Tag Archive | Social Studies

Upcoming Tests

Mar19

We will be taking the Unit 6 math test on Thursday. We have been reviewing for this test since Monday. Your child will be coming home with the review sheet tomorrow. The test covers quadrilaterals, area and perimeter. This should be a review because we did this unit in December in our old math book. Click on the shape below for an online game to practice area & perimeter:

We will be having an Economics test next Wednesday, March 27th. A review sheet came home with your child today.

  • Opportunity cost means: (think about choice) The second thing you wanted but DID NOT CHOOSE. It is the one that you didn’t get.
  • People are examples of human resources.
  • Natural resources are found in nature and are things we use.
  • Economics is the study of using resources to produce a good or a service.
  • When we depend on other states for products it is called interdependence.
  • Logging is a Michigan industry. Logging means to cut trees for lumber and other uses.
  • Scarcity means: not enough of something.
  • Taxes, fees, and fines help the government to provide (pay for) goods and services.
  • Government taxes pay for things like road repair, public libraries, state parks.
  • An entrepreneur is: someone that uses resources to produce goods or services.
  • Manufacture means making goods in a factory.
  • Agriculture means farming.

Social Studies Quiz Review

Jan23

Here is the Michigan Regions Study Guide just in case your child forgot it at school. These are things that they have been reviewing in class. The quiz will be tomorrow during class.

Michigan Regions

  • Upper Peninsula: Mountains, Forests
  • Lower Peninsula: Flat farmland
  • Northern Lower Peninsula: Hills
  • Southern Lower Peninsula: Farming
Smaller Regions Within Michigan
  • Thumb: It’s shaped like a thumb
  • Fruit Belt: They grow a lot of kinds of fruit (West side of Michigan)
  • Straits of Mackinac: Where Lake Michigan & Lake Huron meet
  • Metropolitan Detroit: They have a lot of manufacturing companies & most of the people in Michigan live there.

Michigan is Part of a Larger Region

  • Midwest: Mostly flat farmland
  • Great Lakes Region: All of the states touch at least one Great Lake.

Social Studies Quiz Tomorrow

Jan10

Human Environmental Interaction Quiz

Humas have changed the environment by:

  • Cutting down trees for farmland and homes
  • Polluted Great Lakes and rivers
  • Used acres of Farmland to build cities
  • Building on the shoreline made some dunes erode
  • People filled in wetlands

Humans have adapted to the environment by:

  • Build houses with peaked roof because of the snow and rain.
  • Change clothes to match the weather
  • Have furnaces and air conditioners for the changing seasons
  • Use screens to keep bugs out
  • We grow apples instead of oranges

Michigan Map

Nov15

Your child brought home a Michigan map for Social Studies. It is due on Tuesday, November 20th. Your child can write or type the labels. If it is difficult to read his/her writing, you can write it for them as long as he/she is telling you where to write it. Remember this is not a parent project.

Social Studies

Oct16

We have taken a break from science for the Geography Unit. Mrs. Flory will be teaching this unit to the children and the children are excited for the new adventure. Once this unit is complete (in about one month), the children will begin science again.

Government Quiz Tomorrow

May30

The students will need to know the 3 Branches of Government  for the quiz tomorrow. A review sheet is coming home today.

  • Legislative Branch: Make laws, Legislature (Senate & House of Representatives)
  • Executive Branch: Enforce laws, Governor
  • Judicial Branch: Interpret Laws, Supreme Court and other courts

Social Studies

Feb21

Mrs. Flory has a passion for Michigan History and will be teaching that unit to the students as I teach some of the science units that our students have already completed to her class.  I will be adding key vocabulary words to a Social Studies page at the top of the blog as they are discussed.

Economics

Nov29

In Social Studies we are studying economics. There are quite a few vocabulary terms to reinforce in this unit. We had a great time today shopping (both at the Santa Secret Shop and within the classroom). The children exchanged their tickets for play money to shop at my store. They were able to see how our unlimited wants and limited resources caused scarcity which meant that they couldn’t have all of the goods that they wanted. They had to make a choice. They found out that there were incentives while shopping especially when a truckload arrived. The choices that they made lead to opportunity cost. We also reinforced everything that we are learning about in math but determining/estimating our total cost, as well as, the change that we will receive.

 

 

For extra practice of the vocabulary used in this unit, Mr. Gort created on-line note cards that you can use  to practice.  This site allows you to print flashcards or complete a review online.  http://www.easynotecards.com/notecard_set/1543

Social Studies

Oct3

Many students commented that they did not have time to study this past weekend for our Social Studies quiz on the vegetation and climate in Michigan. The scores reflected these comments. I will be reteaching the students that struggled during break time tomorrow. If your child received a score of 1, the retest will be on Wednesday. Here are some facts that you can review with your child at home:

Vegetation

  • Michigan has a lot of forests.
  • Michigan has both National and State forests.
  • In some forests trees are grown to sell to make things like paper.
  • There are a lot of forests in the upper Peninsula.
  • There are a lot of orchards in Michigan.
  • Orchards are often found along the shores of the Great Lakes.

Climate

  • Michigan has four seasons.
  • The Great Lakes affect Michigan’s climate.
  • Higher areas have colder temperatures.
  • The Upper Peninsula tends to be colder than the lower Peninsula.
  • Different parts of Michigan have different temperatures and different amounts of precipitation.

Other Important Things

  • Michigan has many state symbols.
  • The state symbols stand for the natural characteristics.
  • The robin and the apple blossom are state symbols.
  • There are a lot of different kinds of maps.