MTTC Social Studies Content Knowledge

Based on the Cirrus MTTC Elementary Education Study Guide

Physical geography

The study of the natural processes of the earth

Human geography

The study of the impact of people on the physical world

Social structures

The organization of a society and how social events relate to and affect places, etc.

Regions

Parts of the world with definable & identifiable characteristics

Spatial relationships

How one place is located in relation to another place

Cardinal directions

North, South, East, West

Intermediate directions

The directions between the cardinal directions

Absolute location

A location identifiable by specific geographic coordinates

Relative location

Where a place is situated in relation to another place/places

Thematic map

Shows a geographic pattern of a specific theme in a geographic area

Longitude

A coordinate that specifies the north-south point on the Earth's surface; vertical lines on a globe

Latitude

A coordinate that specifies the east-west point on the Earth's surface; horizontal lines on a globe

Geographic features

Physical features of places like continents, bodies of water, plains, plateaus, mountains & valleys

Political features

Towns & cities; country, state, or national borders

Natural resources

Fresh water, arable land, fuel, livestock, & game

Manmade resources

Resources made by humans

Low latitudes

The region located from the equator to latitudes 23.5 degrees north & south

Tropical rainforests

Moist forests exhibiting high biodiversity, located mainly in the equatorial lowlands in Central Africa, Southeast Asia & the Amazon basin

Savannah

Climate located in the low latitudes north & south of the rainforest; dry in the winter and wet in the summer, experiencing an average of 10-30 in. of rain

Desert

A climate located in the low latitudes north & south of the savannah; the hottest & driest parts of the earth; receives less than 10 in. of rainfall a year

Middle latitudes

The region located from latitudes 23.5-66.5 degrees north & south

Meditteranean climate

A climate located in the middle latitudes between 30 degrees & 40 degrees north & south

Humid subtropical climate

Located in the middle latitudes, a warm & moist climate on coastal areas north & south of the tropics that receive warm ocean currents & warm winds year around

Marine climate

The warm & rainy climate located in the middle latitudes in areas that are near or surrounded by water

Humid continental climate

Located in the middle latitudes, the agriculturally productive, true four-season climate

Steppes or prairie

A climate located in the middle latitudes far from the ocean, characterized by flatlands & minimal rainfall

High latitudes

Latitudes from 66.5 degrees north & south to the poles

Tundra

A cold climate located in the high latitudes north of the taiga; with extremely cold & long winters, the ground is frozen for most of the year & becomes mushy during the short summer

Taiga

A cold climate located in the high latitudes south of the tundra; contains the world's largest forestlands, extreme mineral wealth, & many swamps and marshes

Industrialization

The process of manufacturing; the process of an economy transforming from dependence on agricultural to industrial production; replacement of hand labor by machines as the main way of manufacturing, exponentially increasing production capacities

Urbanization

1The development of cities; became a feature of human development at the advent of the 19th century Industrial Revolution, when unskilled jobs in factories attracted rural workers to cities, offering them higher wages than an agricultural lifestyle did

Suburbanization

A population shift from central urban areas into suburbs; semi-rural areas at the outskirts of cities

Urban planning

Managing the development & use of cities

Migration

Patterns of movement from one place to another, with the intention of settling permanently at the new location

Refugees

Migrants fleeing conflict or other dangers who cross an international border

Internally displaced persons (IDP)

Migrants fleeing conflict or other dangers who flee to another part of their home country

Anthropology

The study of humans and their cultures

Sociology

The study of groups, institutions, & society

Socialization

A process whereby individuals learn skills, beliefs, values & behavior patterns of society and how these can influence their own norms and customs

Primary socialization

When a child learns the values, actions & attitudes that are appropriate for members of his/her particular culture

Secondary socialization

Occurs when an individual learns the appropriate values, actions, attitudes & behaviors as a member of a smaller group within a larger society

Conflict

The process of disagreement, usually resolved when one of the parties receives either the entirety or a satisfactory amount of the desired goal

Cooperation

The process of working together to achieve similar goals; often leads to positive outcomes

Exchange

The process of giving one thing & receiving another (usually with similar value) in return

Institutions

Extensions of core social values created in response to varying individual and group needs; include government, private enterprise, religious institutions, academic institutions, local communities & the family unit

Classical civilizations

Ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, ancient Rome & ancient China

Sumerians

Ancient Near Eastern people who emerged around 2500 BCE; developed irrigation, agriculture, education, math, astronomy, art & literature, city-states, governance, & administration

Cuneiform

A Sumerian development; the earliest known example of writing using characters to form words (not pictographs)

Assyria

Sumerian-based civilization in the Near East; established military dominance & played an important role in regional trade

Babylonia

Sumerian-based civilization in Mesopotamia; developed courts & an early codified rule of law- the Code of Hammurabi- "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"

