Intro to Sociology - Student Workbook

This student workbook was built as a course companion for my High School level Into to Sociology elective. Teachers who wish to incorporate the activities can find teachers notes and embedded links on my class website, which is updated daily as we move through the semester.

The course is built to increase student understanding of human behaviors, which we observe daily at home, in school, and in our community. It explores sociological foundations, the family, peer groups, mass media, social stratification, adolescence, racial and ethnic groups, and social control. By incorporating a variety of software applications and an assortment of print and multi-media resources, students will develop a greater understanding and awareness of the social issues that impact the human experience.

UNIT #1 Introduction to Sociology
Activities: Why Study Sociology? Is Sociology nothing more than Stereotypes? Label Breakdown - Human Bingo; Bling and Body Language; Unpacking Stereotypes - Label Breakdown; Understanding Snap Judgments (Lookism, Ageism, Racism); Standpoint Theory - Using the Movie Crash; The Stereotype Threat; Standpoint Theory and the Global Perspective; What It’s Like - The Art of Thinking Sociologically; Standpoint Theory and Marginalized Groups -Examining Beliefs and Daily Lives of Muslims- Understanding racial profiling in a Post 9/11 world.

UNIT #2 Founders of Sociological Thought
Activities: The Origins of Sociological Thought; Thinking Sociologically - Paradigms and Theories (Puzzle Theory); Foundations of Sociological Thought (Case Studies: Auguste Comte , Harriet Martineau, Karl Marx , Herbert Spencer, Jane Addams, George Herbert Meade, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, C Wright Mills)

UNIT #3 Perspectives in Sociology
Activities: Sociological Perspectives and Paradigms; The Sociological Perspective - Education Goals and Outcomes: Function or Dysfunction?; 1968 yearbook activity; POV Documentary 1968; 'Freaks and Geeks' The Honest Agony Of Embarrassment (High School 1980s); People Like Us -(High School 2000s); Building your ideal High School

UNIT #4 Cultural Explorations
Activities: Rituals and Routines in a Global Society; Body Ritual Among the Nacirema; Cultural Universals (Notes); Cultural Universals - Guided viewing - 30 Days – Life on the Reservation; A Global Perspective on Poverty, money -- and love (Jessica Jackley TED Talk); Coca Cola Classic and Culture (Melinda Gates TED Talk); Examining Society and Culture (Notes); “The God’s Must be Crazy” guided viewing ; Babies - The Movie guided viewing ; The Culture Kite (Notes); Cultural Explorations Project (Six Case Studies Exploring rituals and routines in a global community)

UNIT #5 Agents of Socialization
Activities: Agents of Socialization Notes on the influence of family, peers, schools, and mass media; Sociological Applications - The Art of Appreciation; Notes on Socialization and the Life Cycle; Modern Family guided viewing; Mass Media as an agent of socialization; MISSrepresentation guided viewing; Agents of Socialization Race, Media, and Socialization; Prom Night in Mississippi guided viewing

UNIT #6 Social Structure and Social Organizations
Activities: The McDonaldization of Society; Notes - What is Social Structure? Notes - The Building Blocks of Social Life - Status; The Hidden Rules of Class; Occupational Prestige and Job Worthiness; Status Symbols and “Bling”; Notes - Roles and Expectations
We occupy statuses, we play roles; Role Conflict and Role Strain;

UNIT #7 Sport and Society
Activities: Notes: Fair and Foul - Examining Sports Paradoxes (focus on Social Integration, Fair Play, Physical Fitness, Academics, Social Mobility) ; Project - Sport as a Vehicle for Social Change (six case studies: Jesse Owens, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Althea Gibson, Katherine Switzer, Tommy Smith and John Carlos; Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs and Michael Sam) Dare to Dream - The story of the 1999 Women's Soccer Team guided viewing











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