Category Archives: Social Sciences

You’ll find domain-specific material designed to meet Common Core Standards in social studies, along with adapted and differentiated materials that deal with a broad array of conceptual knowledge in the social sciences. See the Taxonomies page for more about this category.

The Weekly Text, Friday 9 June 2023: History of Hip-Hop Lesson 14, The Message: Hip-Hop as Political and Social Manifesto

Posted on June 8, 2023 | Leave a comment

Don’t worry, after this, only two lessons remain to post in the History of Hip-Hop Unit. This week’s Text is lesson plan fourteen of the unit, on Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s seminal Hip-Hop recording, “The Message.” This lesson begins, after your class change, with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the concept of a manifesto. The central work of this lesson is a reading, and a listening, for which I use this Official Video of the song on YouTube, and the lyrics to the song, to guide students toward completing these comprehension and analytical questions on these verses.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Lesson Plans, New York City, Social Sciences, The Weekly Text, Worksheets

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Term of Art: Source Memory

Posted on June 2, 2023 | Leave a comment

“source memory: The memory of where a person obtained information. For example, a child might know that Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania, but not recall where he or she obtained that information. Many students with learning disabilities have deficient source memory.”

Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.

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Posted in Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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Ho Chi Minh with Some Familiar Words

Posted on May 26, 2023 | Leave a comment

“All men are created equal; they are endowed with by their creator with certain inalienable rights; among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This immortal statement was made in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America in 1776. In a broader sense, this means: All the peoples on earth are equal from birth, all the peoples have a right to live, to be happy and free.”

Ho Chi Minh, Proclamation of Independence, 2 Sept. 1945

Excerpted from: Schapiro, Fred, ed. The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.

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Posted in Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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Cultural Literacy: Karachi

Posted on May 26, 2023 | Leave a comment

If you can use it, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan. This is a half-page document with a two-sentence reading, the first of which is a longish compound separated by a semicolon; there are three comprehension questions.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Posted in Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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Massacre of Amritsar

Posted on May 26, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Massacre of Amritsar: (1919) Incident in which British troops fired on a crowd of Indian protesters. In 1919 the British government of India enacted the Rowlatt act, extending its World War I emergency powers to combat subversive activities. On April 13th a large crowd gathered to protest the measures and troops opened fire, killing about 379 and wounding about 1,200. The massacre was the prelude to Mahatma Gandhi’s noncooperation movement of 1920-1922.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Posted in Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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The Weekly Text, 26 May 2023, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Week IV: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Kemal Ataturk

Posted on May 26, 2023 | Leave a comment

Alright, for the final Friday of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2023, here is a reading on Kemal Ataturk along with its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, The Weekly Text, Worksheets

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Cultural Literacy: Borneo

Posted on May 19, 2023 | Leave a comment

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Borneo. This is a half-page document with a reading of two sentences and three comprehension questions. A basic introduction to the third-largest island in the world.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Posted in Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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Cultural Literacy: Dienbienphu

Posted on May 19, 2023 | Leave a comment

In 1954, it was the bloody nadir for French forces in Vietnam, something this Cultural Literacy worksheet on Dienbienphu makes sure to mention. This is a half-page worksheet with a reading of two simple sentences, followed by three comprehension questions.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Posted in Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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Rabindranath Tagore

Posted on May 19, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Rabindranath Tagore: Bengali poet, writer, composer, and painter. The son of Debendranath Tagore, he published several books of poetry, including Manasi, in his twenties. His later religious poetry was introduced to the West in Gitanjali (1912). Through international travel and lecturing, he introduced aspects of Indian culture to the West and vice versa. He spoke ardently in favor of Indian independence; as a protest against the Massacre of Amritsar, he repudiated the knighthood he had received in 1915. He founded an experimental school in Bengal where he sought to blend Eastern and Western philosophies; it became Vishva-Bharati University (1921). He was awarded the 1913 Nobel Prize for Literature.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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The Weekly Text, 19 May 2023, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Week III: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Iwo Jima

Posted on May 19, 2023 | Leave a comment

Here is a reading on Iwo Jima along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet in observance of Week III of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2023. This is of course, a topic in United States history as well. The battle fought on the island of Iwo Jima produced one of the most iconic war photographs, that of the United States flag being raised there, of the Second World War–and perhaps ever. That photograph inspired the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, The Weekly Text, Worksheets

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