Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch.1: What are the Social Sciences?
1. An economist studies______
______
2. A social scientist studies______
______
3. A historian studies______
______
4. A geographer studies______
______
5. A political scientist studies______
______
6. An artifact is______
______
7. The main job of the government is to______
______
8. Name a piece of clothing each person might wear.
Historian______Geographer______
Economist______Political Scientist______
9. If an old letter arrived at an office where a historian, economist, geographer, and political scientist worked, each person would be interested in different things that might be mentioned in the letter. What would each person be interested in learning from reading the letter?
Historian______
______
Economist______
______
Geographer______
______
Political Scientist______
______
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch.2: Exploring Regions of the United States
1. If you are standing in Illinois and looking toward the Eastern Hemisphere,
you would have to face…______.
2. To find the exact location of a place on Earth, you use imaginary lines
called lines of ______and ______.
3. On a map, the following colors usually stand for what? (draw lines to match)
BrownBlueGreen
WaterForestMountains
4. Match the following words with their definitions:
Compass Rose- this shows you what the
symbol on a map stand for
Map Scale- this tells you what direction is north,
south, east, or west on a map
Map Key- this tells you how many miles
a ½ inch or an inch is on the map
5. The regions of the United States we studied were: ______
______
6. On a map scale, if 1 inch = 20 miles, what does ½ inch = ______.
7. A coastal plain is______
______
8. A physical map shows______
______
9. A road map shows______
______
10. A rainfall map shows______
______
11. A historical map shows______
______
12. Name a state:______.
If a person looked at each of the maps on your Interactive Desk Map, give them four clues to describe where the state is located. Clues could include mentioning the hemispheres it is located in, lines of latitude and longitude that run through it, states that lie to the north, south, east, or west of it, or bodies of water, rivers, mountains, or plains that are in it or by it.
Clue 1:______
______
Clue 2:______
______
Clue 3:______
______
Clue 4:______
______
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch.3: The Peopling of the United States
1. First people to settle in America were ______.
2. Many Latinos came to the Americas from ______.
3. People who formed United Statesin 1776 were mostly______.
4. Asian Americans were from ______, ______, ______,
______, ______.
5. People brought to the Americas against their will were______.
6. Three contributions Latinos brought to American life were…
a)______b)______
c)______
7. Three contributions Asian Americans brought to American life were…
a)______b)______
c)______
8. Three contributions African Americans brought to American life were…
a)______b)______
c)______
9. Three contributions Native Americans brought to American life were…
a)______b)______
c)______
10. What did the colonists from Europe want from the king of England?
______
11. What was the American Revolution?______
______
12. Create a “picture book.” Draw three pictures that represent contributions made by different groups to American society. Write captions for each picture explaining the contribution you were drew. Then, give your book a short, catchy title that will make people want to read it.
______
(title)
______
______
______
______
______
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch.4: A Train Tour of the Northeast
1. The city where many immigrants first came into our country:
______.
2. This document explains our government and protects our rights like
freedom of speech and religion: ______.
3. This document explains the Pilgrims’ agreement to govern themselves:
______.
4. When you make large quantities of the same product, it is called:
______.
5. The CapitolBuilding is where the United States ______meets.
6. Everyone gets to choose the laws and leaders of a country in a form of
government called a ______.
7. Which is the most eastern state in the Northeast?______
8. Which state in the Northeast is the only one that doesn’t border any
major body of water?______
9. Which two states appear to be equal in size in the Northeast?
______
10. Match the following branches with its major responsibility:
Executive (president)- makes sure laws passed by
Congress follow the Constitution
Legislative (Congress)- make sure laws passed by
Congress are carried out
Judicial (Supreme Court)- makes laws for our country
11. Create a real estate advertisement that encourages people to move to the Northeast region. Draw four pictures that represent positive features of the region. Write captions for each picture explaining the positive features you drew. Then, give your real estate advertisement a short, catchy slogan that will encourage people to move there.
______
(slogan)
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch.5: Population Density and Life in the Northeast
1. Most cities are centers of ______, ______, and
______.
2. Air and water pollution are caused by______.
3. Visitors are attracted to ______because there are many things to do for fun.
4. An elevation map shows______.
5. A road map shows______.
6. An population map shows______.
7. A historical map shows______.
8. Many people live in these if they live in a big city______.
9. Population density measures______.
10. The megalopolis in the Northeast known as Boswash is
______
11. A large city in Massachusetts is______.
12. A large city in Pennsylvania is______.
13. A large city in New York is______.
14. Rank these states according to their population density:
Maine New York Connecticut Pennsylvania
1st______2nd______3rd______4th______
(highest population density)(lowest population density)
15. Fill in the blank with “greater than”, “less than”, or “equal to”.
Traffic in big cities is ______traffic in small towns.
