Level 1 Social Studies
11SOST Course DescriptionTeacher in Charge:
Recommended Prior LearningAll Standards in this course contribute towards Literacy.
•The focus at Level 1 is to develop a sense of global citizenship through the examination of current social issues and cultural change in the 21st Century. Through this subject students will develop their general knowledge, writing and critical thinking skills.
•There are no prerequisites for entry into this course although entry is subject to TIC discretion.
Possible topics are:
- Black Lives Matter, Police Brutality, Racism, and Protest.
- Beauty Standards- inquire into an issue associated with our current perceptions of beauty, including plastic surgery, different perceptions of beauty, child beauty pageants, size zero models, fur in fashion, body image and Instagram models, skin tanning and whitening and so on.
- Prisoners of conscience – the struggle for human rights and social justice (doing a social action).
- Cultural Change e.g. in gender roles. how we protest
- Current events and issues as they arise.
The standards and topics offered in this course may be altered at the discretion of the Head of Department.
Course Overview
Term 1
We will do an introduction to the key skills and concepts in Senior Social Studies. We will use current beauty issues to learn these important skills. These issues include, child beauty pageants, Instagram models and photoshopping, cosmentic surgery, and the westernisation of beauty standards. We will also look at beauty standards across different cultures and over time.
Our first main assessment case study will be to look at social actions that have taken place within the Black Lives Matter movement such as former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's decision to kneel for the American National Anthem. We will also examine past social actions such as the 1968 Mexico Olympics Black Power Salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos. We will be looking at this issue of racism using this case study and others.
Term 2
We will start our second major assessment unit which is called Write for Rights, and students will work collaboratively to complete a human rights and social justice social action to raise awareness about human rights abuses in our world today e.g. letter writing, presentations, social media campaigns, posters
Term 3
We will finish off Write for Rights, which will be the focus for our external standard on social action. Students will create an outcomes portfolio to showcase their work. They will also learn evaluative skills.
Term 4
This term we be focused on revision for the 1 external standard on social action.
Assessment Information
There are 10 credits on offer from the new achievement standards.
We will be offering 1 internal and 1 external. These are worth 5 credits each.
Social Studies will prepare you for careers that involve working with others. You will gain a great understanding of how society works and cultures change. This will be helpful for a wide variety of different career pathways. Some examples include (but aren't limited to) the media, police, justice system, psychologist, criminologist, law, teaching, nursing, journalism, social work, business, marketing, international relations, and research.
Career PathwaysOccupational Therapist, Office Manager, Photographer, Policy Analyst, Tertiary Lecturer, Recreation Co-ordinator, Youth Worker, Secondary School Teacher, Social Worker, Teacher Aide, Flight Attendant, Television Presenter, Cafe/Restaurant Manager, Court Registry Officer, Marketing Specialist, Psychologist, Trainer, Journalist, Graphic Designer, Communications Professional, Community Development Worker, Legal Executive, Editor, Solicitor, Corrections Officer, Make-up Artist, Animator/Digital Artist, Judge, Actor, Advertising Specialist, Sales and Marketing Manager, Director (Film, Television, Radio or Stage), Radio Presenter, Registered Nurse, Workplace Relations Adviser, Personal Assistant, Early Childhood Teacher, Media Producer, Production Assistant (Film, Television, Radio or Stage), Art Director (Film, Television or Stage), Artist, Film and Video Editor, Barrister, Dancer, Primary School Teacher
Course Material Costs$20 to cover photocopying and consumables e.g. paint, coloured card etc.. needed for social action.