Social Studies is

the integrated study of the

social sciences and humanities
to promote civic competence.
what?
Lets try that again.
Social Studies is the study of society and civilizations
through history

Civilizations are large, complex societies

based around a common culture
 In the end
Social Studies is the study of people through history.

Bruce Lee

Adolf Hitler Shakespeare

It is the study of what people do

Einstein Abe Lincoln

Mike Tyson

Moses
To study people
First we need to study their environment
This class is the study of locations around the world
and how they affect civilization
This is called
Five themes of Geography
Location
Place
Human-environment
interaction
Movement (migration)
Region
Location
Where a place is
Absolute location: a specific location
Ex: Street address (225 High St, Randolph
MA)
Relative location: describes a location by its
surroundings, landmarks, or distance from
one place to another
Ex: The library is next to the cafe
Place
Characteristics of a location what is
there
Human: Things built by people
Cities, roads, towns
Language, religions, customs
Physical: Natural features
Mountains, rivers, beaches
 Human-environment interaction
How people effect and change
the environment they live in
Depend on it: things we need
from the environment to
survive (ex: water from lakes
& rivers)
Modify it: People changing
the environment for our
benefit (ex: building a dam
across a river)
Adapt to it: Adapting our
lifestyles to fit the
environment (ex: different
clothes for different seasons)
Movement
The movement and
migrations of civilizations
Human Movement: the
movement of people
around the globe
Information Movement:
the spread of
information by phone,
email, and snail mail
Idea movement: the
spread of religions,
beliefs, and cultures
 Regions
Dividing the world into separate areas
Formal Regions
Named regions that have clearly defined areas
Ex.: the State of Massachusetts, the Rocky
Mountains
Functional regions
Regions defined by a function
Ex.: Cell phone coverage, oil fields
Vernacular Regions
Regions defined by people
Ex.: Middle East, Deep South