GED S.S

1. RAP - Review and Preview
1) Have your covered textbook, signed syllabus,
supplies, and “Why We Need to Save SS”
questions on your desk.
2) Discuss your answers with the person to your
right. Find out what you had similar and
different. Be prepared to share with the class.
3) Fill in the first column of the “Name that
Subject” worksheet.

2. “Why We Need to Save (and
Strengthen) Social Studies”
• #1 Notes Section - “Why We Need to Save
SS” Homework Questions – 6 Points
• Write three sentences for each question:
• Why do students need Social Studies?
• Should the quality of your education be
determined by your social class or
income level?

3. • “Citizens must have some depth of historical,
political, and cultural understanding. Making good
decisions requires that. It's one thing to have a
nation of diverse opinions, which is crucial for
democracy, but opinion before knowledge, or
without tolerance, leads to demise.”
• “Many argue that young people today are not
educated to care about political matters,
understand complex issues, make informed
decisions, and contribute to a just society. Studies
point to a glaring gap in civic knowledge based on
test scores correlated with socioeconomic
background and race or ethnicity.”

4. Definition of Social Studies
• From the National Council for the Social Studies’
website:
• NCSS defines social studies as “the integrated
study of the social sciences and humanities to
promote civic competence.” Within the school
program, social studies provides coordinated,
systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as
anthropology, archaeology, economics,
geography, history, law, philosophy, political
science, psychology, religion, and sociology.” In
essence, social studies promotes knowledge of
and involvement in civic affairs.”

5. Step 1
• 10 minutes
• With a partner, decide how each of the social
sciences can help you (the WB Program
Director), make decisions in the course of
choosing a TV schedule for your network.
– What sort of business decisions could they help
you make?
– What specific issues could they study to help you
as a Program Director?

6. Step 2
• 10 minutes
• Each pair will read a different social science
description (of 7)
– All similar social scientists will join as a group and
will identify ways that their social science field
could contribute to creating a TV show for the WB.

7. Step 3
• 10-15 min
• Each student assumes the role of WB program
director again.
– Each student will talk to one of each of the student
social science experts and write what they suggest
is the best issue or question they can help you as a
Program Director for the CW TV Network.

8. Step 4
• Go back to the “Name that Subject” chart, fill
in the right column.
– Tip – you might want to draw a little
picture/symbol to help you remember what each
social scientist term means.
• Think about:
– Which social science subject do you find most
interesting and why?

9. Step 5 - Homework
• Step 5: (You may write/type on a separate piece
of paper and turn it in next class period or submit
on the First Class hand-in folder by next class
period)
• From the perspective of the WB Program Director,
write a summary report of the specific advice you
have received from each of the social scientist
experts. Include how their advice has impacted
your decision about what shows to run and when.

10. RAP - #4 Culture
• Think of a time that you either:
– experienced culture shock
– Unintentionally offended someone of another
culture
– Felt misunderstood because of your culture
How did this situation(s) make you feel and how
could it have been prevented?

11. Nacirema Tribe Reading
• The aim of this activity is to learn about the
peculiar rituals of a certain tribe of people.
• As we read the article aloud, list strange rituals
of the Nacirema.

12. Similarities between
the Nacirema and Americans
• Nacirema – American
• shrine – bathroom
• pottery plaques – tiles
• shrine box / chest -- medicine
cabinet
• potions / charms – medicines
• medicine man – doctor
• herbalist – pharmicist
• secret language – Latin
prescription
• basin – sink
• different holy water -- hot /
cold water
• holy mouth man – dentist
• hog bristles – toothbrush
• dig holes in teeth -- cavities
filled
• strips of metal – braces
• scraping face – shaving
• baking heads -- beauty shop
hair dryer
• maidens with costumes –
nurses
• cut out body pieces – surgery
• sharp wires – needles
• "latipsoh" -- "hospital“
• "Nacirema" -- "American"

13. Viewpoint ONE
Our country has always been a melting pot -- a nation made
up of people from different backgrounds who give up some
of their difference to become American. They do everything
they can to fit in. We have always been a nation of
immigrants. What makes the United States great is that
people come here in search of equality, freedom,
opportunity, and individual rights. Americans are not
supposed to care about people's different physical traits or
backgrounds. Really, we shouldn 't pay too much attention to
particular groups and what they want. I think we should
forget about things like multicultural history. Instead, we
should promote and learn about the traditional values that
made America what it is today.

