Social Studies

Key Concepts

• Cardinal directions: North · South · East · West. On a map, North is usually up.
• Intermediate directions: between two cardinal directions: Northeast (NE) · Northwest (NW) · Southeast (SE) · Southwest (SW).
• Map elements to know: Title (what the map shows) · Compass rose (shows directions) · Legend/Key (explains symbols) · Scale (shows distances) · Grid (helps find locations).
• Map scale: if 1 inch = 100 miles, then 3 inches on the map = 300 real miles. Multiply the map distance by the scale to find real distance.
• Adapt vs. Modify: People adapt by changing how they live to fit the environment (building thick-walled homes in a desert). People modify by changing the environment itself (cutting down a forest to build a city).
• Physical processes shape the land: volcanoes (build mountains) · earthquakes (crack and shift land) · erosion (wind/water wear away rock) · hurricanes (erode coastlines).
• Landforms: mountains · hills · valleys · plains · plateaus · canyons · deltas (fan-shaped deposit at a river mouth) · peninsulas (land surrounded by water on 3 sides).

Key Concepts

• Scarcity: not enough resources to meet everyone's wants and needs. Scarcity forces people to make choices about how to use what they have.
• Supply and demand: Supply = how much of something is available. Demand = how much people want it. When supply drops and demand stays the same → prices go up. When supply is high → prices go down.
• Profit = Selling Price − Cost of Production. If Terrell sells a chair for $50 but wood costs $20, profit = $30. If wood doubles to $40, profit is now only $10.
• Budget: a plan for money. Divide income into: spending + saving + donating. Example: earn $20 → spend $10, save $7, donate $3.
• Free enterprise: the U.S. economic system where people are free to start businesses, choose jobs, and make their own economic decisions.
• Key business entrepreneurs: Henry Ford (assembly line, automobiles) · Sam Walton (Walmart) · Milton Hershey (Hershey's chocolate) · Mary Kay Ash (cosmetics company).

Key Concepts

• Levels of government: Local (city/county) → State (Texas) → National (U.S.). Each level handles different services and laws.
• Local government services: parks, local police, fire departments, local roads, public libraries, public schools.
• How government officials are chosen: most are elected by citizens through voting. Judges may be appointed.
• How government services are paid for: TAXES — money collected from citizens and businesses. You pay taxes when you earn money (income tax) or buy things (sales tax).
• Declaration of Independence (1776): explained why the colonies wanted to be free from Britain. Written mainly by Thomas Jefferson.
• U.S. Constitution (1787): the supreme law of the land. Sets up the three branches: Legislative (Congress, makes laws) · Executive (President, enforces laws) · Judicial (Supreme Court, interprets laws).
• Bill of Rights: the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Protects freedoms like speech, religion, the press, and peaceful assembly.
• "Consent of the governed": the idea that a government's authority comes from the approval of the people it governs. The people have the power, and they give some of it to the government.

Key Concepts

• Good citizenship traits: truthfulness · justice · equality · respect for yourself and others · responsibility · participation in government.
• Civic responsibilities: vote (choose your leaders) · obey laws · pay taxes · serve on a jury · volunteer in your community.
• Ruby Bridges (1960): at age 6, became the first Black child to attend an all-white elementary school in New Orleans, courageously advancing the civil rights movement.
• Clara Barton: provided medical care to Civil War soldiers; founded the American Red Cross in 1881.
• Helen Keller: became deaf and blind as an infant; overcame her disabilities to become an author and world-famous advocate for people with disabilities.
• The Red Cross: a nonprofit organization that provides disaster relief (shelters, food, supplies), helps during emergencies, and supports blood drives.

Key People to Know

• Ellen Ochoa: first Hispanic American woman to travel to space (1993). Later became Director of the Johnson Space Center.
• Harriet Tubman: escaped slavery and returned south ~13 times to guide approximately 70 enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Called "Moses."
• Juliette Gordon Low: founded the Girl Scouts of the USA in 1912 in Savannah, Georgia. Believed every girl deserved a chance to reach her potential.
• Todd Beamer: passenger on United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. Led passengers to resist the hijackers; known for the words "Let's roll."
• James A. Lovell: NASA astronaut. Flew on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 (first humans to orbit the Moon), and commanded the ill-fated Apollo 13.
• Hector P. Garcia: Mexican American physician and civil rights activist; founded the American G.I. Forum to help Hispanic veterans receive equal benefits.
• Writers and artists: Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie books) · Phillis Wheatley (first African American published poet) · Carmen Lomas Garza (paintings of Mexican American family life) · Kadir Nelson (children's book illustrator).

Key Scientists & Inventors

• Jonas Salk: developed the polio vaccine in 1955. Polio was a terrifying disease that paralyzed thousands of children each year. Salk's vaccine nearly eliminated it.
• Maria Mitchell (1818–1889): American astronomer who discovered a comet in 1847 and became the first professional female astronomer in the United States. She later became a college professor.
• Louis Pasteur: French scientist who discovered that germs cause disease and invented pasteurization — heating liquids (like milk) to kill harmful bacteria, making food much safer to eat and drink.
• Bill Gates: co-founded Microsoft and helped develop software that made personal computers accessible to millions of people worldwide.
• Cyrus McCormick: invented the mechanical reaper (1831), a machine that harvested grain much faster than by hand, transforming farming.

Impact on Communities

• Medical vaccines → diseases that once killed millions (smallpox, polio) are now rare or eliminated → people live longer, healthier lives.
• Pasteurization → safe milk and food products → fewer deaths from foodborne illness.
• Computers → communication, education, business, and medicine have all been transformed.

Key Concepts

• Fact vs. Opinion: a fact can be proven true or false ("Texas became a state in 1845"). An opinion is a personal belief or feeling ("Texas is the best state").
• Cause and effect: cause = why something happened · effect = what happened. "Heavy rain (cause) caused flooding (effect)."
• Using a book: Table of Contents = chapters in order at the front. Index = alphabetical list of topics at the back with page numbers. Glossary = definitions of key terms at the back.
• Primary vs. Secondary sources: Primary = firsthand account (diary, photo, speech). Secondary = written by someone who wasn't there (textbook, encyclopedia, documentary).
• Reading a timeline: earlier dates = further left. Later dates = further right. Find the distance between events by subtracting years.
• Reading a graph: bar graph = compare categories. Line graph = show change over time. Pie chart = show parts of a whole.