16. Population density affects the sounds we hear in different places. Describe how population density influences the sounds you might hear in the city and in the county for each of the following categories.
CITY / COUNTRYHousing
Employment
Transportation
Environment
Recreation
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch.6: A Boat and Bus Tour of the Southeast
Match the items and places with the correct phrase.
1. _____Appalachian Mts.A. Place to visit to see a space
shuttle launch
2. _____Cape CanaveralB. Home to more than 300 kinds
of birds
3. _____CoalC. Appalachian mineral used to
produce electricity
4. _____EvergladesD. City known as the
“home of the blues”.
5. _____FranceE. States that enjoy a mild
climate year-round.
6. _____MemphisF. The first settlers of New
Orleans came from this country.
7. _____New OrleansG. City to visit for Dixieland
music and Cajun food.
8. _____SegregationH. Place in the Southeast you
would find coal mines.
9. _____Sun BeltI. Reason for the Civil Rights
movement to begin.
10. Design a billboard encouraging people to settle in the Southeast. Draw four pictures representing positive characteristics of the region. Write captions for each picture explaining the characteristics you drew. Give your billboard a short, catchy slogan that will encourage people to move there.
______
(slogan)
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
11. Write the state on the line and the number in the circle that matches the location on the map for each place described below.
EvergladesNational Park______
KennedySpaceCenter______
Jamestown______
Coal mines in Appalachia______
Jazz music and Cajun food______
Birthplace of Civil Rights______
Movement
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch.7: The Effects of Geography on Life in the Southeast
1. How does elevation affect life in the Southeast?______
______
2. ______attracted mills and workshops to the fall line.
3. This southeastern state has the longest growing season:______.
4. This southeastern state has the shortest growing season:______.
5. In the 1800s, ______ruined many cotton farms in the Southeast.
6. Florida is closer to the ______which is why it has
______weather than Maine.
7. Port cities in the Southeast grow where ______.
8. Name three natural resources:______, ______, ______.
9. ______are the most dangerous weather southeasterns face.
10. Your friend wants to know about the geography of the Southeast region. What would you tell her to help her plan a trip there? Describe landscape and weather. Be sure to use these words: tidewater, foothills, floodplain.
______
______
______
______
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch.8: A Crop Duster Tour of the Midwest
1. This city became a major transportation hub:______.
2. The Midwest is called ______because farmers raise large amounts of grain in the Midwest.
3. St. Louis, Missouri is known as the ______.
4. Four great American presidents are honored with their faces carved into
the Black Hills at this national memorial:______.
5. You would see cowboys at this Midwest location:______.
6. ______bring heavy snowfall and freezing winds to the Midwest.
7. Iowa’s nickname is______.
8. How did the moving assembly line help Ford?______
______
9. Rank five of the places you visited on your tour of the Midwest. Write a sentence that gives the reason for your ranking.
1st______- ______
______
______
2nd______- ______
______
______
3rd______- ______
______
______
4th______- ______
______
______
5th______- ______
______
______
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch.9: Agricultural Changes in the Nation’s Breadbasket
1. Between 1800 and 1920, the number of farms in the United States
(circle one)
increaseddecreasedstayed the same
2. Most farm families give up on farming because______
______
3. In 1800, most farmwork was done by hand using…
______.
4. Tools found in the barn of a farmer from the 1800s are:
______, ______, ______.
5. Write True on the line if the statement is true for farming today and back in the 1800s. Otherwise, write False on the line.
_____ The average farm is about 50 acres.
_____ Running a farm is a lot of hard work.
_____ Most farmers make a lot of money.
_____ Most farmers want to be self-sufficient.
6. A flail is______.
7. A scythe is______.
8. A tractor is______.
9. A combine is______.
10. A reaper is______.
11. A seed drill is______.
12. Fertilizers and pesticides are helpful to farmers because______
______.
13. McCormick’s reaper is helpful to farmers because______
______.
14. Choose a time period: 1800s, 1900s, 2000s. Invent a tool or machine that might have helped farmers and their families at that time. Write a description of your invention that explains what it is called, how it would beused, and why it would be used. Then, draw and label your invention.
