Social Studies! People seem to love it or hate it! However, this is not your typical Social Studies class. What comes to mind when you think of Social Studies? I would guess something like history, old documents, older buildings, and lots of dead people (not in the morbid sense, but rather most everyone who ever existed is dead, and some of those people were important to history). This class, however, is not going to cover that. Instead, we will talk about why people are the way they are. This is more of the social aspect of Social Studies. The beginning of the year will go over the world and its physical features. In the later half, we will discuss more people in society and how they interact and impact the world. It is a lot of fun and every unit is quite unique!

This unit focuses on the fundamentals of geography. What is geography, why we study it, and how we use it pretty much every day without even realizing it. If you ever used a map (even Google Maps), you have used geography. This unit will teach you how to read and draw maps, as well as how to locate places and describe your surroundings. Plus, we are going to play some games along the way, so I expect it to be quite enjoyable. This unit is probably requires the most memorization. 

This unit is probably the most science based. It focuses on the Earth's physical features, and how those features impacted the people living there. Not only that though, we will also discuss how the people have impacted and adapted the place that they live. Human-Environment Interaction is our main focus, and we will observe some specific places. Fun assignments include watching a bit of Disney movies and making a map of your fantasy island with a certain number of landforms!

This is a unit where we get more personal. Every single one of us has a culture that has made us the people we are. Some we share with a few individuals, and some we share with thousands or even millions of others. Here is where we talk about food, dance, language, dress, and music. However, much of culture is underneath the surface. We will discuss how culture impacts you, and therefore, impacts the entire world and everyone on it. I've heard the most fun part about this unit is the fact that you get to make and share food with others!

If you like numbers, this unit is for you! Here we deal with population and trying to conceptualize large numbers! How big really is a billion? We also discuss why some places are more populated than others and what that does to the area they live in. And of course, people move, so we will talk about the causes and impacts of migration. This unit has a few simulations that might be a bit eye-opening. Current events can play a major role in this unit, if students wish to go there. 

This might be the most typical Social Studies unit we have. Here we talk about governments throughout the world and how they control or help the people who live under them. We look into the purpose and types of government. We don't get too much into the US, we're saving that for American History next year. We will, though, look at some pretty interesting government types and case studies. North Korea is particularly interesting, albeit scary. 

This is most likely our last unit. Here we deal with an increasingly globalized world. How something we don't really think about, such as shoes, comes from 5-7 different countries, maybe more. We will discuss the causes and impacts of globalization, as well as economic foundations. The more technology increases, the more connected we are in this world. This unit has some tough concepts and complex words and ideas, but it will be our final push! 

Some facts about me:

• 5th year teaching, third at Plaza

• Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona

• Spent 10 years and graduated college in Denver

• Married for 5 years

• 2 kids, one girl and one boy

• Love comics and superheroes

• Love sports

• Overall, I think I'm a fairly chill person