Culture and Society How society is organized!

Think about the people you see everyday. Do you spend each day meeting new strangers? Or do you see the same family members, classmates, and teachers everyday? Chances are, there is a pattern to your interactions. A group of people sharing a culture is known as society every society has a society structure, or a pattern of organized relationships among groups of people within the society. A society may be as small as a single community or as large as a nation or even a group of similar nations. Smaller groups work together on particular tasks such as gathering food, protecting the community, and education. Social structure helps people work together to meet one another’s basic needs.

Family apart of society: The family is the basic most important social unit of any society. Families teach the customs of traditions of the culture to their children. Through their families, children learn how to dress, to be polite, and to play fh985OOwI Every family is different!

Different kinds of families Not all cultures define family in the same way. In some cultures, the basic unit is a nulear family, or a mother, a father, and their children. This pattern is common in developed nations such as the United States, Australia, and Germany. The nulear family gets its name from the word nuleus which means center.

Extended Family: Other cultures have extended families, or families that include several generations. In addition to a central nuclear family of parents and they sons or daughters, there are the wives or husbands of those sons or daughters. The family also includes grandchildren, or the children of those sons or daughters. In extended families, older people often help care for the children. They are respected for their knowledge and experience. Older family members pass on traditions. Extended families are less common than they use to be. As rural people move to cities, nuclear families are becoming more common.

What are some differences your family might have? Have you ever been in a situation like Steve’s roommate? Draw me a family tree and explain to me some differences that you and your family may do on a daily basses. For example: watch tv at supper, do you eat at the table, What are some traditions that you may have, do you go to church, do you have pets. Min write a page DOUBLE SPACES! I will give you 2 days to complete. Done tomorrow I will give you A bonus point!

Social classes: Cultures also have another kind of social organization called social class, or groupings of people on rank or status. A person’s status or position may come from his or her wealth, land, ancestors, or education. In some cultures in the past, it was often hard or impossible for people to move from one social class to another. Today, people in many societies can improve their status. They can obtain a good education, make more money, or marry someone of a higher class.

Language: People learn their culture mainly through language. Most communication with others depend on language. Think how hard it would be if you had no way to say “meet me by the gate after school.” How could you learn if you could not ask any questions?

EXAMPLE: A culture’s language reflects the things that are important in that culture. For example: English has words for Christian and Jewish concepts, such as baptism and sabbath. Some languages lack words for these concepts because their speakers are not Jewish or Christian. But those languages have words for concepts in their people’s religions that have no English translation.

In some countries, people speak more than one language. For example, Canada has two official languages, French and English. The US, you may usually hear English, but you can also hear Spanish, Chinese, Haitian, Creole, and many others. India has 16 official languages, but people there speak more than 800 languages! People who speak each language are culturally different in some way from other people in their country who speak other languages. They may celebrate different festivals or have different customs for such things as dating or education. That is because each language preserves shared ideas and traditions

Different gestures can mean different things in different countries. It is very easy to offend someone from a different country just by giving a greeting. Activity: I will give everyone in the class a piece of paper that describes different ways around the world to greet someone for the first time. Some of you may speak different languages. Try your best and do only what the card tells you to do. Have fun with this!

Homework: Family tree and give me a page double spaced on traditions that you have as a family. Remember Steve's roommate?

Section 2 questions: Define: Society, Social Structure, Social class, Nuclear Family, Extended Family 1. What is the role of social structure in society? 2. What is the place of families in a social structure? 3. Would you expect the members of one family to fall within one social class or more than one social class and why? 4. How is language related to culture? 5. Why do you think people who speak different languages tend to have different cultures?

1. Social structure organizes a society through a pattern of relationships, and helps people work together to meet the basic needs of individuals, families, and communities. 2. Families are the most basic and important unit in a social structure because that is where the most learning is learned. 3. Members of one nuclear family would likely fall within one social class, but the members of an extended family might fall within more than one class. 4. People learn culture mainly through language. 5. Each language preserves shared ideas and traditions.

Definitions: Society: A group of people sharing a culture Social Structure: A pattern of organized relationships among groups of people within a society. Social Class: a grouping of people based on rank or status. Nuclear Family: a mother, a father, and their children. Extended Family: A family that includes several generations.

Religion is an important part of every culture. For example most of the people of Saudi Arabia are Muslim. In some countries, such as US, people fallow more than one religion. Beliefs and practices may differ among religions. However, religion remains important to many people.

More religion: Religion can help people make sense of the world. Religion can provide comfort and hope for people facing difficult times. And religion can help answer questions about meaning and purpose of life. Religion also guides people in ethics, or standards of accepted behaviour.

Last part about religion: Religion beliefs vary. Members of some religions, such as Islam, Judaism, And Christianity, believe in one God. Members of other religions, such as Hinduism and Traditional religions, believe in more than one God. But all religions have prayers and rituals. Every religion celebrates important places and times. And all religions expect people to treat one another well and to behave properly.

1. What values do all religions share? 2. How might those values help people of different religions overcome conflicts? 3. What is your opinion on religion? (paragraph) 4. How does language connect you to society? (journal)

1. All have prayers and rituals, celebrate important places and times, and have standards of behavior. 2. People may be able to focus on their similarities rather than their differences. The rest is on your opinion so tell me what you think?