5 Components of Social Studies

THE 5 COMPONENTS OF SOCIAL STUDIES Geography History Culture and Society Civics and Government Economics

The 5 themes of Geography Location Human-Environment Interactions Place Regions Movement

Geography The location of places in the world Physical features such as landforms, bodies of water, etc. Climate Examples: mountains, valleys, rivers, the desert

THEME 1: LOCATION Relative location – tells where a place is in relation to other places Absolute location – the exact location of a place

THEME 2: HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS Modify – to change your surroundings Adapt – to change to fit your surroundings

THEME 3: PLACE Physical features – landforms, bodies of water, climate, animal life Human features – buildings, roads

THEME 4: REGIONS Regions – areas on Earth that differ from each other because of their features

THEME 5: MOVEMENT Cause – an action that makes something happen Effect – what happens as a result of that action

History -The Past -Famous (and well-known) people -Events Examples: Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, the Declaration of Independence

HISTORY VOCABULARY History – what happened in the past Chronology – time order in which events take place in history Oral history – a story told aloud by a person who did not write down wht happened Perspectives – different points of view Historical empathy – the ability to understand people of the past in their own frame of reference

Culture and society Traditions of a group of people Beliefs/values Behaviors Examples: Clothing, type of music, ways of greeting someone

CULTURE VOCABULARY Culture – ways of acting, speaking, and believing Society – human group Heritage – the wealth of ideas that have been passed down through their history

Civics and Government Who leads a country How the country is run Laws Examples: President, King or Queen, democracy, the Constitution

GOVERNMENT VOCABULARY Government – a system of leaders and laws that helps people live safely together Civic participation – being concerned and involved in issues related to your community

Economics Money! How money is spent Things that help a country make money Examples: finances, taxes, salaries, industries, unemployment

ECONOMICS VOCABULARY Economy – a system of using resources to meet needs Economics – the study of the way that goods and wealth are produced, distributed, and used in the world

SKILLS’ LESSON Primary source – gives the actual words of people who were there when an event took place Secondary source – gives information written at a later time by someone who was not there when it happened