Social Studies Project Ideas

National Geographic

Need a good starter for a social studies project? From history to geography to world cultures, this site’s got it covered. Most articles are presented as interactive activities, making learning just a bit more fun. Recommended by Brooke Prouty.

The Government and You

PBS kids

If you’re doing research on the US government, take a look at this site. It presents unusual facts in an interesting way about voting, how government affects you and more. Recommended by Angelina Incorvaia.

An Overview of Art, Science and History

Smithsonian Institute

If you need information about art, science or history, there is something for you on this huge website. The site has educational information about so many topics. You’ll learn about art from different regions and cultures around the world. There is also information about crafts, music, painting, photography, inventors and scientists, ancient cultures and much more. Recommended by Zack Dale.

An Atlas(地图集)with Everything

Fact Monster

If you love social studies and are looking for a detailed site about geography, look here. You can click on a place and it gives you cities in that location. It also has state maps, country profiles(轮廓)，geography games and other geography information. Recommended by Bryan Geter.

News for and by Kids

TIME FOR KIDS

Go to this site if you want to understand what’s happening in the news and read articles that are relevant to kids. There are also articles written by kid reporters about a whole range of topics, games and polls. Recommended by Martin Jacobs.

US History Help

Library of Congress

The biographical(传记的) and historical information on this site is very useful if you need help with social studies homework on American history. The games are also great :I learned a lot while having fun. Recommended by Madie Kelterborn.

21．In which column of a newspaper could we find this advertisement?

A．Science.      B．Art.      C．Social.      D．Sport.

22．If you are interested in history, you can visit the following sites Except      .

A．Smithsonian Institute         B．Library of Congress

C．National Geographic          D．PSB Kids

23．If you are interested in the news about kids, you can visit the sites recommended by     .

A．Martin Jacobs    B．Zack Dale    C．Bryan Geter    D．Angelina Incorvaia

I’m still very much figuring out what I want to do with my life, but I can honestly say now that I feel very proud of where I am right now. I’ve written about the teachers in high school and college I had that made a big impact on me, but I haven’t mentioned the person that made the biggest difference.

Growing up, Mom was always there for me. People think of Asian mothers as scary and demanding, but my mother was never like that. During the summers, we had some math and Chinese lessons every day before we could go outside and play, which may sound dull, but somehow Mom made it fun. She took our education very seriously and spent countless hours copying math problems into notebooks with colored pens. She made hundreds of index(索引) cards, each with a Chinese character on it, which we would rearrange to make sentences. I still smile when I open up my math notebooks and see those colorful pages of math problems-if I got them all right, I’d get a smiling face and “100%!” or “Next Einstein!” on the top with a sticker. If didn’t do so well, I’d get a “Pretty Good!”

I was the only girl on the math Counts team in middle school. I came home one day from middle school and told her that some of the boys in my class made fun of me because I was doing better than them in math. She went to my teacher and told her that she didn’t want her daughter to feel like she couldn’t be good at math or to be teased because of it. I didn’t know this until recently my mom told me that she herself was the only female engineer where she started working, and gained the respect of her coworkers.

24．Who made the lasting and deepest influence on the author?

A．Her teachers in high school.      B．Her mom.

C．Her teachers in college.          D．Her friends in college.

25．When the author was young, her math and Chinese lessons made her feel     .

A．more confused since mom wasn’t a teacher

B．fun with Mom’s wonderful instructions

C．hopeless to keep up with other classmates

D．dull without classmates to study together

26．Why did the author love learning from her mother?

A．She liked to play word games with Mom at home.

B．She knew Mom liked playing tricks on her.

C．Mom drew many smiling faces for her.

D．Mom always encouraged her whatever happened.

27．Why was the author made fun of when in Math Counts team in middle school?

A．Because her mother wasn’t good at math.

B．Because no other girls liked to learn math.

C．Because her math was better than the boys.

D．Because she failed in the math contest.

An idea that started in Seattle’s public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.

In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched the “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book” project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.

In Chicago, the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the “One Book, One Chicago” program. As a result, reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.

