Ohio
Social Studies
Standards
Kevin Hill
Table of Contents
Eight Standards of Social Studies
History
 People in Societies
 Geography
 Economics
 Government
 Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities
 Social Studies Skills and Methods
 Science Technology and Society

History
 Objective:
 To cover the tumultuous time before and
after the American Civil War, and the political
and sociological settings it occurred in
History Activity 1
 Lecture on the differences between life in
the Southern and Northern States,
particularly slavery
 Go to a computer room and have the
class play an online “game” wherein they
attempt to escape from slavery and flee
to Canada
 http://academic.bowdoin.edu/flighttofreedom
/intro.shtml
History Activity 2
 Lecture on the political landscape leading into
the 1860 Presidential Election
 Map and charts showing the 1860 Election results:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_elec
tion,_1860
 Break the class into 4 groups corresponding to
the different presidential parties, and have
each group present their platforms.
History Activity 3
 Cover the Civil War in class through lecture
 An extensive Civil War information website:
 http://www.civil-war.net/
 Have students do a comparison of the different
strengths and weaknesses of the North and
South, including material, motivation,
geography, foreign sympathy, etc.
 A website offering suggested lesson plans and class
activities on the Civil War
 http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/classroom/activities.html
History Activity 4
 Classroom lecture on Reconstruction
 Watch a PBS program on Reconstruction
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstructio
n/
History Activity 5
 Have final class discussion on the effects
of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras
on America’s development
People in Societies
► Objective:
 To explore the enormous social upheaval in the
1960s and 1970s in American culture.
People in Societies Activity 1
► Give
the class a general overview of the
1960s and 1970s, building on information
from previous chapters. Begin with foreign
events and then move onto the effects on
domestic America
 U.S. Census Bureau Information for 1970
►http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decennial/19
70cenpopv1.htm
People in Societies Activity 2
► Students
will explore the struggle for Civil
Rights for African-Americans in this era
through lecture, worksheets, and videos
► A website on Civil rights struggles
 http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/17_0
2/Civi172.shtml
People in Societies Activity 3
► Students
will learn about the women’s rights
movement, and have class discussion on its
impact today
 History of the Equal Rights Amendment
►http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/era.htm
People in Societies Activity 4
► Students
will learn about other struggles for
equality, including Hispanics, homosexuals,
and Native Americans.
► The
1964 Civil Rights Act:
 http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/laws/majorla
w/civilr19.htm
People in Societies Activity 5
► Counter-culture
 Students will watch a video about the youth counterculture movements, including demonstrations for peace
in Vietnam, sexual liberation, rise of drug culture, rock
and roll, etc.
 Have students interview someone they know who lived
during the counter-culture era
 A site which correlates protest music of the counter
culture movement to the events of the 1960s and 1970s
► http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~richard5/home.html
Geography

Objective: To discuss and learn about the
differences of a variety of characteristics as
they differ in countries around the world
Geography Activity 1


Have students create a map representing world
populations and density
A world population density map:

http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-populationdensity.htm
Geography Activity 2


Students will learn about urbanization across
the globe. Video presentation and class
discussion on urban growth and implications
A map that shows urbanization growth from
1955 to the present and potential future

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/world/06/urb
anisation/html/urbanisation.stm
Geography Activity 3

Through lecture and class discussion, students
will learn about religious distribution in other
countries compared to our own

Statistical reference of religious composition in
individual countries:


http://www.worldfactsandfigures.com/religion.php
Map of religious distribution among countries:

http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-religion-map.htm
Geography Activity 4


Watch a video comparing the standards of
living of poorer nations to that of our own
Map of GNI per country:


http://www.mapsofworld.com/gni-per-capita.htm
Map and information site on poverty:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty
Geography Activity 5

As a general activity, have students create their
own nation, and have them decide on its
government, economy, social composition,
religion, etc. Set up a system wherein student
countries can grow in size, undergo change,
interact with other students’
countries…perhaps even allow conflict
between them.
Economics

Objective:
 To
explain to students the basics of the free
market system and its effect on history
Economics Activity 1
Teach students the basic fundamentals of
supply and demand, market competition,
monopolies, etc
 Have students complete a worksheet to
reinforce these concepts
 Adam Smith and the birth of free market
belief

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith
Economics Activity 2
Explain arguments for and against government
control and influence on the economy
 Have students write a paper explaining their
personal views of a government’s responsibility
in the economy
 Short summary by the U.S. Department of State
on U.S. government’s role in economy:


http://economics.about.com/od/howtheuseconomywo
rks/a/government.htm
Economics Activity 3
Teach the students about the rise of capitalism
during the Industrial Revolution and its social
benefits and costs
 Break the class into groups and offer each group
contemporary arguments for and against
capitalism of the time, and have groups debate
each other.
 Some impacts of the Industrial Revolution on
society:


http://industrialrevolution.sea.ca/impact.html
Economics Activity 4
Teach students about the Great
Depression in America and the rest of the
world in the 1930s, and the subsequent
rise of government role in the economy
 Perform a class role-playing scenario
where students are citizens in the 1930s,
going through the Great Depression.

 http://www.bringinghistoryhome.org/downloa
ds/Fourth/4_Dep_Depression_Game.pdf
Economics Activity 5
Teach students about the current world of
increasing globalization and it’s
implications for the future
 Have students find and read articles about
“off-shoring” and other effects of a
globalized economy
 An article on globalization and “offshoring”:

 http://globalenvision.org/library/3/647/
Government
Objective:

To explain the basic structures and operation
of the United States Government
Government Activity 1
Lecture and worksheet on the American
Legislative Branch
U.S. Constitution, Article I

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/
article01/
Government Activity 2
Lecture and worksheet on the American
Executive Branch
U.S. Constitution, Article II

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/
article02/
Government Activity 3
Lecture and worksheet on the American
Judicial Branch
U.S. Constitution, Article III

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/
article03/
Government Activity 4
Lecture and worksheet on the system of
federalism in America
Have students do a comparison between
the Articles of Confederation and the
Constitutional Government
Comparison of government types

http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_fedr.ht
ml
Government Activity 5
Teach students about voting and
representation in the American system
Contrast our election system with the
proportional representation system of
other countries such as those in Europe
An argument for proportional
representation

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/polit/damy/Be
ginnningReading/whatispr.htm
Citizenship Rights and
Responsibilities

Objective:

Teach students their position in American society as
voters in a representative democracy
Citizenship Rights and
Responsibilities Activity 1


Students will do an activity wherein they
respond to a variety of scenarios and determine
whether each scenario represents one of an
authoritative use of power, or a democratic use
of power
Another PowerPoint Presentation on
Authoritarian vs. Democratic power

Authoritarianism vs. Democracy
Citizenship Rights and
Responsibilities Activity 2


Students will briefly examine different types of
governments and their inherent strengths and
weaknesses, including an individual’s rights in each
system
Have students watch a video on the transformation of
Germany’s Weimar Republic into Nazi Germany, and
explore the reasons why it changed, and how it is
relevant to systems of power even today
Types of Governments:
http://stutzfamily.com/mrstutz/WorldAffairs/typesof
govt.html
Citizenship Rights and
Responsibilities Activity 3



Explain voting requirements throughout American
history and how they evolved
Have students research and write a short paper on the
arguments for and against enfranchisement of different
groups in American History.
15th Amendment:


http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amend
mentxv.html
19th Amendment:

http://www.nps.gov/archive/malu/documents/amend19.ht
m
Citizenship Rights and
Responsibilities Activity 4



Explore how the Electoral College system works
Have students read a case study of the 2000
Presidential election, and have students argue
the merits and flaws of the Electoral system as
well as those of a direct popular vote system
Map of 2000 Presidential Election results:

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/election/m
ap.htm
Citizenship Rights and
Responsibilities Activity 5

Hold a mock election near election season.
Have students research candidate positions and
present them during class. Then have students
vote, and compare classroom results to the
actual results.
Social Studies Skills and Methods

Objective:

To teach students critical thinking and
analytical skills, as well as an understanding
of cause-and-effect relationships through
history. They should be able to review
arguments and rationales and come upon an
informed decision based on facts and
reasoning.
Social Studies Skills and Methods
Activity 1


Have students read contemporary
arguments for and against the U.S. joining
the League of Nations after World War
One
An overview of the debate:

http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03
.18/15-league.html
Social Studies Skills and Methods
Activity 2

Students will read and analyze arguments
regarding isolationism in the 1930s

Anti-Isolation:


http://www.historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5162/
Pro-Isolation:

http://www.cercles.com/n5/kennedy.pdf
Social Studies Skills and Methods
Activity 3

Break students into two groups and have
them debate as opposing sides whether
World War Two was an inevitability, or
what steps could have prevented it
Social Studies Skills and Methods
Activity 4


Have students analyze the relationship
between the Cold War and previous
historical events in the 20th century
Origins of the Cold War:

http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2
/lectures/coldwar.html
Social Studies Skills and Methods
Activity 5


Have students examine the Cuban Missile
Crisis in 1962. Students should recognize
the extent of how close the world came to
nuclear war, and how the actions of
Kennedy and Kruschev averted disaster
Recordings of Kennedy in the Oval Office
during the crisis

http://www.hpol.org/jfk/cuban/
Science Technology and Society
• Objective: to explore the effects and
repercussions of technology on society
Science Technology and Society
Activity 1
• Watch a classroom video on the Industrial
•
Revolution and have students answer worksheet
questions that follow the video
Overview:
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution
• Images of the Industrial Era:
– http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/ind_rev/
images/indust.html.htm
Science Technology and Society
Activity 2
• Have students write a narrative from the
perspective of an Industrial era worker.
The narrative should follow the worker’s
daily experience, with emphasis on the
new, changing technology of the time, and
its consequences
Science Technology and Society
Activity 3
• Discuss the rise of suburbanization and its
direct relationship to the rise of the
automobile. Have students draw a
comparison of the subsequent effects on
society by contrasting urban and suburban
life
• Suburbs in America:
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suburb#Controve
rsy
Science Technology and Society
Activity 4
• Classroom discussion on technology’s
impact on world agriculture
• Website that offers step-by-step process
of negative impact of the Green
Revolution
– http://www.oxnet.org/updir/OxfamWorkshopA
ctivitiesforTradeandGlobalization.doc
Science Technology and Society
Activity 5
• Students will learn about the Internet and
its power of communication. They will
also learn of some governments’ fear of
free communication, by finding and
reading articles such as this, regarding
China’s Internet censorship:
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall_of
_China