Wrapping up Civilization

Over the last week, we explored the five components of civilization.  Students created their own civilizations, in small groups, which were comprised of those components.  As they worked through it, most students demonstrated that they understood all of the areas.  The one part that seemed to give them the most trouble was:  Art, Architecture, and Infrastructure.  It was the 'infrastructure' that got them!  At any rate, I am going to take the time to define each area in my post this week.

1. Centralized Government:  This is the governing system which is concerned with the areas that affect the entire nation including defense, international relations, taxation and trade.  In the United States, we tend to think of the three branches of government which work together to make and enforce laws as well as keep us safe.
2. Organized Religion:  This is a belief  in a higher power (like a god) which is a common thread among the civilization.  In the United States, we are free to practice whichever religion we choose (or none at all).
3. Art, Architecture, and Infrastructure:  Art and Architecture are both means of expression.  Art refers to the way the people of a civilization express themselves and is closely related to architecture. Architecture refers to the design of, and creation of, structures and space used for a multitude of purposes. Infrastructure is the framework on which the civilization is built.  It can be used to describe communication, transportation, and other forms of public works (power plants, water treatment facilities, schools, etc.).  All of these are evident in the United States.
4. Job Specialization and Social Classes:  Job specialization refers to the need for skilled workers and is very closely related to social classes.  Typically, skilled workers make more money than unskilled and therefore find themselves in different social classes.  Social classes are basically groups of people who are put together for one reason or another.  In the United States, we tend to think we have a three class system where people are divided in to upper, middle, and lower classes. However, social classes do not have to be related to money.  People can be divided by gender, race, geographic location, skills, education, or anything else for that matter.
5. Written Language:  Written language is the way in which a civilization keeps records (history) and communicates among it self and with others.

My morning classes also prepared and presented their first current events assignment of the year.  For the most part, they were well done.  Remember that national or international stories work better for this assignment.  These assignments are important because they help us to think about modern issues and they reinforce the concept of civilization.  For those in my afternoon class (six and eight) the assignment is due on Monday.

We will continue to review the above-mentioned areas this week, but our focus will shift toward timelines and geography.  There will be a test on Friday regarding the components of civilization.

As always, if you have any questions you can post them on the blog or ask me in class.

Civilization

This week, we began to discuss the various components of civilization. I will define them next week in my post.

1. Centralized Government
2. Written Language
3. Art / Architecture / Infrastructure
4. Job Specialization / Social Classes
5. Organized Religion

Students are currently working in small groups as they create their own civilizations. They will demonstrate their understanding of the above-mentioned components by incorporating by incorporating them in their design. We also wrapped up our discussion regarding the fields of social studies by taking a quiz on Friday. Most of the scores have been entered and can be viewed online; however, period one cannot be viewed until sometime Monday.

In each class, we discussed the procedure for current event reviews (which will be assigned once or twice a month). For periods 1, 2, 3, and 4, their first review is due on Friday, September 27. Periods 6 and 7 will have their first review due on Monday, September 30 due to the half day schedule. The format for the current event review is listed on my teacher page for review at any time.

Next week, we will continue to explore civilization and we will be on track to begin the prehistory unit in the beginning of October.

***I highly suggest that all students and parents sign up for Remind 101.  I will use that service to send mass text messages regarding upcoming assignments, due dates, and other important information.  Click on Remind 101 (above) to be directed to the information page.

Themes of Social Studies

Last week our major focus was understanding the fields of social studies. Students were divided in to small groups (3 to 5 depending on class size) and each group was assigned one of the five fields:

1. History:  The study of past events.
2. Geography:  The study of the earth's surfaces and the processes which shape it.
3. Political Science:  The study of government, types of government, and their processes.
4. Economics:  The study of consumption, production, and the transfer of wealth.
5. Behavioral Science:  B.H. was broken in to the three sub-fields below.

• Anthropology:  The study of humankind (physically and behaviorally).
• Psychology:  The scientific study of the mind and its functions.
• Sociology:  The study of the development, structuring, and functioning of society.

Each group was given between 20-25 minutes to find a definition of their field, come up with examples to further define their field, and create a mini-presentation. The topics were presented on Friday, but there are still a few groups who will present on Monday. There will be a short quiz which will be administered sometime this week (probably Wednesday).

This week we will be completing our discussion regarding the five fields of social studies and begin to look at the five components of civilization.  These 'fields' and 'components' will be the fundamental building blocks of this course.

Note:  For the first few weeks of school, there are no real differences between honors and general sections of my classes.  Once we begin the next unit (Prehistory), the real differentiation will begin.

Perspective

According to vocabulary.com, a perspective is a way of regarding situations or topics. When we think about a particular culture, perspective often comes in to play. Sometimes, things don't seem to make sense until you step in to the shoes of another and see the world through their eyes. We all have a perspective, and it is important that we keep that in mind while judging the ways in which other people live. What may seem 'weird' or 'unusual' to one person may be 'normal' to someone else. Thus, we must be cautious of judging others; instead, we should try to appreciate why they live and act the way that they do. This was a major topic of discussion in class on Friday when we read about the Nacirema, American spelled backward, who seem very strange at first glance. The Nacirema live as we do, but seem very odd when looked at from the perspective of a foreigner.

Studying Culture

When studying culture, it is important that we understand the difference between observations and assumptions. When we observe something, we make note of exactly what we see. For instance, we may observe (or see) that there are ten people in a photograph in which two of them are sitting down. When we assume that they are sitting down for one reason or another, we are making an assumption; making assumptions can be okay at times, but they may also be misleading or incorrect. We discussed these concepts in class today as we began our exploration of culture.

School Year 2013/2014

Welcome to a new year, and welcome to my social studies class. I am excited about trying some new teaching techniques and working with students to become better students overall. This year is the first year that I have been assigned to teach two 'honors' classes which will cover the same curriculum while digging deeper and reaching further than the other classes. I will be focusing on writing in all of my classes this year so there will be an emphasis on that type of expression. As in past years, I will continue to incorporate current events in to my lessons whenever applicable to help students see the relevance of world history today. This year I administered a pretest which measured the background knowledge of each student as well as 30 minute writing assignment. The scores for these assessments are irrelevant in the sense that they will not 'count' toward the grade of a student but very relevant in terms of helping me plan for the year. Both assessments were given in class within the first week of school. I will end the year with a post-test which will be exactly the same as the pretest. I hope to see growth in each and every student. I am confident that I will. I hope that this year is a great one and I will post updates from time to time as the year goes on.