The Code of Hammurabi

282 laws that are one of the earliest & more complete written legal codes from ancient times

Nile Valley

The fertile land on the banks of the Nile River conductive to agriculture & irrigation

Ancient Egyptians

Emerged as early as 5000 BCE in the Nile Valley; known for their pyramids, art, use of papyrus as paper, and pictorial writing (hieroglyphs); united under one monarch, or pharaoh

Hieroglyphs

Ancient Egyptian writing (unlike cuneiform, pictographs or pictorial writing)

Pharoah

Ancient Egyptian monarch

Pyramids

Egyptian burial tombs for pharaohs

Shang Dynasty

Earliest ruling dynasty in China to be established in recorded history; 1600 BC-1046 BC

Mandate of Heaven

The idea that a ruler must be just to keep the approval of the gods

Confucius

Chinese philosopher & politician who lived 551-479 BCE

Confucianism

A system of philosophical & ethical teachings founded by Confucius & developed by Mencius; the foundational Chinese philosophy emphasizing harmony and respect for hierarchy

Qin Dynasty

First dynasty in Imperial China & lasted 221-206 BCE

Qin Shihuangdi

First emperor of the Qin Dynasty

Great Wall of China

A series of fortifications built to protect China

Terracotta figurine

A form of funerary art that protected the emperor in the afterlife

City-state

A city with its surrounding territory forms an independent state

Athens

Ancient Greek city-state that became a revolutionary democracy controlled by the poor & working classes around 460 BCE; the first known democracy

Democracy

A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives

Sparta

Ancient Greek military city-state

Demokratia

Ancient Greek word meaning "people power"

Polis

Ancient Greek word meaning "city-state" or "community"

Golden Age

A period after the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta; 449-431 BC

Parthenon

Temple on the Athenian Acropolis dedicated to the goddess Athena

Socrates

Greek philosopher who lived 470-399 BCE

Plato

Ancient Greek philosopher who studied under Socrates & lived 428/427-348-347 BCE

Aristotle

Greek philosopher who studied under Plato & lived 384-322 BC

Sophocles

Ancient Greek tragedian who lived 496-406 BCE

Euripides

Tragedian of classical Athens who lived 480 BC-406 BC

Senate

The body of lawmakers in Congress with equal representation- two senators are elected to represent each state (the upper house of Congress); governing body of republican ancient Rome as of 509 BCE

Populare

The people

Julius Caesar

A popular Roman military leader who forced the corrupt Senate to give him control and who began transitioning Rome from a republic to what would become an empire; assassinated in 44 BCE

Augustus Caesar

Julius Caesar's nephew Octavian who gained control of Rome in 27 BCE and became the first Roman emperor

Pax Romana

A period of stability in the Mediterranean region under the Roman Empire

System of alliances

The complicated diplomatic & military alliances among European powers that led to the outbreak & magnitude of WWI

Triple Alliance

Secret agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary, & Italy formed in May 1882

Kaiser Wilhem II

The last German Emperor & King of Prussia, reigning June 15, 1888-November 9, 1918 & lived 1859-1941

Battle of Marn

WWI battle fought September 6-12, 1914 & resulted in an Allied victory against Germany

Trench warfare

Bloody, long-term fighting in fortified trenches on the Western Front in WWI

U-boat

German submarine

Battle of Verdun

Fought February 21-December 18, 1916 on the Western Front in France. Longest battle in WWI

Battle of Somme

WWI battle fought between armies of the British Empire & French Third Republic against the German Empire & lasted July 1-November 18, 1916

World War I

Lasted June 28, 1914-November 11, 1918; started when a young soviet patriot killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Austria)

Bolshevik Revolution

Leftist revolutionaries led by Vladimir Lenin launched a nearly bloodless coup d'état against the Duma's provisional government on November 6-7, 1917

Schlieffen Plan

Battle plan proposed in 1905 by Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, that was designed to allow Germany to wage a successful two-front war

Treaty of Versailles

The treaty that ended WWI, held Germany accountable for the entirety of the war, & brought economic hardship to the country by forcing it to pay reparations to the other powers

Reparations

Costly financial compensation charged of Germany by the victors of WWI to cover the cost of the war

League of Nations

A largely toothless international organization established after WWI & designed to prevent future outbreaks of international war; the basis for the later United Nations

Great Depression

The global economic collapse that resulted in widespread poverty & unemployment in the US & the world

Kristallnacht

A series of organized attacks on Jewish businesses, homes & places of worship where the windows were smashed

Ghettos

Isolated & overcrowded urban neighborhoods

Concentration camps

Forced labor & death camps where the Nazis imprisoned & killed Jews, Roma, Slavic people, people of color, prisoners of war, communists & others as part of the Holocaust