Social Studies Curriculum Standards
3432 - Sociology
Performance Indicators:

understand the impact of culture on group behavior
1.1

identify cultural differences
Level 1

recognize that cultural beliefs strongly influence the values and behavior of the people who grow up in the culture, often without their being fully aware of it, and that people have different responses to these influences
Level 1

compare marriage norms of various cultures
Level 2

compare learned behavior across cultures
Level 2

describe the impact of ethnic, national, and cultural influences on human behavior
Level 2

analyze environmental constraints on learning opportunities
Level 3

demonstrate why individuals often have negative responses to unknown ideas and customs
Level 3

understand the development of culture
1.2

identify major social categories in U.S. culture (e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability)
Level 1

recognize how U.S. culture is both similar to and different from cultures in other countries
Level 1

identify situations in which bias occurs
Level 2

describe the components of culture
Level 2

examine the cultural differences of Americans, including beliefs, values, accepted behaviors and environment
Level 2

relate how bias and discrimination influence behavior
Level 2

examine a personal example of ethnocentrism
Level 2

role-play the nature of in-group/out-group dynamics
Level 3

predict how self-fulfilling prophecies can fuel stereotypes about ethnic groups
Level 3

consider examples from early research on prejudice and discrimination
Level 3

students will study wedding ceremonies common to three major world religions and learn about which religious beliefs they express and why

Rationale: Wedding ritual is primarily rooted in religion and expressed according to ethnicity, and it addresses sex, fertility, honor, loyalty, and other important facets of human social and family life. Weddings developed as religious actions, so they had to feature people the bride and groom whose righteousness could and had been publicly verified through a host of engagement rituals and family background checks. The ceremony itself was designed to publicly commit the bride and groom to their roles as upholders of religion and family.

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Social Studies Curriculum Standards
3432 - Sociology
Performance Indicators:

analyze how socioeconomic factors influence group behavior
2.1

identify the factors of production
Level 1

describe the various models of capitalism, socialism and communism.
Level 2

compare and contrast the theories of Adam Smith and Karl Marx
Level 3

understand how individual values and beliefs influence economic decisions
2.2

define the values and beliefs of the different socioeconomic stratification
Level 1

describe how socioeconomic status and other group and cultural influences contribute to the shaping of a person’s identity
Level 2

identify the basic economic goals of individuals in American society.
Level 3

analyze how the difficulty of moving from one social class to another varies greatly with time, place and economic circumstances
2.3

recognize that people often discriminate on the basis of speech, dress, behavior, and physical features
Level 1

recognize that certain behaviors are exhibited from different socioeconomic classes
Level 1

analyze how the characteristics of the American economy such as freedom of choice, competition, private property, profit and freedom of enterprise affect personality development
2.4

discuss the function of supply and demand
Level 1

infer that social economic distinctions are a part of every culture, but they take many different forms (e.g.) rigid classes based on parentage, gradations based on the acquisition of skill, wealth, and education
Level 2

Students are to complete the worksheet on what their life might resemble ten years from now. Then using their imaginations, they are to cut out magazine pictures appropriate to their dream future. They will then create a poster size collage of this life. They can include all the aspects of their future life: house, career, family, cars, education, etc. They must be able to describe how they will achieve these goals such as through education, promotions, or inheritance. Each student will present his or her collage to the class with a brief oral presentation.

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Social Studies Curriculum Standards
3432 - Sociology
Performance Indicators:

understand that people adapt to their physical environment
3.1

give examples of how people adapt their needs to their physical geography.
Level 1

demonstrate how where a person lives influences one’s interests, abilities, needs, goals and values.
Level 2

examine the effect of different geographical locations on cultural values
Level 2

compare and contrast culture, values and beliefs of varied geographic regions
Level 3

understand that human needs are met by the places they create.
3.2

give examples of how human movement influences human behavior.
Level 1

illustrate how people change the environment by removing old structures and replacing them with structures that better meet modern human needs
Level 2

construct a web-quest that gives examples of how people have change their physical geography to meet human needs
Level 3

evaluate how the changing environment today in the Southeast and the globe has changed human behavior
Level 3

Students will prepare a 3-5 minute report on a country of their choice. They may not choose the United States and they will sigh up, first come first serve. A colorful poster with the flag, map, important fact of a country and additional cultural comparisons and differences e.g. family, food, clothing, schooling, will accompany each report. Each student will critique the report of their fellow classmates and write an entry in their passport, and a notebook designed for this purpose. There will be a grade for the report and a grade for the passport.

