Social Studies

          The second unit in social studies focuses on prehistoric people.  We begin using our textbook, The Ancient World published by Prentice Hall.  The unit covers pages 8 to 25 in the text. Students will study how archaeologists learn about prehistoric people through artifacts.

          Main topics in the unit include:

Ø     The methods archaeologists use to understand cultures of the past.

Ø     How the physical geography of a place affected the growth of ancient civilizations.

Ø     How humans lived during the Old Stone Age and the developments that led to the New Stone Age.

Ø     How the development of farming changed the way people live.

Ø     How early farming villages grew into cities.

Ø     How some societies grew into civilizations and the characteristics of a civilization.

Ø     The role of trade in the development of civilizations.

Activities and assignments will include:

Ø     Viewing of a video on The Iceman of the Alps

Ø     A journal entry on The Iceman of the Alps

Ø     Viewing of a news story on the Yanomami of South America

Ø     A vocabulary booklet

Ø     Various worksheets on the chapters in the unit

Ø     Defining the elements and function of a time line and how time lines relate historical events to each other

Ø     A unit test

A review for the unit test will be on the web site as we conclude the unit.

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 Updated 10-21-2009