Social Studies Basics Reading Workbook PDF

tony Name:___________________________ TOURIST social studies basics Reading Workbook 1 ©TonyTheTourist...

tony Name:___________________________ TOURIST social studies basics Reading Workbook 1 ©TonyTheTourist Social Studies 101 Hi! I’m Tony the Tourist. I like to travel through history to learn about all the interesting things that have created the world we live in today. I hope that you find interest in what you are learning and ask questions that increase your understanding! It is important to improve reading, writing, and literacy skills, so you will find tools and checkpoints to help you along the way. In addition, these are some things that you might want to consider as you learn: - What do I hope to learn about with this topic? - Why is learning about history important? - What do I still have questions about? - How can I use what I have learned to understand the world better? Learning is important and it makes us all better citizens of the world. Thank you for tagging along on my journey through history, and have fun! - 2  tony tools Tools to help you understand what you are reading! READING PASSAGE ANNOTATIONS: How to annotate: ✓ Underline details that are important to the main idea of the text. ✓ Highlight vocabulary that is relevant to the unit. ✓ Circle words/terms that you don’t understand very well and look them up later! ✓ Make notes in the margins. Write down information or thoughts that help you draw conclusions and make connections. tony’s terms Social Studies: The study of how people interact with one another so we can learn to build strong societies. Perspective: The way that a person thinks about or views something. Bias: A one-sided point of view that doesn’t consider an opposite point of view. Fact: A truth that can be proven with evidence. Opinion: A statement of a personal belief, attitude, or feeling. An opinion cannot be proven. Primary Source: A document, artifact, or first-hand account that comes directly from an event. Secondary Source: Information that is created by someone that did not experience the event first-hand. 3 ©TonyTheTourist Social Studies 101  Social Studies 101 social studies? Social Studies is a core subject that most kids learn about, but have you ever wondered- What is social studies? According to the National Council for the Social Studies, it is “the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence”. Wait… what?! Let’s simplify that. The word social refers to the way people interact while living among one another (in a society). Different types of experts study these interactions and analyze how they have influenced us today. Therefore, we can define Social Studies as the study of how people interact with one another so we can learn to build strong societies. Social studies focuses on five “themes”, or topics of study- History, Government, Economy, Culture/Society, and Geography. All five themes impact, or are impacted by, the interaction of people. Experts who study these themes are called Social scientists. Types of social scientists include: ✓ Anthropologists- People who study early humans and their behaviors. ✓ Historians- People who use reliable sources to research, analyze, and write about the past. ✓ Political Scientists- People who study politics and how governments work. ✓ Geographers- People who study the earth’s natural environment and how it relates to humans. ✓ Economists- People who study a society’s resources, goods, and services. Social scientists document their studies so that we understand the past and how it effects us today. As a result, we are able to learn and become more advanced as a society! 4 ©TonyTheTourist Social Studies 101  Social Studies 101 social studies? Main Idea Check for Understanding: Use what you have learned on page 4 to identify a Main Idea of what you have read. Support that Main Idea with three specific Details. Main Idea: (What is the key point of what you read?) Supporting Supporting Supporting Detail: Detail: Detail: ACTIVITY # 1 5 ©TonyTheTourist Social Studies 101  Social Studies 101 perspective Social scientists use different techniques when gathering and analyzing information. Three important techniques include identifying perspectives, using reliable sources, and separating fact from opinion. PERSPECTIVE. Perspective is the way that a person thinks about or views something. There are many things that contribute to a person’s perspective, including their culture, experiences, and knowledge. Another factor that effects perspective is bias. Bias is a one-sided point of view that doesn’t consider an opposite point of view. For example, you may have a bias about what is a better food option- pizza or brussel sprouts- if you have refused to ever try brussel sprouts because you are afraid of green vegetables. Perspective is important to learning social studies because it helps you consider different points of view on the same topic. Consider this example: Topic: Christopher Columbus lands in the Western Hemisphere. Perspective #1- Europeans: Christopher Columbus discovered America and brought new ideas and technology to the Western Hemisphere, which made the New World more advanced. Perspective #2- Indigenous Peoples: Christopher Columbus did not discover the Americas because people had lived there long before, and he brought diseases and warfare that killed millions of indigenous peoples. Perspective helps social scientists determine whose point of view history is told from. It encourages them to gather as much information as possible so that all points of view are understood. We can use perspective in our daily lives to understand why people have different views and opinions. 