Core Subjects Vocabulary: Social Studies (Part 1)

Tier 3 Words

academic words that are specific to a particular content area or discipline; would appear in a subject-specific textbook or in the glossary of an informational text

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

theory that attempts to explain the sequence of children's intellectual development by separating childhood into four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations and formal operations

Inquiry-Based Learning

an educational strategy where students learn by asking questions and investigating

ex: students develop hypotheses and conduct experiments to determine the best conditions for growing tomatoes

Secondary Source

these resources are used to interpret the primary sources in order to determine validity; written about the primary source

Tier 1 Words

common words that are already familiar to students when they enter school; they do not need to be taught in a classroom setting

Concrete Stage

stage of learning in which students best understand concepts when framed in a context that they understand

Critical Thinking

analysis and judgement

ex: design an experiment, determine important part of a word problem, make a flowchart

Thematic Map

depicts a particular special topic in an area

Topographic Map

map that depicts changes in elevation using contour lines, such as mountains and valleys

Physical Map

a map that depicts the major land formations and bodies of water

Inquiry-Based Teaching/Student Centered Learning

students drive instruction by asking questions and creating projects to answer the questions

Project-Based Learning (PBL) Activity

activity in which students create a solution or investigation in response to a problem

Informal Assessments

more flexible than formal assessments and can be adjusted to fit the situation and particular needs of the student being tested

ex: observations during a lesson

Climate Map

depicts changes in temperature based on region

ex: weather forecast

Formal Assessments

a usually post-instruction assessment with the purpose of assessing student knowledge, retention, and application; often involves the use of a standardized rubric or scoring guide based on several criteria

Backward Design/Planning

lesson planning that begins with the desired outcome in mind, then how it will be assessed, then the goal/objective identifying what the students will learn or be able to do

Tier 2 Words

academic words that students will encounter frequently and that are used in multiple content areas; many of these are process words that commonly appear in assessment

Instructional Interventions

additional focus on a specific skill in an effort to improve it

Economic Map/Resource Map

depicts the distribution of resources

ex: a map showing oil production of different states

Primary Source

the "first-hand" eye-witness accounts of an event

Bloom's Taxonomy

a hierarchy of levels of knowledge; each level has associated verbs teachers can use to start questions

remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

Frayer Model

a popular form of semantic mapping which hels students to identify and define unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary

Political Map

depicts the boundaries of countries and the locations of major cities

Infographic

a graphic that combines information and data with images

Confirmation Bias

when a person seeks to confirm what he already knows, without consideration to evidence which might be contrary

Framing Bias

when an author presents, or frames, an issue that affects the way the reader perceives it

Bias

prejudiced feelings, outlooks, or leanings toward or against a particular person, race, ethnicity, age, or group, often without considering others' opinions or perspectives

Chronology

organizing historical events by when they occurred and determining accurate dates

Biography

a non-fiction text that an author writes about a different person's life

Negativity Bias

when the focus of a piece focuses only, or predominantly, on the negative aspects without regard to positive aspects

Autobiography

a non-fiction text that an author writes about their own life

Triangular Trade

trade between the Americas, Europe, and Africa

Mary Maverick

a Texas settler who keps detailed journals of her experiences throughout the fight for Texas independence

Toltec

a civilization known for skill in metal work and pottery

Maya Civilization

(250 - 900 CE) a civilization from the modern day Yucatan Peninsula; known for its advancement in mathematics, astronomy, and architecture, including elaborate pyramids

Moses Austin

planned and secured approval for the settlement of what is now Austin, Texas

Fray Damián Massanet

a Catholic priest and Spanish missionary who established the mission San Francisco de los Tejas in 1689

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Treaty signed in 1848 that ended the Mexican-American War, sparked by the Texas Revolution; gave the US and additional 525,000 square miles for $15,000,000

Alonso Álvarez de Pineda

a Spanish explorer who mapped the coast of Texas as well as surrounding coastlines in 1519

Pre-Columbian Cultures

the cultures of the Americas before Eurpean settlement; usually includes indigenous cultures as they continued to develop centuries or decades after Columbus' discovery

Caddo

farming and hunting tribe found in easter Texas that made permanent structures of wood and mud

Lorenzo de Zavala

Mexican politician who eventually shifted allegiance to Texas; served as Vice President of Texas

Teotihuacán

civilization known for pyramids, temples, and roads

Joshua Houston

an educated slave of Sam Houston; later freed and went on to become a politician

Mirabeau Lamar

second president of the Republic of Texas, he established a fund to support public education in Texas

Lakota

Native American tribe that transformed from sedentary to nomadic with the introduction of horses

Mayflower

ship carrying Puritain Separatists who wanted religious freedom and established Plymouth Colony present day Massachusetts

Encomienda

grants from the crown giving the receivers the right to extract as much wealth for themselves from a specific area as possible, either through native labor or through the payment of tributes

George Washington

1) the first president of the United States 2) a member of the First and Second Continental Congress 3) Commander-in-Chief of the colonial armies during the American Revolution 4) President of the Constitutional Convention

Indentured Servants

workers who were bound to work for a specific amount of time, typically seven years, in Jamestown

Columbian Exchange

the transferring of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World and the Americas after Christopher Columbus' arrival

Sieur De La Salle

French explorer who founded the first permanent colony in Texas, Fort St. Louis, in 1685

New Amsterdam

the most diverse colony which was a Dutch settlement on the southern tip of Manhattan Island