Name______
How it is used______
______
Why it is used______
______
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch. 10: A Big Rig Tour of the Southwest
1. The largest state in the Southwest is______.
2. Oklahoma’s nickname is the______.
3. At the Grand Canyon, you would see______
______
4. At Carlsbad Caverns, you would see______
______
5. At Monument Valley, you would see______
______
6. At Hoover Dam, you would see______
______
7. A mesa is______.
8. A desert is______.
9. A canyon is______.
10. A prairie is______.
11. Dams are built on rivers to______.
12. This place is a memorial to Texas freedom fighters:______.
13. These things helped people adapt to the Southwest’s hot, dry climate:
______, ______, ______
14. In state government …this branch passes the laws:______.
…this branch is made up of state courts______.
…this branch is headed by the governor______.
15. Pretend you are visiting the Southwest and you meet someone that lives in this region. You have a conversation that begins …
Visitor to Southwest: I am from ______region. I have been traveling in the Southwest for a few weeks now. How do you like living here?
Resident of Southwest: I love living here! It gets pretty hot sometimes, but that’s just about the time I clean up my boat and break out the barbecue.
Visitor to Southwest: (discuss/describe three places you have already visited)
______
______
______
______
______
______
Resident of Southwest: (respond and give more info. about the three places)
______
______
______
______
Visitor to Southwest: (discuss/describe three states in the Southwest)
______
______
______
______
______
Resident of Southwest: (respond and give more info. about their own state)
______
______
______
______
Visitor to Southwest: (discuss/describe two cities in the Southwest)
______
______
______
______
______
Resident of Southwest: (respond and give more info. about their own city)
______
______
______
______
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch. 11: A Case Study in Water Use: The Colorado River
1. Dams on the Colorado River destroy habitats which hurt______.
2. Name three ways to conserve water:
______, ______, ______
3. Earliest settlers in the ColoradoRiver Basin were______.
4. What negative thing might happen if more people move to the Colorado
River Basin?______
5. What did the Colorado River Compact do?______
______
6. The Colorado River was named for its______.
7. Which dam along the Colorado River divides
the upper and lower ColoradoRiver Basin?______
8. Name three rivers that are tributaries of the Colorado River:
______, ______, ______
9. Where is the source of the Colorado River?______
10. What is a desert?______
11. If dams had never been invented, the Southwest would be very different from the way it is today.
How would the geography be different?______
______
______
______
______
How would the animals and environment of the Southwest be different?_____
______
______
______
______
How would the lives of people who live in the Southwest be different?______
______
______
______
______
Draw pictures of how the geography, people, and animals/environment would be different.
GEOGRAPHYANIMALS/ENVIRONMENTPEOPLE
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch. 12: A Van and Airplane Tour of the West
1. The main industry in Hawaii today is ______.
2. Anchorage, Alaska is famous for this race:______
3. Lewis and Clark led an expedition west to______.
4. At YellowstoneNational Park is famous for these erupting:______
5. Many Asians came to the United
States 100 years ago to work______.
6. The ______industry was attracted to Southern California because it has a sunny climate.
7. Match up the graph with the correct name:
Circle Line Bar Pictograph
10. Complete an acrostic poem about The West. In your poem, describe the important places or characteristics of the West region. Draw a simple symbol next to each line to represent an important aspect of the place or a characteristic you described in that line of the poem.
T errific sights, like the waves of the Pacific Ocean,
can be seen in many parts of the West.
H ______
______
E ______
______
W ______
______
E ______
______
S ______
______
T ______
______
Name______#_____ Test Date______
Social Studies Alive! Study Guide
Ch. 13: Cities of the West
Match the items and places with the correct phrase.
1. _____Las Vegas, NevadaA. Attracts people seeking jobs in
high-technology companies.
2. _____Denver, ColoradoB. Has a very busy harbor.
3. _____San Jose, CaliforniaC. Calls itself the “Entertainment
Capital of the World.”
4. _____Portland, OregonD. People seeking religious freedom
first settled this state.
5. _____Salt Lake City, UtahE. Most remote urban area in the U.S.
6. _____Boise, IdahoF. Calls itself the “MileHighCity.”
7. _____Seattle, WashingtonG. Attracts sports fans with three major
League teams – Mariners, Seahawks,
SuperSonics
8. What does mint do?______
9. Complete a Venn Diagram by comparing two cities of the West. Write the names at the top of the circles. In the space where the circles overlap, write at least two things that are the same in both cities. In the space where the circles do not overlap, write at least two things to show differences between the cities. (Make sure you have written at least six things total in your Venn Diagram.)
______