6 ©TonyTheTourist Social Studies 101  Social Studies 101 perspective Skills Break Understanding ‘Perspective’: Read the story below. Answer the questions that follow by using what you have learned about perspective on page 6. An investigator from the National Child Labor Committee documented what he saw in 1909. In one case, he said: “There are several dangers connected with this work when children do it. On every hand, one can see little tots toting boxes or pans full of beans, berries, or tomatoes, and it is self-evident that the work is too hard. Then there are machines which no young persons should be working around. Unguarded belts, wheels, cogs, and the like are a menace to careless children...” Source: Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/nclc/reporting.html 1.) Whose perspective was this written from? 2.) Can you identify an opposing (opposite) perspective? Explain. 3.) Is there a clear bias in this story? Explain. ACTIVITY #2 7 ©TonyTheTourist Social Studies 101  Social Studies 101 fact & opinion Social scientists need to know the difference between fact and opinion while researching and analyzing evidence. FACT. A fact is a truth that can be proven with evidence. Facts are not based on perspective or bias. A fact is something that has actually happened or exists, regardless of what someone thinks about it. OPINION. An opinion is a statement of someone’s belief, attitude, or feelings. An opinion cannot be proven. Opinions are often based on perspective and/or bias. Unlike facts, opinions can vary and change. You can often recognize an opinion if it reflects a person’s preference, includes exaggerations, or makes something seems good or bad. For example, if you said “I am a student”, that could be proven by your attendance in school, or with a report card. Therefore, it is a fact. However, if you said “I am the best student on the face of the planet”, it cannot be proven. The word “best” is a belief. “Best” could be determined by different things- like grades, behavior, or attendance- depending on who you ask. Therefore, this statement is an opinion. To make it easier, here are some phrases that can help you identify an opinion statement: “I think…” “I believe…” “the best…” “the worst…” “the most amazing/disgusting…” “It seems like…” “the loudest/biggest/smartest…” 8 ©TonyTheTourist Social Studies 101  Social Studies 101 fact & opinion Skills Break Understanding ‘Fact & Opinion’: Read each statement below. Using what you have learned about fact & opinion on page 8, write an “F” on the line if the statement is a fact, and an “O” if the statement is an opinion. _______ Abraham Lincoln was the most successful president in U.S. history. _______ George Washington was the first president of the United States. _______ My sister is 7 years old. _______ My sister is the messiest eater in town. _______ In Social Studies, we are learning about Ancient Civilizations. _______ I think that Ancient China was the coolest civilization. _______ My teacher has the cutest dog that I have ever seen in my entire life. _______ Social Studies is the most interesting subject in school. _______ The capital of the United States is Washington D.C. _______ My friend is taller than me. ACTIVITY #3 9 ©TonyTheTourist Social Studies 101  Social Studies 101 reliable sources It is very important that social scientists trust where their information is coming from. They consider perspective, bias, fact, and opinion in what they read and uncover. In addition, social scientists rely on primary and secondary sources to gather data and information. PRIMARY SOURCES. A primary source is a document, artifact, or first-hand account that comes directly from a historical event. Primary sources can be used when social scientists want to verify (prove that it’s true) an event or story. Primary sources could be considered the most reliable of all sources because they are original and provide evidence that something actually happened. Here are examples of primary sources: Photograph or Video Personal journal entry, notes, or a message (like a letter or text message) Speech A signed document (ex: a law, birth certificate, business license) Eyewitness testimony An artifact (ex: a battle map during a war, an ancient sculpture, original artwork) SECONDARY SOURCES. A secondary source is information that is created by someone that did not experience the event first-hand. Secondary sources can be considered reliable if they use primary sources to guide their research. However, secondary sources that include too much bias and strong opinions can be viewed as unreliable by social scientists. Here are examples of secondary sources: Online encyclopedia Biography Textbooks News commentators (people who usually report on the news, but did not witness it) Research Articles in a newspaper or magazine (*unless the writer witnessed the event) 10 ©TonyTheTourist Social Studies 101  Social Studies 101 reliable sources Skills Break Understanding ‘Reliable Sources’: Use what you have learned about primary and secondary sources on page 10 to complete the Compare & Contrast chart below. Primary Source Type Secondary Definition Does it provide proof of a historical event? What are the best two examples of this source? Is this a reliable source? Why/why not? ACTIVITY #4 11 ©TonyTheTourist Social Studies 101  SKILLS BREAK I’M A SOCIAL STUDIES PRO: SUMMARIZE: Using what you have learned about Social Studies, provide a one-two sentence summary about each topic below. _______________________________________ What is Social Studies? _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Why is PERSPECTIVE important in Social Studies? ____________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Why are FACT & OPINION important in Social Studies? _________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Why are RELIABLE SOURCES important in Social Studies? ______________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ 12 ©TonyTheTourist Social Studies 101