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
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