COURSE OUTCOMES
CULTURAL STUDIES-9
(July 2015)
The Cultural Studies-9 curriculum has been designed to foster students’ knowledge base of
geography and culture from a global perspective. Cultural Studies-9 focuses on gaining a
deeper geographical, cultural, ideological, and historical understanding of our world. It will
assist students in making connections between main events in history through a global
perspective. The students will be encouraged to make connections between their experiences
and prior knowledge to their historical studies. Basic geographic skills are related to the
course outcomes.
Cultural Studies Program Statement:
The primary goal of the Elementary Cultural Studies Program is to cultivate a sense of global
citizenship grounded in the knowledge and evaluation of geography, cultures, ideas, and
civilizations. Children should:
● Be aware of, consider and use the Five Themes of Geography (See them defined below).
● Develop a foundation in social studies and an interest in cultures that will prepare
them for future educational experiences in history
● Practice being global citizens
● Demonstrate the ability to connect what they know, and have experienced, to what
they are studying
● Synthesize information while reading, studying, and researching other cultures and
civilizations
● Individually encounter and evaluate new concepts, philosophies, and cultures in a safe
environment
The Cultural Studies curriculum requires that teachers explicitly teach and guide students
according to the TSWs with the aid of the supporting text, recognizing that not all essential
and selective outcomes can be solely supported by the text. After teaching the themes of
geography, the teacher should gradually give the students more room and responsibility to
recognize these themes individually and in groups. Studying global history in an
international, multicultural classroom presents students with unique opportunities to
encounter and understand the history and cultures of others. This makes it easier for
educators and students to learn through group interaction, research, engaging field trips, and
listening to people who have lived history. Teachers should use these opportunities to help
students realize the personal relevance of Cultural Studies. Please note the Five Themes of
Geography and the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies, located below, while
lesson planning.
Five Themes of Geography: (as taken word for word from the 10 year old text: Harcourt
Social Studies: World History (6). For more age-appropriate definitions see student editions.
● Movement: People, products, and ideas move from place to place by transportation
and communication. Geography helps you understand how people came to live where
they do. It also helps you understand the causes and effects of movement. A cause is
an action that makes something else happen. An effect is what happens as a result of
that action.
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● Regions: Areas on Earth that differ from each other because of their features are
called regions. Such features can be physical, human, economic, cultural, or political.
● Location: Everything on Earth has its own location, or where it can be found. The
relative location of a place tells where it is in relation to other places. The absolute
location, or exact location, of a place is its “global address,” where it is on the whole
Earth.
● Human-Environmental Interactions: Humans and their surroundings affect each
other. People modify, or change, their environment by building cities, for example.
The environment can cause people to adapt, or adjust, to their surroundings, such as
by wearing warm clothing in cold places.
● Place: Every location on Earth has a place identity made up of unique features.
Landforms, bodies of water, climate, and plant and animal life are some of the
physical features of a place. Buildings, roads, and people are some of a place’s
human features.
Cultural Studies-9 is divided into three essential units and six selective units. All essential
units must be taught. Two additional selective units must be taught to complete the course
requirements. A total of five units are required for course completion. Teachers and students
can pick between six selective units. Additional selective units may be taught if time allows
it. It is strongly recommended for teachers to pick selective units that will benefit their
students regionally or will complement what is already being studied.
The three essential units encompass: World Geography: Physical Characteristics, Patterns of
Life, and Chinese Dynasties. The six selective units encompass: Home/Host Country: Food,
Australia and New Zealand, Mexico, Ancient Egypt, the United States and Canada, and
Medieval Europe.
The curriculum is designed to make students conscious of their role as global citizens,
respectful of different cultures, and knowledgeable of the heritage of civilizations. This
course should reinforce the importance of Success Orientations.
The course also encourages the need for students to research extensively.
This course is designed to use 2.5 45-minute periods per week on average over the year. The
option can be to by teach 5 periods per week for 3 to 4 weeks alternating science and cultural
studies. QSI requires that five units be mastered in one school year.
It is strongly suggested that teachers and students use Social Studies: World Regions,
published by Harcourt. The curriculum has been aligned with this book. However, teachers
are encouraged to use additional resources to introduce and elaborate on certain concepts.
Students should be aware of the classification of Before Christ (B.C.) and Anno Domini
(A.D.); however, in this course we will refer to periods of time as Before Common Era
(B.C.E.) and Common Era (C.E.).
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An outline of Essential and Selective are as follows:
Essential Units:
E01 – Geography: Physical Characteristics
E02 – Patterns of Life
E03 – Chinese Dynasties
Selective Units:
S01 – Home/Host Country: Food
S02 – Australia and New Zealand
S03 – Mexico
S04 – Ancient Egypt
S05 – The United States and Canada
S06 – Medieval Europe
Suggested Materials:
Classroom Atlas
Harcourt Social Studies: World Regions
Pearson Learning History & Geography
Daily Geography Practice, Grade 4, Evan-Moor EBook
Down to Earth Geography, Grade 4, Teacher Created Resources
World Atlas/World Almanac/ Encyclopedias
Technological Resources:
Destiny Webpath Express (see Librarian)
Use this search engine to find age-appropriate websites that align with your unit. (Getting into
Titlewave can also give a list of books that would be great resources to have in the Library for
country books. Contact Titlewave and contacts there will put together lists.)
Harcourt School Studies World Regions Online
http://www.eharcourtschool.com/
This website has all of the textbook resources online, an atlas, a geography glossary,
multimedia biographies, and Video Extenders.
Discovery Education
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/
This website has a variety of geography information, news, videos, and pictures for
elementary students.
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Khan Academy
https://www.khanacademy.org/
This website has videos, lessons, articles, and more about history, culture, geography,
mathematics, literature, science, and more. This is a great resource for cross-curricular resources.
National Geographic for Kids
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
This website has a variety of geography information, news, videos, and pictures for
elementary students.
Time for Kids
http://www.timeforkids.com/
This website has geography resources including videos, country profiles, and pictures for
elementary students.
Education.com
http://www.education.com/
This website has geography and map skills handouts and activities.
National Geographic
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids-world-atlas/maps.html#
This website has a collection of different types of world maps.
Time Maps
http://www.timemaps.com/history
This is an interactive timeline of history. It is divided into continents as well as time.
Khan Academy
https://www.khanacademy.org/
This website has articles and videos about cultural studies, reading, mathematics,
language, science, and more. You can use the search feature to search for resources for
the current unit(s).
DOGO News
http://www.dogonews.com/
This website has articles and videos about current events around the world written in kidfriendly language.
Google Earth
https://www.google.com/earth/
Google Earth allows the user to see locations on Earth.
Timelines
http://www.fsmitha.com/t-index.html
This is a timeline by centuries. You can click on the links for events within that time period.
http://www.lukemastin.com/history/index.html
This is a timeline that you can view by region, empire, or date.
http://www.camelotintl.com/world/
This is a timeline of world history by continent.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/history
This website has links to all historical periods.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/worldhistory/
This website teaches world history through historical objects. This is a younger primary
school website.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/
This website teaches world history through historical objects. This is geared towards
older elementary students.
Rubrics:
Rubrics are designed to show if students are prepared to meet the criteria which they are
being evaluated. Rubrics are divided in the essential outcomes (TSWs) in which the unit is
outlined. It is important to stress that these are suggested rubrics for the teacher to use. Each
topic is assessed by A, B, and Not Yet, but to receive these evaluations students are required
meet the at least the ‘B’ Level criteria.
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QSI CULTURAL STUDIES-9 CO
Copyright © 1988-2015