The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity (一致）can be achieved. Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.

Ultimately, as Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process, or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.

28. What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?

A. To invite authors to guide readers.        B. To encourage people to read and share.

C. To involve people in community service.   D. To promote the friendship between cities.

29. Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project?

A. They had little interest in reading.

B. They were too busy to read a book.

C. They came from many different backgrounds.

D. They lacked support from the local government.

30. According to the passage, where would the project be more easily carried out?

A. In large communities with little sense of unity.

B. In large cities where libraries are far from home.

C. In medium-sized cities with a diverse population.

D. In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached.

31. According to Nancy, the degree of success of the project is judged by  _________.

A. the careful selection of a proper book

B. the growing popularity of the writers

C. the number of people who benefit from reading

D. the number of books that each person reads.

    The US study found that, while 86% of children between the ages of 7 and 11 went to school without an adult in the 1970s, this fell t0 25% in 2015. 81% of parents of 10-to-12-year-olds were worried about "stranger danger", yet researchers point out that the chances of abduction(诱拐) by a total stranger are one in a million. Serious risks from playgrounds (i.e. choked by equipment when parks used to have ropes) have largely been removed. A large New Zealand study of nearly 31,000 children reported no head injury from playgrounds in 2015. Broken bones, mostly in upper arm, do happen, but are rare - the US study reports an average of 3 injuries per 10,000 hours of play last year. "Parents have to have a balanced view of this. Their child at home is 500 times more likely to meet a stranger - the Internet actually has many cyber-bullies."

    Mark Tremblay, the author of the study report, believes that children won't develop adaptability without getting a little hurt and getting back up again. "The evidence suggests that children self-regulate in play in response to risks. An unmoving lifestyle might stop them dislocating shoulders, but leads to obesity and other diseases in later life. playing unsupervised outside leads to better self-regulation and psychological health. "

    There's even a term for overprotected kids: risk shortage disorder. Tremblay suggests parents train themselves by first letting their children go off on their own for 20 minutes (having made sure they know how to cross the road).

32. Which of the following is probably a "risky play"?

   A. Playing in the neighborhood supervised.  B. Reading adventurous stories on the bus.

   C. Cycling fast down from the top of a lull.  D. Taking part in an online role-play game.

How  To  Break  5  Bad  Financial   Habits

Everyone has a bad financial habit. We live in a country that spends billions on advertising to make us want to make purchases;            36             . Remember: even though the habits are hard to break and require great effort, there is payoff.

Pay bills when you receive them. Think of all the stress and anxiety that you experience when you put off paying your bills. When you receive the email notice or open the bill in the mail, take care of it. It will only take five minutes, and you won't be flooded with bills at the last minute.

             37            . You must have had a hard time controlling the amount of purchases you are making. Minimize this urge by using your ATM card once a week to withdraw the amount of money for the week. Keep your cards at home, and even put your credit cards in a hard to reach place in your closet to keep you from using them.

Buy only what you really need. Most of us take shopping trips to buy items we really don't really need. Some claim shopping eases their tension, gets their mind off other things, or gives them much happiness.            38            . Try to replace shopping with some hobbies like riding your bike or taking a walk with friends.

Track your expenses. Sometimes restaurants and businesses will charge you the wrong amount, but you won't have the receipt to back up your claim. Other times, you might have inadequate funds for the check you just wrote. Keep your receipts, and spend a few minutes every night to double check your charges, and know the current balance of your bank account.      39      .

Check your credit score annually.          40           . If you do notice something wrong, you can send in correction letters, so your applications for credit cards, car loans, or a mortgage(房屋贷款) are approved.

A. Take the time to figure out what makes you buy unnecessary items.

B. Change how you spend your money.

C. It beats getting overcharged or having to pay an overdraft(透支) fee.

D. So if you’re the reason your money never seems to stick around, here are some strategies to help break five bad financial habits.

E. Use cash and not your card.

F. Get in the habit of checking your credit score to make sure there are no errors or inaccuracies.

G. However, if you are looking to make change and break your bad financial habits , use these tips.