Andrew Jackson

7th President (1829 - 1837), rose to fame as a military leader during the War of 1812; responsible for 1) rise of populism 2) rise of the Democratic Party 3) Indian Removal Act and Trail of Tears

Mercantilism

the economic idea that a country needs to amass wealth through more exporting than importing and measures wealth by the amount of gold that a nation possesses

ex: the British thought that colonies should provide raw goods for cheap to them (cotton) and pay for manufactured goods from them (textiles)

Cherokee Native Americans

a collection of tribes with common cultural elements, lived in the southeastern United States but were a widely dispersed population, relied on agriculture, hunting and gathering

Córdova Rebellion

a rebellion of Native Americans and Mexican settlers in Nacogdoches against the newly independent Texas in 1838

Sam Houston

a leader in the Texas Revolution (won surprise attack over Santa Anna and his troops at the Battle of San Jacinto); elected the first president of the new republic

Monroe Doctrine

policy developed in 1823 by President James Monroe that there would be no colonization in the Americas by European powers

Stephen F. Austin

led the successful settlement of Texas in 1825

Nathaniel Bacon

Leader of Bacon's Rebellion in Jamestown, the first popular revolt in the colonies

Tonkawas

hunters and gatherers in the Gulf Region of Texas who lived in huts and teepees and were enemies to the Comanches

Mohican Native Americans

a confederacy of five tribes along the Hudson River; lived primarily on agriculture, but also some hunting and gathering; lived in longhouses

Mexican-American War/Mexican War

1846-1848, a war between the United States and Mexico over western territories (specifically sparked by annexation of Texas)

Alcalde Vicente Córdova

leader of the rebels at the Cordova Rebellion

Treaty of Ghent

ended the War of 1812 in 1814 with neither side gaining or losing much land

Mayflower Compact

the first document of a self-regulating government since the Roman Republic

Age of Exploration

a period of time from the early 15th Century until the early 17th Century in which European ships traveled around the world in search of new trading routes

San Francisco de los Tejas

a mission in East Texas established in 1689 with the goal of converting Native Americans to Christianity; it was abandoned four years later due to hostility from the Native Americans

Proclamation of 1763

in an attempt to avoid conflicts with Native Americans, this was issued by King George and stated that colonists couldn't settle the Ohio River Valley

Francisco Hidalgo

a Catholic priest and Spanish missionary who established the mission Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas

Barbara Jordan

first African American elected to the Texas Senate and first Southern African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives

The Santa Fe Expedition

a failed attempt by the president of Texas to increase trade with New Mexico

Comanche

Nomadic Native American hunters and gatherers who were fierce warriors and skilled traders, found in the northern Texas grasslands

Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas

a mission established years later in the same location as the failed mission San Francisco de los Tejas

Iroquois Confederacy/Iroquois League

a confederacy of six different tribes that was the most powerful native group in the Northeast; expanded tribes through war and conquest

Member tribes: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora

Protestant Separatists

Pilgrims who wanted to get away from the Church of England; established Plymouth Colony

Salutary Neglect

Parliamentary laws that are not strictly enforced

Bacon's Rebellion

(1676 to 1677) uprising of poor settlers in Virginia led by wealthy British colonist Nathaniel Bacon against Virginian governor William Berkeley; started when Berkeley refused to remove Native Americans to expand settlement

Plymouth Colony

first permanent English settlement in Massachusetts (1620)

Puritans

Protestant religious group who wanted to make things better in the Church of England by getting rid of certain practices; notably established communities in the New England area during the colonial period like the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Pequot War

war between Pequot Indians and colonists from Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies

French and Indian War/The Seven Years War

1756-1763, conflict between the British and the French, who allied with Native American tribes, Britain's victory gave them all lands east of the Mississippi River and established them as the dominant force in North America

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer who searched for alternate routes to India by traveling west across the Atlantic on four different trips

José de Escandón

a Spanish explorer who settled the land that is now northern Mexico and southern Texas

Hopi Native Americans

lived in villages called pueblos in northeastern Arizona, relied on agriculture, were known as peaceful people

Karankawa

not much is known, but believed to be hunters and gatherers in the Central and Gulf regions who were the first Native Americans to come into contact with European explorers, and suffered greatly because of this

The Council House Fight

a fight that erupted during a peace meeting between Comanche and Texan leaders

Acequias

shared community waterways used to irrigate agriculture in Spanish territories of the New World

Olmec

the first Meso-American civilization

Presidios

fortified bases built by the Spanish in the New World

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

Spanish explorer searching for the Seven Cities of Gold, he arrived in Texas when a hurricane pushed him and his men ashore in 1529

Mesoamerica

a region in the Americas extending from central Mexico through parts of Central America prior to Spanish exploration

Francisco Vasquez De Coronado

conquistador who searched for the mythical "Seven Cities of Gold" in 1540, expedition failed but did pave the way for future European influence in Texas lands

James K. Polk

United States President during the Mexican-American War

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who was the first to search for a water route from the Atlantic to the Pacific

Treaty of Paris (1763)

ended the French and Indian War, ceding all lands of the Mississippi River to Britain

Conquistadores

Spanish explorers who searched for and found expansive amounts of gold in the New World

Spanish Armada

defeated by the English Navy led by Sir Francis Drake; established England as the leading European naval power

Universal White Male Suffrage

the privilege of voting granted to white males, whether or not they owned property