Social Studies Benchmark Review

Thursday, we will be having a Social Studies Benchmark.  The benchmark is comprehensive and will test the students on all material we have learned since the beginning of the year.  The following Topics will be covered on the benchmark.  You may review these topics with your child by having a conversation with them.  Ask them if they remember the some of the following things.  If they get stuck, use this review to help jog their memory on such topics.  If you keep your child's graded work, it will also help you in preparation for the upcoming test.  This test will go into the gradebook as a major grade and will hold great value.  Happy Studying!

Landforms:
Your child should know all of the landforms and a short definition of each.  We went over these and made an "All About Landform Book" describing each landform

hill- raised piece of land
Mountain- Highest land form on earth
plateau- raised land that is flat on the top
island- land that is FULLY surrounded by water
peninsula- Land that is ALMOST surrounded by water
valley- Low area between to raised areas of land
forest-An area with many trees
plains-a large mostly flat piece of land

Bodies of water:
lake, ocean, stream, river
-Know that oceans are the biggest bodies of water

Maps:
-Know that a compass rose tells directions
-There are for directions on a compass rose (north, south, east and west)
-A map helps you to find locations
-A map key tells you what each symbol on a map stand for
-Know the difference between a map and a globe (one is flat, one is round)
-Know that the map of the world shows the five oceans and the seven continents

Continents:
There are seven continents, and we learned them with the following song(Where is Thumbkin):
There are seven,
there are seven,
Continents,
Continents.
North and South America
Europe, Asia, Africa,
Au-stra-lia
Ant-arc-ti-ca

Oceans:
Arctic, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Southern

Texas:
-Know the capital of Texas is Austin
-Know the symbol and Landmarks of Texas are: Blue Bonnet, Mocking Bird, Alamo, San Jacinto Monument

Citizenship:
Citizens are people what are part of a specific group (large group like the United States or a small group like Mrs. Humphrey's Class)

Patriotism:
Know that some one who is patriotic shows respect and honor for their country.
Some Patriotic Citizens we learned about were Paul Revere and Abigail Adams.
A patriotic symbol would be the Flag of the United States
We also show respect and honor to our country and state by saying the pledge of allegiance and the pledge to the Texas flag.

Voting:
Know that citizens vote in an elections
Know that you need to be 18 or older and a citizen to vote
Use a ballot and choose the best candidate for the job
Campaigns are held to find out more information about the candidates

Government:

-Be able to identify functions of government such as to keep order, make laws, and to keep us safe   
-Be able to break the government into three parts: Local, State and Federal
-Know who runs each Government: Local Government is run by the mayor (Webb K. Melder), The state government is run by the Governor (Rick Perry/ Greg Abbott), and the Federal Government is run by the President (Barak Obama)
-We pay taxes to help pay for government services
-Things are taxes pay for are: The library, public park up keep, Schools and hospitals
-Government services and jobs are : Mail delivery, Trash pick up, Firefighters, Police, Teachers

Holidays:
Know that Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving are all holidays and why each is celebrated.