Social Studies Course Overview

 

UNITS

1. How Do We Study The Past?:

• How do social scientists interpret the past?
• What can we learn from an artifact?
• How does one use evidence to support a claim?

 

2. Early Man And The Rise Of Civilization:

 

• What capabilities allow hominids to survive?
• How does the method of food production impact daily life?
• What is technology?
• How does the use of technology change daily life?
• How does technology allow humans to adapt to new environments and challenges?
• How does the development of writing impact government?
• How did agriculture impact civilization?
• What are the characteristics of civilization?

 

Middle East Religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam): What are the core beliefs and practices of a faith?  What impact can religion have on an individual and a society?  How has religion served to unify and divide?

 

3. River Valley Civilizations (Egypt/Kush, India, and China):

• How does geography impact culture? Why is it important to consider multiple perspectives and  sources to gain a valuable understanding of culture?
• How are rivers essential to the development of early civilizations?
• What factors cause conflict within an established government?  
• How does trade impact a society?
• How does geography affect the development of trade routes and the necessity for trade?
• What role can religion and/or philosophy play in government?

               

4. Legacies (Greece and Rome): 

• What forms of government are created in Greece and Rome?
• How do they impact the United States government? 
• How did the geography impact the development of government in Greece and Rome?
• How did the size of the Rome Empire impact its influence on the ancient world and our world today?
•  How did religion influence art, architecture and literature?
• What role do wars play in the development of a civilization?
• What are the key events and discoveries of Greece and Rome?

 

 

5. Cultural Diffusion (Alexander the Great and the Silk Road): 

 

• Who was Alexander the Great?
• What did Alexander the Great  accomplish?
• How did Alexander the Great  build his empire?
• Where did the Silk Road begin and end?

• What was the route of the Silk Road?
• What were the major products traded along the Silk Road?
• What ideas were spread along the Silk Road?
• What makes an item valuable?