14. Viewpoint Two
• America 's high ideals about freedom and equality
have not been applied equally to everybody. We have
to pay attention to all of our different experiences so
that we can come to terms with the fact that America
has a history of not welcoming some people, and of
being brutal to some groups. We all know that slavery
was cruel and heartless, and it is only one example of
how people have been and still are treated unfairly.
Some people paid a higher price for admission, not
because of anything they ever did, only because of
who they were and where they came from. We must
talk about how some of us were treated badly, and are
being treated badly. We still need to acknowledge our
history so that we can make things right.

15. Viewpoint Three
• "Diversity " is a politically correct word. It gives
special ststus to people of different races, to
women, to people with disabilities, and to
homosexuals. That 's not right. I worry that, in the
name of diversity, people are lowering their
standards. America is about people working hard,
and some people succeed. Human beings should
be judged based on how they perform, on merit. I
should be able to decide who to spend time with,
and who to hire or fire. And I'll base my choices on
what people are inside -- on their values, their
character, that kind of thing -- not on what they
are on the outside or on what the claims they
make.

16. Viewpoint Four
• I know all about the dominant, white "American"
culture because that's how I've survived, not because
it has been good to me. People who aren't part of
that culture often need to explain themselves over
and over again. The dominant culture sets the rules
on all sorts of things. For example, I have to go outof
my way to find a hairstylist who knows how to cut my
hair. Another example: in school, I studied only
Western traditions and history. Of course, everybody
learns George Washington's name. How manypeople
learn Sojourner Truth's or Caesar Chavez's? These
kinds of things tell me a lot about who is highly
regarded in America and who is not.

17. Viewpoint 5
• The ideal America is one of shared values and
commitment that can build on cultural differences.
Coming together as a country is a long-term healing
process, and it requires learning about all the cultures
that make up our nation. I want my kids to learn about
different cultures as part of the American experience.
For that to happen, we will have to discuss and
compare our experiences honestly. Of course we 'll
disagree on some things, but we'll probably find out
we're commited to a core set of values that define the
United States of America -- freedom, equality, and
democracy. And we must incorporate our new
accounts into the larger story of America, instead of
treating them as exotic alternative histories.

18. Viewpoint 6
• When will we own up to the fact that racial and ethnic
differences often are tied to economic differences? I
fear that tensions will grow between groups because
the pie is not as big as it once was, and some groups
take bigger slices than others. If the gap between the
rich and the poor gets wider, and if economic
differences continue to overlap with racial differences,
I don't see how we'll end up with anything other than
a two-tiered society. Ask yourself, how do people
react if poor people of color want to move into a
suburban town? What does your answer tell you?

19. Viewpoint Seven
• There is no way that all of these different
groups are going to get along. We have too
much diversity. There is no example in history
for the kind of multi-ethnic society America is
trying to pull off. People should stay within
their own groups. Your own people will care
about you, and they will teach you about what
your values should be. Forget about trying to
make everybody get along together. The best
we can hope for is that people will leave each
other alone.

20. #6 – RAP – Reliability of Sources
• Think of a time when you’ve received false
information about something and it has
affected you in some way.
– Ex: Rumors, misinterpretations, unreliable source,
etc.

21. Primary vs. Secondary Sources
• Primary Source: a
document or physical object
which was written or
created during the time
under study. These sources
were present during an
experience or time period
and offer an inside view of a
particular event.

