Average class size: ~34students

Student selection criteria: Any student that is in the 11th or 12th grade may sign up for the course.

Class schedule: The course spans 18 weeks (one semester). We meet every other day for 90 minutes.

Course purpose: The main goal is to make sure that students understand how sociology applies in the real world. By setting this as a goal, I find that the students enjoy the class more and come to be more observant of themselves and others in their social situations.

Most exams are multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer. They are designed to represent all the material in the readings, notes, and videos used in the classroom. An application project is included each six weeks.

Evaluation: There will be two exams each six weeks. Exams will count 50% of their six weeks grade. Other assignments will make up the remaining 50% of their grade.

This syllabus represents an overview of the academic Sociology course offered at New Braunfels High School. It was developed by George Kilford and adheres to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills requirements. In addition to TEKS, we will also discuss numerous studies regarding human behavior among groups.

 

Unit TEKS Requirements

1 The Sociological Point of View
-Examining social life 9A, 14B
-Sociological Imagination 15A-B
-Interpreting Visuals 15C-D
-Historical Figures 9B
-Sociological Perspectives 3B
-Suicide 6B, 11B, 13B,
17B, 16A&C

2 Culture
-The meaning of culture 12A-C
- Cultural Variation 5B, 10B, 17A, 18A-B
- The American Value System 5A, 4A-B
- Social Control 18A
- Social Change 7A-B

3 Social Structure and Conformity
- Building blocks of social structure 2A-B, 1B
- The Social Animal 1A

4 Socializing the Individual- Personality Development 15A&C
- The Social Self 15A
- Isolated children 13A
- Agents of Socialization 16B

5 The Adolescent in Society
- Characteristics of adolescents 3A
- Teens and dating 6A, 8C
- Challenges of adolescence 1A-B

6 The Adult in Society- Early and Middle Adulthood 8B
- The world of work 3A-B
- The later years 10A

7 Deviance and Social Control
- Functions of deviance 3A-B
- Explaining deviance 6B
- Crime 7B

8 Social Stratification
- Systems of stratification 3A
- American class system 6A
- Poverty 6A

9 Race and Ethnicity
- Race, ethnicity, and social structure 12A
- Patterns of intergroup relations 11A
- Minority groups in the U.S 10A

10 Gender 12A-B

11 Religion
- Religions of the world 12A-B
- Diversity and similarity 14A, 16A