Five Strands of Social Studies

DID YOU KNOW?

• Social Studies answers the burning question…”WHY”? WHY do people live there? WHY do they speak that way? It combines the study of cultures, geography, history, economics, and government and their impact on our lives today…and tomorrow!

In Social Studies, we have “five strands” of Social Studies. A strand

is an area of study.

• They are…• Geography

History

Government

• Culture

• Economy

Each strand is COMBINED to create

the identity of a region, a nation, and a person!

Salt to taste….• The strands of

Social Studies form the identity of a region, nation and person but not necessarily in equal parts. Like a recipe, different combinations make the perfect dish!

• Which strand of Social Studies best defines one’s identity?

Geography

• The study of people, places and the environment

Political features: countries &

cities

Climate: weather over a period of

time

Longitude & Latitude

Physical features: Continents, oceans, and landforms

Geography

• How does where you live affect how you live?

HistoryPeople who

changed society

Events that changed the way people live today

• A record of the past-can be a written account OR

an artifact

We learn history from 2 sources:

• Primary source: document, person, or object from the actual time

• Secondary source: document, person, or object that interprets or analyzes primary sources

History

• How does the past shape the present?

Culture

Religion & Traditions

• The beliefs, customs, laws, art, and ways of living of a group of people.

Art & Recreation

Language

Food, Dress, & Greetings

Culture

• How does local culture affect the traditions of the region?

Government

Citizen

participation

• The people and groups within a society that make laws, to make sure they carried out, and to settle disagreements about them.

Type of

government Structure of the

government

Personal

freedom

Government

• How does citizen satisfaction impact the government?

• How much can a citizen participate in their government?

Economics

• The study of how people manage their resources by producing, exchanging, and using goods and services.

Trade barriers,

money,

exchange

rates

Natural,

Capital, and

Human

resources

Economic systems:

traditional, market,

command, and mixed

Entrepreneurs

Economics

• Who decides what, how, and for whom things are made? (gov’t, people, traditions)