Incentive Publications, Inc. Nashville, Tennessee

Illustrated by Kathleen Bullock Cover by Geoffrey Brittingham Edited by Charlotte Bosarge ISBN 0-86530-590-0 Copyright 2003 by Incentive Publications, Inc., Nashville, TN. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without written permission from Incentive Publications, Inc., with the exception below. Pages labeled with the statement 2003 by Incentive Publications, Inc., Nashville, TN are intended for reproduction. Permission is hereby granted to the purchaser of one copy of IF YOU RE TRYING TO GET BETTER GRADES & HIGHER TEST SCORES IN SOCIAL STUDIES, YOU VE GOTTA HAVE THIS BOOK! GRADES 6 & UP to reproduce these pages in sufficient quantities for meeting the purchaser s own classroom needs only. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 06 05 04 03 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA www.incentivepublications.com

GET READY... GET SET... GET SHARP 11 How to Use This Book 12 GET READY 13 Get Motivated 14 Letter to Parents 17 Get Organized 18 Get Your Space Organized 18 Get Your Stuff Organized 19 Get Your Time Organized 20 Get Your Assignments Organized 22 Get Yourself Organized 23 Get Healthy 24 Get a Grip (on Study Habits) 25 GET SET 29 Get Familiar with Social Studies Themes 30 Get Tuned-Up on Thinking Skills 32 Get Brushed-Up on Information Skills 37 Which Reference is Which? 37 Finding Information on the Internet 42 Good Stuff on the Web 43 Get Serious about Study Skills 44 Better Listening 44 Careful Reading 45 Summarizing & Paraphrasing 46 Outlining 47 Taking Notes 48

Preparing a Report 50 How to Prepare for a Test 54 How to Take a Test 56 GET SHARP... ON CULTURE & SOCIETY 59 Culture Some Things to Know about Culture 60 Influences on Culture 60 More Things to Know about Culture 61 Patterns & Expressions of Culture 63 Some Cultural Patterns Defined 63 Cultural Interactions 64 Societies & Social Groups 66 Social Roles 67 Institutions 68 Laws & Rules 69 Authority & Power 70 Political Systems 71 Religions 72 Celebrations 74 Languages 76 GET SHARP... ON GLOBES & MAPS 77 Using Globes & Maps 78 Globes 80 Longitude & Latitude 81 Earth's Grid 83 Maps 84 Physical Maps 84 Political Maps 84 Cultural Maps 85 Parts of a Map 86 Special Purpose Maps 87 Weather or Climate Maps 87 Elevation Maps 87

Grid Maps 88 Road or Route Maps 89 Floor Maps 90 Relative Location Maps 91 Distribution Maps 92 GET SHARP... ON WORLD GEOGRAPHY 93 Five Themes of Geography 94 The World's Land & Water 96 The Physical World 97 Earth's Amazing Surface 98 World Extremes 100 World Time Zones 102 The World's Nations 104 North America Political Divisions 114 South America Political Divisions 115 Europe Political Divisions 116 Africa Political Divisions 117 Asia Political Divisions 118 Australia & Oceania - Political Divisions 119 World Population 120 World Connections 122 World Organizations 123 The United Nations 124 Remarkable Creations 125 GET SHARP... ON U.S. GEOGRAPHY 129 U.S. Land and Water 130 U.S.A. Vital Statistics 132 The 50 States 134 The States Vital Statistics 136 U. S. Regions 142 The New England States 142 The Mid-Atlantic States 143 The Southern States 143

The Great Lakes States 144 The Midwestern States 144 The Rocky Mountain States 144 The Southwestern States 145 The Pacific Coast States 145 See the U.S.A. 146 Record-Setting Wonders 148 U. S. Time Zones 150 GET SHARP... ON WORLD HISTORY 151 Prehistory 152 The Old Stone Age 152 The New Stone Age 152 Early Civilizations 153 Sumer 153 Babylonia 153 Assyria 153 Hebrews 154 Phoenicians 154 Persians 154 Minoans & Mycenaens 154 Hittites 154 Indus Valley Civilizations 155 Egypt 155 Classical Greece 156 Rome 156 China 157 Japan 157 Kush 157 Ghana 157 Adenas and Hopewells 158 Mayans 158 Chavins and Moches 158 Omecs 158 Toltecs 159

Aztecs 159 Incas 159 Timeline of Key Events 160 World History Personalities 175 Spectacular Inventions & Discoveries 178 Conflicts & Connections 180 The Crusades 180 Hundred Years' War 180 The American Revolution 180 The French Revolution 180 Boer War 181 The Russian Revolution 181 World War I 181 World War II 181 The Arab-Israeli Wars 181 Korean War 182 Vietnam War 182 Iran-Iraq Wars 182 Persian Gulf War 182 Agreements & Alliances 182 GET SHARP... ON U.S. HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, & CITIZENSHIP 183 Early Americans 184 Early Cultures 184 The Eastern Woodlands 184 The Southeast 184 The Great Plains 185 The Southwest 185 The Plateau 185 The Great Basin 185 The Northwest 185 Timeline of Key Events 186 United States Presidents 199 Important Places & Spaces 200

Important Documents 202 The Declaration of Independence 202 The Articles of Confederation 202 The Constitution 203 The Bill of Rights 204 Some Other Amendments 205 The Legislative Branch 206 The House of Representatives 207 The Senate 207 How a Bill Becomes a Law 208 Powers & Limits on Power 209 The Executive Branch 210 The Cabinet 211 Cabinet Departments Agencies & Organizations 211 The Judicial Branch 212 Historic Supreme Court Decisions 213 Citizenship & Voting 214 Symbols & Traditions 216 Holidays 218 GET SHARP... ON ECONOMICS 219 Money 220 Coins 220 Paper Money 221 Getting Money 222 Using Money 223 Banking 224 Credit 226 Making Choices 228 Economically Speaking 230 Money & the Government 232 INDEX 233