Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.

• Sociology is the science that studies human society and social behavior.

• Societies are diverse and change over time.

• Norms are important to the stability or well-being of society.

• Social structure components include status and role expectations

• Various agents of socialization affect the development of the individual.

• Sociology explores the nature of deviance and crime, which are characteristic of different societies.

• Social stratification is created when societies distinguish between members on the basis of certain characteristics.

• Social institutions are systems that are organized to satisfy one or more of the basic societal needs.

• Collective behavior is spontaneous and unpredictable.

• Social movement is the long-term conscious effort to promote or prevent social change.

• Population growth and urbanization are primary factors of modern social changes.

Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.

• What is sociology?

• How do the three main theoretical perspectives in sociology reflect different images of today’s society?

• What are the five basic components of any culture?

• Why do both cultural universals and cultural variations exist in societies?

• What are the main sources of cultural change and the resistance that usually results?

• Why do some of the five most common types of social interaction stabilize societies and others promote change?

• How do the two major components of social structure affect human interaction?

• What are the agents that enable socialization to take place?

• Which are the most important social developments that occur from birth through late adulthood?

• How social deviance determined is and which functions can it serve?

• What are the five most influential theories that have been proposed to explain and understand deviance?

• What theories have been proposed to explain the existence of social stratification?

• How are minority groups distinguished from other groups in a society?

• Discrimination and prejudice arise from which three main sources?

• What are the five most common patterns of minority group treatment?

• How do gender roles and age affect the life chances of men and women in society?

• Why is the aging population having noticeable effects on US society as a whole?

• What norms influence the ways in which marriage patterns around the world are organized?

• How do economics and political institutions control various societies?

• What are the views of functionalist and conflict sociologists regarding education?

• Which basic societal needs are served by religion and how does the nature of religion vary in different societies?

• Which preconditions must exist for collectivity to occur and what are the theories that explain this behavior?

• How do social movements promote long-term efforts regarding social change?

• What models have been proposed to explain urbanization?

Standards and Benchmarks

History  2: Students know how to use the processes and resources of historical inquiry.
Benchmark 2ormation (e.g., letters, diaries, literature, text, newspaper, art, music, technology, oral history, interviews).
History 3: Students understand that societies are diverse and change over time.
Benchmark  B: Students understand the history of social organization in various societies.
History 4: Students understand how science, technology, and economic activity have developed, changed, and affected societies throughout history.
Benchmark  A: Students understand the impact of scientific and technological developments on individuals and societies.
History  5: Students understand political institutions and theories that developed and changed over time.
Benchmark C: Students know how political power has been acquired, maintained, used and/or lost throughout history.
History 6: Students know that religious and philosophical ideas have been powerful forces throughout history.
Benchmark  C: Students know how various forms of expression reflect religious beliefs and philosophical ideas.

D-11 Social Studies Indicators 

History

2. Historical Inquiry: Utilizing multiple perspectives, analyze and question historical data from primary and secondary sources during major historical eras.

3. Diverse and Changing Societies: Evaluate the impact of interactions and contributions of diverse peoples and cultures on past and current societies.

4. Science, Technology, and Economic Activity:  Evaluate the impact of economic, scientific and technological developments on human interactions.

5. Political Institutions and Theories: Analyze how political power has been acquired, maintained, used and/or lost among various cultures throughout history. 

6. Religious and Philosophical Ideas: Determine how societies have been affected by religious and philosophical ideas.

District 11 Diamond Units/Lessons Overview - includes information about the purpose, goals and structure of these sample instructional units:

Unit 1: Sociological structure and cultural studies
Unit 2:  Individual socialization
Unit 3: Social stratification
Unit 4: Social foundations
Unit 5:  Collective behaviors and modernization

Parent Resources

This course presents a unique opportunity to discuss with your teenager your family's ethnic and cultural roots. Looking through family albums and tracing your family heritage will help classroom activities and concepts have deeper meaning. Instructors will be providing discussion prompts and questions that will help guide your conversations. Students will be analyzing primary and secondary source documents.