1. Tools to Organize and Analyze the Past –
Unit 1 – Lesson 7
Tools to Organize and Analyze the Past –
Social Institutions

2. Why do historians often investigate social institutions?
Historian Tools
Significance
Social
Institutions
Time
(Temporal Frame)
Space
(Spatial Scale)
When something happened
Being worthy of a historian’s attention
Education
Religion
Government
Family
Economy
Language
Where something happened
Why do historians often investigate social institutions?

3. Perspectives on the Past
What would a group of people need to develop in order to survive as a group for at least 100 years?

4. Our Ideas

5. What would a group of people need to develop in order to survive as a group for at least 100 years?
1. A way to produce and distribute goods such as food
2. A system for providing law and order
3. A way for people to share knowledge and learning
4. A set of beliefs and practices to help people make sense of the world
5. A way to communicate
6. A system of caring for and raising children

6. Matching Education Government Religion Family Language Economy
1. A way to produce and distribute goods such as food
2. A system for providing law and order
3. A way for people to share knowledge and learning
4. A set of beliefs and practices to help people make sense of the world
5. A way to communicate
6. A system of caring for and raising children
Matching

7. Down the Line
Do you think each of these social institutions address “needs?” Are these necessary elements in human culture or society? Why or why not?
How has our society met societal needs? Do we have some variation in these?

8. E = Education G = Government L = Language R = Religion EC = Economy
ACTIVITY
Just an introduction
Label examples of social institutions in the text.
E = Education
G = Government
L = Language
R = Religion
EC = Economy
F = Family

9. Lesson Summary
Four tools that historians use to organize information include significance, social institutions, time, and space.
Long-lasting patterns of meeting these basic social needs result in the creation of social institutions such as an economy, government, family, education, religion, and language.
Using social institutions to organize and analyze an account is important for both the historian and reader.
Analyzing and describing social institutions enables comparisons among societies.