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This Month in Social Studies
This Month in Social Studies
The importance of being responsible for your own learning
The importance of being responsible for your own learning
“I am the master of my ability” - William Ernest Henry
Being responsible for your learning is important. The Social Studies department have been working with students to help them to understand what steps they need to take to help them in becoming a responsible student, which ultimately leads to success.
What’s going on in High School Social Studies?
What’s going on in High School Social Studies?
Current Topics
Current Topics
Grade 12 DP Psychology students have been learning about Sociocultural factors that contribute to human behavior. They have almost completed all content for their Paper 1 and will be moving on to Abnormal Psychology next...
Grade 11 DP Psychology students and Introduction to Psychology students have been introduced to Research Methods, and will now be able to explain how psychological research is conducted!
Introduction to Economics students are starting to look at international trade, including the ideas of imports, exports and barriers to trade. Students will be using current events to help understand these concepts and the implications they have on individual countries, as well as the rest of the world. Understanding these concepts is beneficial for students who intend to go into business, as well as for all students to help understand effects on markets.
Grade 12 Business are exploring the high paced world of marketing. We started off learning about Marketing planning and strategy and have moved onto learning each of the 4p’s (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) in depth. Students are currently learning about the difference between above the line and below the line promotion techniques. We are looking forward to learning about International marketing and E-Commerce in the upcoming weeks.
Raya (left) and Sarra (Right) engaged in creating a graphic organizer for the different types of above the line promotion techniques in their DP 2 Business class.
Grade 11 Business have been learning about business and organization goals and objectives and have started to link these internal goals to the external (STEEPLE) factors that can affect the running of a business. The DP1 students are starting to use business tools like Ansoff’s matrix and SWOT Analysis and are applying these tools to real life business situations. We will be learning about the growth and evolution of businesses in the next few weeks leading up to the summative assessment at the end of October. The Dp 1 Students are very reflective and have started keeping track of their own progress and reflections in their personal progress tracker.
Global Politics students have been studying key political concepts of power and state sovereignty. They have explored these concepts within contemporary political issues and through a range of contexts.
Grade 10 U.S. History students have been studying the role of government in citizens’ social and economic live. They engaged in current event analysis and in independent research, utilising the GAA Secondary Library’s wealth of resources.
Grade 10 World Studies students have using their analytical skills to determine the political, economic, social and technology factors a multinational company needs to think about when deciding to set up in a host country. They will now examine the moral and ethical implications of new technology.
Grade 9 Social Studies students have been studying changing views on power in human history. They have been learning about how the changing views on the role of government and society was shaped by our changing understanding of relationships between citizens and the people who lead them. This will help them understand our contemporary systems of government and authority in the 21st century. They are currently in the process of comparing ideas of The Enlightenment to the long held beliefs of European Monarchs.
Upcoming Dates
- Wednesday 30th October: Grade 12 DP Psychology Students Assessment
- Thursday 14th November: Introduction to Psychology Biological Summative Assessment
- Business Summative Assessments: DP1 & DP 2 will take place in the week of Oct 27th - Oct 31st
- Tuesday/Wednesday October 22 & 23: Grade 9 The Impact of Institutions & Technology Unit 1 Summative Assessment 2: The Enlightenment Philosophers DBQ
What’s going on in Middle School Social Studies?
What’s going on in Middle School Social Studies?
Current Topics
Current Topics
In Grade 6, students are looking at early humans and the periods in which they lived (Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages). Students have demonstrated understanding through a variety of assessments including, the creations of timelines, understanding environments, and investigating different technologies from these periods.
All of this information is leading up to our year’s studies of different ancient civilizations. We have begun looks at the characteristics that make a civilization and are continuing to move forward into our Mesopotamia unit!
In grade 7, students are learning the elements of a civilization GRAPES( Elements of a civilization) somewhat like the characteristics of a civilization. Elements of a civilization are specific to one empire or civilization. An empire doesn't need all of the elements in order to function as an empire. Students were often tasked with synthesizing both characteristics and elements; connecting both the characteristics and elements to one or more empires. In this unit, we focused on the Roman Empire and the Aztec Empire.
Also, students are learning how to organize thoughts with our class KWL charts. The KWL charts are designed for students to organize thoughts with the following categories ( K- What do you know about the topic, W- What do you want to know about the topic and L- what have you learned about the topic). This will be a running document, meaning every day we start class this chart will need to be out on the student's desk and ready to go as we will be filling in the K and L column daily. For the W column if we discuss one of the student’s W’s the student will then add the answer next to their W in blue. Everyone is required to have 2 W’s answered every week answered by Saturday at 6 pm.
Students in 8th grade are learning about the history of slavery, with a particular interest in the following:
- How slavery became a business
- Life on a slave plantation and how slaves resisted this life.
- Slave auctions and slave scramble
- Primary sources such as: The Confessions of Nat Turner, 12 years a Slave, The Narrative of Olaudah Equiano.
- Analysing the influence of the ‘Underground railroad.’
- The legacy of famous abolitionists- Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas and Levi and Catherine Coffin.
Looking ahead, students will be working in groups to discover how the resistance of slavery led to the ‘American Civil War’, the influence of Abraham Lincoln, various documents of freedom, Civil Rights activists and how slavery still exists in today’s society.
Jokes
Jokes
Q: Why is history viewed as such a fruity subject?
A: Because it’s full of dates! ;)
Q: How was the Roman Empire cut in half?
A: With a pair of Caesars!
SAVINGS ON APPLE PRODUCTS
SAVINGS ON APPLE PRODUCTS
FOR GAA FAMILIES
FOR GAA FAMILIES
Our preferred Apple provider, JTRS (Just The Right Solutions), has created an e-store from which you can purchase a number of Apple products below retail costs. JTRS Education is offering discounts on MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs and iPads, as well as add-ons, cases and extended warranties.
Below, you will find a document on how to locate and sign-up for the e-store to see the discounted products and make a purchase. Once purchased, JTRS Education will be in communication with you about when they will be delivered to the school. Once they have been delivered to GAA, you may pick your devices up from the ICT office here at the school.
If you have any further questions, please contact JTRS directly at +971 4 338 0990 or info@jtrs.ae
Gems American Academy-Estore Guide - updated Sept19.pdf
(please note, updated regularly)
- October 20 - 23 - Little Thinker Book Fair
- October 24 - No school day per the GAA calendar approved by ADEK. This three-day weekend is timed with a number of schools in the Abu Dhabi area that take a week-long break. Our Admin offices (including Finance and Admissions) will remain open usual office hours 08:00-16:00.
- October 29 - Grade 6 Fine Arts Showcase
- October 31 - Half Day/Pizza Day
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