22. Types of Primary Sources
• ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS
– Diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news
film footage, autobiographies, official records
• Diary of Anne Frank, U.S. Constitution, a journal article
reporting NEW research or findings
• CREATIVE WORKS
– Poetry, drama, novels, music, art
• RELICS OR ARTIFACTS
– Pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings
• Weavings and pottery - Native American history

23. Secondary Sources
• Secondary Source: A
secondary source
interprets and analyzes
primary sources.
– They are one or more
steps removed from the
event.
– They may have pictures,
quotes or graphics of
primary sources in them.

24. Types of Secondary Sources
• PUBLICATIONS
– Textbooks, magazine articles, histories, criticisms,
commentaries, or encyclopedias which interpret
or review previous findings
• A History textbook
• A book about the effects of WWI
• A Wikipedia article

25. Primary or Secondary?
Pericles’ Funeral Oration
Excerpt
431 B.C.
• Our political system does not compete with governments that focus
on force. We do not copy our neighbors, but try to be an example.
Our government favors the many instead of the few: this is why it is
called a democracy. The laws give equal justice to all.
• The freedom we enjoy goes also to ordinary life; we are not
suspicious of one another, and we do not nag our neighbor if he
chooses to go his own way. ... But this freedom does not make us
forget laws. We are taught to respect the government and the laws,
and never to forget that we must protect the injured. And we are
also taught to follow the feeling of what is right....

26. Primary or Secondary?
The Story of Romulus and Remus
• Rhea was married to Mars, the Roman god of war. Rhea had twin
sons. She loved her boys, but there were plots afoot by other gods
and goddesses to harm her father, herself, her husband, and her
children. To protect the boys, she set them adrift on the river,
hoping someone would find them. Who would not love such
beautiful boys?
• Sure enough, first they were found by a she-wolf who fed them.
Then a shepherd and his wife adopted the boys.
• As the twins grew older, they decided they did not want to take
care of sheep. They wanted to be kings. They decided to build a city
on the shores of the Tiber. They both wanted to be the only king.
They quarreled. In a fit of rage, Romulus picked up a rock, killed his
brother, and made himself king. Romulus then became the first
king of this town, which he named Rome, after himself.

27. Primary or Secondary?
The Magna Carta
(The Great Charter)
• 1. In the first place we have granted to God, and by this our present
charter confirmed for us and our heirs forever that the English
Church shall be free, and shall have her rights entire, and her
liberties inviolate; and we will that it be thus observed.
• In other words: Freedom of religion, no one can violate the rights
of the church
• 21. Earls and barons shall not be punished except through their
peers, and only in accordance with the degree of the offense.
• In other words: Right to a trial by jury, punishments should fit the
crime
• 30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours, or other person, shall take the
horses or carts of any freeman for transport duty, against the will of
the said freeman. 31. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall take, for our
castles or for any other work of ours, wood which is not ours,
against the will of the owner of that wood.

28. Primary or Secondary?
• General Ulysses S. Grant (Civil War)
• "When news of the surrender first
reached our lines our men
commenced firing a salute of a
hundred guns in honor of the
victory. I at once sent word,
however, to have it stopped. The
Confederates were now our
prisoners, and we did not want to
exult over their downfall." Ulysses
S. Grant, April 9, 1865, Personal
Memoirs of U. S. Grant (New York,
1885), pages 555-560.

29. Primary or Secondary?
• American Civil War
• From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• The American Civil War (1861–1865), also known as the War Between
the States and several other names, was a civil war in the
United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their
secession from the U.S. and formed the Confederate States of America
(the Confederacy). Led by Jefferson Davis, they fought against the U.S.
federal government (the "Union"), which was supported by all the
free states and the five slaveholding border states.
• In the presidential election of 1860, the Republican Party, led by
Abraham Lincoln, had campaigned against the expansion of slavery
beyond the states in which it already existed. The Republican victory
in that election resulted in seven Southern states declaring their
secession from the Union even before Lincoln took office on March 4,
1861. Both the outgoing and incoming U.S. administrations rejected
secession, regarding it as rebellion.

30. Big Picture
• Which type of source is more reliable???
A. Primary source
B. Secondary source