Grade 03: Social science

In this unit, 'The United Arab Emirates', you learn to locate the seven emirates, describe leaders, symbols, landmarks and heritage. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'The United Arab Emirates' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: locate the seven emirates, describe leaders, symbols, landmarks and heritage. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Locate the UAE. It lies on the south-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian Gulf is to the north and the Gulf of Oman is to the east. Saudi Arabia is to the south and west, and Oman is to the east and north. Find these on a map using a compass rose.
2. Step 2, Locate the seven emirates. Abu Dhabi is the largest and lies to the west and south. Going north-east along the Gulf coast come Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah. Fujairah is on the east coast. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are roughly 140 to 150 km apart by road.
3. Step 3, Describe the leaders. The seven Rulers form the Federal Supreme Council, the highest authority, and they choose the President, who serves for five years. The President leads the country, while each Ruler also leads their own emirate. Abu Dhabi is the capital city.
4. Step 4, Describe national symbols. The flag has red, green, white and black. The emblem shows a falcon, and the country also has a national anthem. National Day is 2 December, remembering the union of 1971, and Flag Day is 3 November. The ghaf tree and the Arabian oryx are also treasured.
5. Step 5, Describe landmarks and heritage. Burj Khalifa in Dubai is about 828 m tall (check the current figure), and Al Jahili Fort stands in Al Ain. Heritage includes dhows (wooden boats), pearl diving, falconry, and the majlis, a sitting place to welcome guests with Arabic coffee and dates. Oasis farmers grew date palms.
6. Step 6, Your turn: write three sentences about the UAE: one locating an emirate, one about a symbol, one about heritage. Model answer: Fujairah is on the east coast. The falcon is a symbol of the UAE. A dhow is a traditional wooden boat used for fishing and pearl diving.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Locate the seven emirates, describe leaders, symbols, landmarks and heritage: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Maps and directions', you learn to read a simple map using a key and compass points. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Maps and directions' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: read a simple map using a key and compass points. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Learn the four main directions: North at the top of the map, South at the bottom, East on the right and West on the left. Between them are North-East, South-East, South-West and North-West. A compass rose shows these on the map.
2. Step 2, Read a key. In a town map, a blue wavy line means river, a green patch means park, a red cross means hospital and a black square means school. Find each symbol first, then answer questions about the places.
3. Step 3, Work a case. The school is at the centre. The park is to the west of the school, the hospital is north of the school, and the market is east. Question: where is the market from the park? Answer: east, past the school.
4. Step 4, Give a route. A girl starts at the hospital. She walks south to the school, then turns west to the park. Directions: 'Go south, then west.' Write turns as pairs of directions, so the path is clear.
5. Step 5, Use a trick. If you face north, your right hand points east and your left hand points west. Facing north, the library on your right is east of you. Use this to check answers.
6. Step 6, Your turn: using the same map, give directions from the market to the park. Model answer: 'From the market go west past the school, and keep going west until you reach the park.'

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Read a simple map using a key and compass points: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Communities and helpers', you learn to describe how people work together and why services matter. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Communities and helpers' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: describe how people work together and why services matter. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, People in a community work together. To build a new road, surveyors measure the land, engineers draw the plan, workers lay the stones, and the council pays for it. Each does a part, and the road serves everyone.
2. Step 2, Name services: water supply, electricity, waste collection, health care, schools and transport. These are shared, so everyone can use them. Question: why does a city need waste collection? Answer: to keep streets clean and prevent illness.
3. Step 3, Do a worked calculation. If 40 families each put out 1 bag of rubbish daily, that is 40 bags a day. Over 7 days it is 40 x 7 = 280 bags. If collection stops, that pile grows quickly and causes smells and disease.
4. Step 4, Think of a case. A water pipe bursts in a street. A resident phones the utility, a repair team digs and mends the pipe, and neighbours save water meanwhile. Many people cooperate to fix one problem.
5. Step 5, Write a model answer: 'Services matter because people cannot do everything alone. A nurse treats the sick, a driver brings workers to jobs, and together they keep the community healthy and moving.'
6. Step 6, Your turn: describe how people work together to keep a school safe. Model answer: 'The guard checks visitors, the teacher watches the playground and the nurse treats injuries. Together they make school safe.'

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Describe how people work together and why services matter: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Heritage and traditions', you learn to describe traditional life in the Gulf and what we keep today. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Heritage and traditions' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: describe traditional life in the Gulf and what we keep today. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Long ago, many Gulf families lived by the sea or in the desert. Coastal people fished and dived for pearls from wooden boats called dhows. The pearl season ran through the hot summer months, and divers worked with nose clips and stones.
2. Step 2, Desert families, called Bedouin, moved with camels and goats to find water and grass. They lived in tents, drank Arabic coffee from a dallah and welcomed guests in a majlis. Oasis families grew date palms.
3. Step 3, Make a timeline. Pearl diving was important until the 1930s, when cultured pearls from Japan lowered demand. Oil was first exported from Abu Dhabi in 1962. The UAE was formed on 2 December 1971. Life changed with new schools and roads.
4. Step 4, Name what we keep. People still serve dates and coffee to guests, practise falconry, wear the kandura and abaya, and visit heritage villages and souqs. National Day on 2 December remembers the union of the emirates.
5. Step 5, Compare past and present in a model answer: 'Long ago families travelled by camel or dhow. Today we use cars and planes, but we still keep the custom of welcoming guests with coffee and dates.'
6. Step 6, Your turn: pick one tradition and say why it is kept. Model answer: 'Falconry is kept because it shows skills from the desert and teaches patience. Today it is shown at heritage festivals.'

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Describe traditional life in the Gulf and what we keep today: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Community helpers

Notes: Name three community helpers and say what each does. Notes: use pictures of a nurse, a bus driver and a shopkeeper; learners match each helper to a tool and say one way they help the neighbourhood.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Needs, wants and rules

Notes: Tell needs from wants and say why rules help a group. Notes: sort ten picture cards into needs and wants, then vote on one class rule and count the hands: 14 for and 6 against, so 20 voters took part.

This course: Grade 03 Social science is at this level. Its units include The United Arab Emirates; Maps and directions; Communities and helpers; Heritage and traditions.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Government and markets

Notes: Describe local, regional and national government and how a simple market works. Notes: follow one pencil from maker to shop; if it costs 4 to make and sells for 6, the margin is 2, which is 50 per cent of cost. Learners name one service each level provides.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Rights, duties and prices

Notes: Explain how supply and demand affect price and why rights come with duties. Notes: if a bad season cuts mangoes from 100 to 60 crates while buyers stay the same, price tends to rise; learners draw the two lines and predict direction before stating a duty tied to a right.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Reading social data

Notes: Interpret a table of census or survey data and compare how two institutions work. Notes: a population rising from 2.4 to 2.7 million in ten years grew by 12.5 per cent; learners give two possible reasons and one limit of the data.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Theory and research methods

Notes: Apply core social science theories and methods to a social problem. Notes: compare a survey with interviews for one question. Practice: an economy of 600 billion with 50 million people is 12,000 per person, and learners explain what an average hides, such as unequal shares.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Causal research design

Notes: Design and critique a causal study with ethics, consent and clear limits. Notes: in a before-and-after comparison, the treated group rises 8 points and the comparison group 3, so the estimated effect is 5 points if trends would have run parallel. Learners test that assumption.