Social Studies

The course is designed to correlate with the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) Standards. The curriculum addresses the understanding and development of geography, history, culture, civics and the economy of the following regions of the world:

1. Africa

2. Asia (China, Japan, Korea, India)

3. Latin America

Students will:

* Identify connections among cultures

* Examine key historic events

* Demonstrate an understanding of people, places and the environment

* Investigate power, authority and government

* Describe production, distribution and consumption of goods and services

* Explore current events

Assessment:

Assessments are weighted as follows:

* Quizzes (35%)

* Tests and projects (oral and written)* (50%)

* Homework assignments (15%)**

*Tests and projects: In most cases, a rubric will be used to score authentic assessments such as projects. A rubric is a guide that gives direction to the scoring of student products. Rubrics describe various levels of work performance and identify specific characteristics that are expected towards meeting the standards. Rubrics are extremely important to students because they provide valuable information up front and take the mystery out of how an assignment is graded. They clearly identify what is needed for attaining particular levels of performance.

**Homework assignments: Each student receives one free “zero” a quarter. Therefore, assignments will not be accepted late for partial credit. Reminder: check “schoolnotes.com” for daily homework updates.

Resources:

*The World Past and Present, East and West, 1995 Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Publishing

*World Explorer series (Africa, Asia, Latin America), 2001 Prentice Hall Publishing

*Internet

*Primary Sources

*Time for Kids magazine