACTIVITY – To be completed as we go • Using scissors, cut out each of the strands and the descriptions • Match information and questions to the appropriate strand by placing the strip with the strand • You might put something into a category that does not match mine. That fine, but you need to be able to convince me that you know what you’re talking about. That’s one of the things in the “Skills” strand.

7. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills • In Grade 6, students study people, places and societies of the contemporary world. • Google “TEKS 113” to get the full curriculum (or just visit the “Resources” page on my classroom website for the direct link) • Eight “strands” are included • History • Geography • Economics • Government • Culture • Citizenship • Science and Technology • Skills

8. History • The study of people and events of the past. • Most people use “history” to mean anything that happens in the past AND involves people. • Technically, history relies on written records • No writing, no History, and the field is called Archaeology since we must study artifacts instead of records. • No people, no History, and the field is called Paleontology (most people think of dinosaurs)

9. Geography • Describing the earth and its people Geography Physical Geography (stuff nature does) Cultural Geography (stuff people do)

10. Five “Themes” of Geography • Physical Geography • Location – where is it? • Place – what does it look like? • Region – what does it have in common with other areas? • Cultural Geography • Movement – Where did it come from? How did it get there? Why did it move? • Human-Environment Interaction – how do people adapt to or change (or both) place characteristics? • Region – what does it have in common with other areas?

11. Economics • Study of the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services • Goods (generally) – stuff you buy • Services (generally) – stuff you pay people to do • Three basic questions: • What shall we produce? • How shall we produce it? • Who gets it?

12. Economic Systems • The difference between economic systems is not in the answers to the basic questions, but in who answers them. • Two opposing systems: • Capitalist/Market economies – producers and consumers answer the questions • Communist/Command economies – the government answers the questions • All systems are somewhere between those two extremes

14. Government • The system by which the decisions of a group are made, implemented and enforced • The system by which a group of people regulates the behavior of its members and its relations with other groups • Two general types • Limited: rulers must obey rules • Unlimited: rulers can do whatever they want

15. Government - Caution • In real life, there is no such thing as a government where the rulers can do whatever they want. • All governments have practical limitations • Abuse the people too much and they will rebel eventually • No one person can make all of the decisions – power must be delegated to others in order to get anything done

16. Culture • What makes one group of people different from another group of people? • What makes an American an American? • What makes a German a German? • What makes a Mexican a Mexican? • What is it that makes a Canadian different from a Mexican or an American?

17. Minor Strands • Citizenship • what are the duties and responsibilities of the individual in the various societies we will be studying? • Science, Technology and Society • what are the causes, processes and effects of technological innovation? • Skills • the things you need to be able to do to acquire new information and to show that you have learned the information

18. That’s It • The cut-outs that you made are yours. You may do with them as you wish. Before throwing them away, I would recommend rearranging them with the descriptions placed under other headings and see whether they are still arranged properly. • The whole point of the activity is to understand that Geography is not necessarily ONLY Geography and History is not necessarily ONLY History; information can fit into more than one category.

19. thirteen Units • North America • Celebrate Freedom Week (Constitution Day) • Central America and the Caribbean • South America • Europe • Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia • South Asia • East Asia • Southeast Asia • Southwest Asia and North Africa • Sub Saharan Africa • Australia and the Pacific • Independent Research

20. Tomorrow • We will start with general geographic concepts: • Continents and Oceans • Absolute and Relative Location • Directions and Distances • Latitude and Longitude • Climates • Landforms • Anyone who did not bring back the signature portion of their Parent Letter today may bring it tomorrow. It will still be worth 100 points.