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.

12 Olympian Gods

Zeus (Jupiter) * Hera (Juno) * Poseidon (Neptune) * Aphrodite (Venus) * Athena (Minerva) * Apollo (Apollo) * Artemis (Diana) * Hermes (Mercury) * Dionysus (Bacchus) * Hades (Pluto) * Aries (Mars) *Hephaestus (Vulcan) * Hestia (Vesta)

The cult of six female goddesses paired with six male gods came to Greece from western Anatolia during the Iron Age, though the doubling up of a trinity of female goddesses, and then giving the appropriate male counterparts, was a familiar aspect of many ancient cultures. Hercules is first credited with organizing sacrifices to all twelve of the great gods who dwelt on Mount Olympus and the oldest such altar was associated with Athens. The precise names of the Olympian pantheon would shift during 1,000 years of worship, which is why thirteen deities have been listed. Hades, as Lord of the Underworld, was vulnerable to downgrading, especially in favor of Hestia/Vesta, while at other times Hephaestus could be exchanged for Hercules, and in the early period Dionysus held an equivocal position.

Excerpted from: Rogerson, Barnaby. Rogerson’s Book of Numbers: The Culture of Numbers–from 1,001 Nights to the Seven Wonders of the World. New York: Picador, 2013.

Cultural Literacy: Janus

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Janus, the “Roman god of doors and gateways and hence of beginnings,” as the four-sentence reading on this document explains. There are three comprehension questions accompanying the reading. I remember puzzling over Janus, the two-faced god, mostly because of the multiplicity and complexity of his myth and interpretation. As you probably know, Janus is represented with two faces, one young and one old, looking in opposite directions.

But did you know that the month of January is named for him? Or that to be Janus-faced is to be duplicitous, or two-faced? While I understand the image of Janus (if nothing else from watching films from the production company bearing his name), I have struggled for some reason with some of the abstractions that appear with his name on them.

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.

Carlos (Andres) Perez (Rodriguez)

“Carlos (Andres) Perez (Rodriguez): (1922-2010) President of Venezuela (1974-79, 1989-93). He began his political career at 18. A founder of Democratic Action (AD), he was elected president in 1973 with the support of the liberal Romulo Betancourt. He nationalized the oil industry while retaining experienced foreign personnel to ensure efficiency, slowed production to conserve resources, and stimulated small business and agriculture, and channeled petroleum income into hydroelectric projects, education programs, and steel mills. Reelected in 1989, Perez promoted free market economic reforms. After surviving two attempted coups, he was imprisoned in 1993 on charges of embezzlement and misuse of public funds.”

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

Cultural Literacy: Central America

OK, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Central America. This is a full-page worksheet with a four-sentence reading and six comprehension questions. Beware the first sentence in this reading, which is a relatively complicated compound separated by a semicolon. The second clause is a list of all the Central American nations. This sentence may need a bit of revision for emergent readers and English language learners. Fortunately, this document, like most of what you will find on Mark’s Text Terminal, is formatted in Microsoft Word. Essentially, then, it is an open-source document which you may revise for your students’s needs.

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.

Cultural Literacy: Diego Rivera

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Diego Rivera. This is a half-page worksheet with a reading of two short sentences and two comprehension questions. The basic facts of Diego Rivera’s life in a short, symmetrical exercise probably best used as a do-now exercise at the beginning of a period.

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.

Cultural Literacy: Caracas

Continuing with material to observe Hispanic Heritage Month 2023, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Caracas. This is a half-page worksheet with a one-sentence reading and two comprehension questions. Take note, please, of the fact that the reading’s one sentence is 26 words separated into two independent clauses with a semicolon. Depending on the students using this, you may want to do something with that sentence, e.g. breaking it into two sentences, each with its own period. That move will probably need a corollary move of composing another question or two–easily done in this Microsoft Word document.

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.

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

“Antonio (Lopez de) Santa Anna: (1794-1876) Soldier and several times president of Mexico (1833-36, 1844-45, 1847, 1853-55). He fought on both sides of nearly every issue of the day. He is famous for his glorious victories, including his thwarting of Spain’s attempt to reconquer Mexico (1829), and for his ignominious failures, including his defeat and capture by Sam Houston and San Jacinto in the Texas revolt (1836). When the Mexican War broke out, he contacted President James Polk to broker a peace, but on arriving in Mexico he led Mexican forces against the U.S. (1846-47) and was driven into exile. When Maximilian was made emperor of Mexico, Santa Anna offered his services both to Maximilian and to his opponents; neither side accepted. He lived abroad 1855-74, finally returning to Mexico to die in poverty. See also Alamo, caudillo, La Reforma.”

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

Belo Horizonte

“Belo Horizonte: City, eastern Brazil. Capital of Minas Gerais state, it lies on the western slope of the Serra do Espinhaco, at an elevation of 2,811 teen (857 meters). The site was chosen in the late 19th century to accommodate expansions that the former capital could not. Brazil’s first planned city, it was laid out on a radiating pattern following the models of Washington, D.C. and La Plata, Argentina. It is the hub of a large agricultural region and the area’s commercial and industrial center.”

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

Cultural Literacy: Buenos Aires

Here, at the end of this morning’s labors, is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Buenos Aires. This is a half-page document with a reading of three sentences, each of them longish compounds, and three comprehension questions. When I opened this document to prepare it for publication here, it was formatted as a full-page document. I’ve revised it to a half-page. However, if you need to break up some of these compound sentences into shorter, independent clauses, for a diverse group of readers, then you will probably need to write some more questions–and therefore return this worksheet to a full page.

Have I mentioned that this, like most documents you will find on Mark’s Text Terminal, is formatted in Microsoft Word for ease of revision and adaptation? Of course I have; forgive me for belaboring the point.

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.

Cultural Literacy: Emiliano Zapata

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Emiliano Zapata. This is a full-page worksheet with a three-sentence reading and four comprehension questions. This worksheet, I think, could be reduced to a half-page, and I’m not clear why I developed it as I did. Zapata is obviously a significant historical figure, and I imagine I expected to develop this a little further–though with a three-sentence text (the final sentence of which might be better broken in two for emergent readers and English language learners) I’m not sure how much more can be done with this.

But what do you think?

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.