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Social Studies Curriculum Standards
3432 - Sociology
Performance Indicators:

understand the political institution and how power and authority relate to group behavior
4.1

list how the government is involved in daily life.
Level 1

compare and contrast democratic and authoritarian forms of authority.
Level 2

discuss various forms of government and how power is distribute
Level 3

understand conditions, actions, and motivations that contribute to conflict or cooperation.
4.2

list factors that motivate people to be good citizens.
Level 1

describe actions that can cause either conflict or cooperation;
Level 2

analyze how conditions lead from conflict to cooperation.
Level 2

compare and contrast individuals who gained power and examine their personality traits
Level 3

The students will cut out four different examples of propaganda from magazines and newspapers. Each must be of different propaganda technique. Attach each to a piece of paper. On a separate sheet of paper explain how each meets the definition of the specific technique the student chose to illustrate. Display the students' work for a general discussion.

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Social Studies Curriculum Standards
3432 - Sociology
Performance Indicators:

understand the foundational history of sociology
5.1

identify the early sociologists and their theory development.
Level 1

contrast the differences between the theories of Locke, Cooley and Mead.
Level 2

describe the social theories of various modern sociologists (e.g. Marx, Durkheim, Weber)
Level 3

This task will analyze the historical function of fairy tales and heroic stories in socialization.

Students will prepare a poster to compare one American fairy tale or heroic story with that of another culture such as Paul Bunyan, George Washington and the cherry tree, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Mother Goose, Aesops Fables, Alexander the great, Mogli in the Jungle Book, King Arthur, etc. The student will summarize the tale for the class and show how his/her poster illustrates the moral or lesson learned (socialization). The students will compare how other cultures employed similar techniques to convey historic moral lessons.

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Social Studies Curriculum Standards
3432 - Sociology
Performance Indicators:

examine personality development
6.1

recognize that people have different personalities
Level 1

read case studies of children who were reared in environments without nurture
Level 2

debate the origin of personality as in nature versus nurture
Level 2

discuss studies of twins separated at birth
Level 3

explore the various ways people interact
6.2

identify various group interactions
Level 1

describe the family and how individuals are prepared to be members of society
Level 2

describe the role of marriage norms
Level 2

read various accounts of marriage norms around the world.
Level 2

analyze social institutions and their value to society
Level 3

analyze norms and values in various societies
6.3

define folkways, norms, values, mores and how they are learned
Level 1

discuss ethnocentrism
Level 2

read accounts of primitive societies such as Margaret Mead’s work in New Guinea.
Level 2

examine the socialization process
Level 2

define the agents of socialization
Level 3

examine adolescent development
6.4

recognize the differences adolescents face as a unique segment of society
Level 1

define adolescence in its historical context
Level 2

discuss puberty rites and their importance to society
Level 3

explore the aging process in society
6.5

explain the aging process
Level 1

discuss various challenges to our society by the aging "baby-boomers"
Level 2

define Alzheimer’s disease and the need for long-term health care
Level 2

analyze the need for Social Security reform
Level 3

understand deviance
6.6

look at crime in today’s society
Level 1

examine various levels of conformity
Level 2

discuss levels of corrections
Level 3

define the use of deviance in changing society.
Level 3

explore the idea of social mobility
6.7

discuss various levels in society
Level 1

define being a scapegoat
Level 1

describe assimilation in society
Level 2

define ethnicity
Level 2

discuss problems involving minorities and ethnic groups in society;
Level 2

cite examples of genocide and population transfer.
Level 2

examine the history of segregation such as Jim Crow Laws, Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education;
Level 3

examine levels of prejudice and racism;
discuss stereotypes in society;
Level 3

create a collage of various lifestyles in today’s society.
Level 3

understand gender and its part in shaping human behavior
6.8

define gender
Level 1

discuss gender roles and how they are learned.
Level 2

differentiate the role of male and female within society
Level 3

evaluate the usefulness of gender roles.
Level 3

analyze the various agents of socialization
6.9

recognize how norms, values, and beliefs are taught or shared;
Level 1

define and explain the process of socialization.
Level 1

discuss each agent of socialization and how it perpetuates the goals, values and norms of society.
Level 2

explore the roles of the state, schooling, religion, sport, and science, along with the family and social class.
Level 3

understand the role of media and social trends in determining the development of society
6.10

define various forces in society such as fads, propaganda, panic, etc.
Level 1

examine the shaping of public opinion by the government and the media.
Level 2

conduct a survey of current issues
Level 3

Using the book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain students can challenge the definition of racism. Assign the students a short essay assignment based on the book such as: "Write your opinion about the portrayal of race in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Does the book illustrate that the author Mark was a racist, or do you think he was writing satire as an anti-slavery statement? Use three examples from the text to back up your argument."