Grade 07: Social science

In this unit, 'History: medieval kingdoms and trade routes', you learn to explain how rulers, trade and culture linked the region. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'History: medieval kingdoms and trade routes' 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: explain how rulers, trade and culture linked the region. 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, Place the kingdoms in time. The Chola king Rajaraja I ruled from 985 to 1014 CE, and the Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur was completed about 1010. The Delhi Sultanate began in 1206. Vijayanagara was founded in 1336. Babur won at Panipat in 1526.
2. Step 2, Do the arithmetic. From 1206 to 1526 is 320 years of the Delhi Sultanate era before the Mughal win at Panipat. Rajaraja's temple, built about 1010, is more than 1,000 years old today. Dates help sort causes and effects.
3. Step 3, Explain trade. Cholas had a strong navy; around 1025 Rajendra Chola led an expedition across the sea to Southeast Asia. Monsoon winds linked Indian ports with the Gulf, East Africa and China. Spices, cloth and horses moved along these sea and land routes.
4. Step 4, Show cultural links. Persian became the language of administration in the Delhi Sultanate, and Indo-Islamic buildings combined arches and domes with local craft. Vijayanagara ports exported spices and imported horses. Traders and travellers carried ideas as well as goods.
5. Step 5, Write a model answer: 'Trade mattered because rulers taxed goods at ports, which paid for temples and armies. For example, Chola ports sent cloth and spices overseas, so the kingdom grew rich and spread its culture.'
6. Step 6, Your turn: explain how the monsoon helped trade. Model answer: 'Winds blow from the south-west in summer and the north-east in winter, so sailors could cross to the Gulf and return on a fixed schedule.'

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Explain how rulers, trade and culture linked the region: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Geography: our changing Earth', you learn to describe forces that shape land and the rock cycle. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Geography: our changing Earth' 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 forces that shape land and the rock cycle. 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, Describe Earth's layers. The crust is thin, about 5 to 70 km. Below it the mantle is hot rock about 2,890 km deep. The outer core is liquid metal about 2,260 km thick, and the inner core is solid with a radius of about 1,220 km. Total radius is about 6,371 km.
2. Step 2, Describe internal forces. The crust is broken into slow plates, moving a few centimetres a year (say 5 cm for this sum), so in 1 million years that is 5 x 1,000,000 cm = 50 km. When plates collide, rock folds into mountains like the Himalayas. Sliding plates cause earthquakes, and magma reaching the surface forms volcanoes.
3. Step 3, Describe external forces. Weathering breaks rock in place by heat, frost and roots. Erosion carries pieces away by rivers, wind, glaciers and waves, and deposition drops them. Rivers cut V-shaped valleys and build deltas, wind builds dunes in deserts, and waves carve sea cliffs.
4. Step 4, Describe the rock cycle. Igneous rocks form when molten rock cools, such as granite and basalt. Sedimentary rocks form from layers of sediment pressed together, such as sandstone and limestone, and may hold fossils. Metamorphic rocks form from heat and pressure, such as marble from limestone and slate from shale.
5. Step 5, Model deposition. Shake sand, soil and water in a sealed jar, then let it settle: sand falls first, then silt, then clay, in layers. If a layer grows 1 mm a year, 1 m of rock takes 1,000 years to form. Wipe up spills at once to avoid slips.
6. Step 6, Your turn: name the rock type marble and say how it forms. Answer: metamorphic rock, formed when limestone is changed by heat and pressure deep in the crust.

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Describe forces that shape land and the rock cycle: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Geography: environment and natural vegetation', you learn to link climate to natural vegetation. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Geography: environment and natural vegetation' 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: link climate to natural vegetation. 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, Link climate to vegetation using imagined data. Station A: January 26 C, July 27 C, rainfall 250 cm a year. Station B: January 15 C, July 35 C, rainfall 15 cm. A is hot and very wet, so tropical rainforest; B is very dry with hot summers, so desert vegetation such as cacti and date palm.
2. Step 2, Calculate the range of temperature. Station A: 27 - 26 = 1 C. Station B: 35 - 15 = 20 C. A small range with heavy rain suggests an equatorial forest, like the Amazon or Congo basin. A large range with little rain fits a desert.
3. Step 3, Describe the forest and the desert. Rainforest trees are tall and evergreen, with dense layers and broad leaves. Desert plants have deep roots, thick stems for water and small leaves or spines. The UAE's ghaf tree survives in sandy dry land.
4. Step 4, Work out altitude. Temperature falls about 6.5 C for each 1,000 m. If a base town at sea level is 30 C, then at 3,000 m it is 30 - (3 x 6.5) = 10.5 C. So Himalayan slopes show forest zones changing with height.
5. Step 5, Write a model answer: 'Mangrove forests grow on salty tidal coasts, such as around Abu Dhabi and the Sundarbans, because their roots tolerate salt. They also protect the shore from waves and shelter fish.'
6. Step 6, Your turn: a region has 8 cm of rain a year and 40 C summers. Name its vegetation. Model answer: 'Hot desert vegetation, such as cactus or acacia, because water is scarce and plants must store water.'

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Link climate to natural vegetation: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Civics: democracy and equality', you learn to describe democratic values, equality and rights. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Civics: democracy and equality' 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 democratic values, equality and rights. 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, Describe democratic values. In a democracy, people choose their government by voting. Under universal adult franchise every adult citizen can vote, with one person one vote, whatever their wealth or background. In India the voting age is 18. Elections are held at regular intervals, such as every five years.
2. Step 2, Count a vote. A school council has 120 votes. Candidate A gets 54, B gets 38 and C gets 28. The total is 54 + 38 + 28 = 120. A has the most votes with 54 / 120 = 45 per cent. A majority needs more than half, which is 61 votes.
3. Step 3, Describe equality. Everyone has equal dignity and is equal before the law. Discrimination because of caste, religion, gender or place of birth is wrong. Equal opportunity means a girl and a boy have the same chance to study. Equal pay for equal work means the same job gets the same pay.
4. Step 4, Describe rights. Rights protect people from unfair treatment: freedom to speak, learn and gather peacefully, as long as we respect other people. Voting is a political right, and equal treatment in public places is a civil right. Rights come with duties, and the law applies to everyone, even leaders.
5. Step 5, Describe more values. Respect for minorities means that the majority cannot ignore others. Leaders are accountable, so they must answer questions and face the next election. A free press, a fair court and peaceful protest help citizens check power. Equality is also about real chances, such as fair access to school.
6. Step 6, Your turn: in an election of 100 votes the counts are 45, 35 and 20. Who wins, and is that a majority? Answer: the candidate with 45 wins by most votes, but 45 is not more than 50, so it is not a majority.

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Describe democratic values, equality and rights: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

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.

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.

This course: Grade 07 Social science is at this level. Its units include History: medieval kingdoms and trade routes; Geography: our changing Earth; Geography: environment and natural vegetation; Civics: democracy and equality.

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.