Goals: Students will 1. Take a pretest to determine threshold knowledge (this will go into the gradebook but will not count as part of your grade). 2. Learn what the social sciences are. 3. Learn the sociological perspectives.

 What is a social science? ◦ The scientific study of human society and social relationships  Also, a subject which the field of social science such as:  Sociology  Psychology  Economics  Political Science  History

◦ The study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society.  Also, the study of human problems.  How does the study of sociology differ from the study of psychology?  Look at page 7 in the textbook.

 Definition – the ability of individuals to see the relationship between events in their personal lives and events in their society. ◦ Explain this ◦ Do you do this?  Give examples

 The Big Three and Their Theories ◦

 Read in the textbook from p. 14 – 19. ◦ In groups of three, make a timeline including the important dates and sociologists and their contributions. ◦ This will be turned in for a participation grade for the group.

 The local newspaper ran the following item: ◦ Sociology has nothing to do with reading, writing, or mathematics, believes school board member Learner. She has commented that there is no reason to study human interaction. Students should be taught the basic core classes plus how to follow rules and regulations. “That’s what school is for; it’s not a breeding ground for socializing,” Learner stated. She proposes dropping all the social sciences from the curriculum.  What do you think the school board should do?