Grade 8 · Social Studies · Unit 7 of 28
How Societies Begin
Farming, surplus, stories and the environment
What your child practises
Children explore how people organized themselves to survive, how farming led to new jobs, how the natural environment shapes societies, and why different cultures have different origin stories.
Manitoba Curriculum learning outcome: 8-KI-009, 8-KI-010, 8-KL-022, 8-VI-004, 8-VL-008 · how societies organize and sustain themselves, origin stories and theories, the environment's influence and caring for it
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Two people explain the same event differently. A good response is to…
- ask about their reasons and compare
- call one wrong straight away
- stop listening
- decide without evidence
ask about their reasons and compare
Hint: Different views come from different experiences.
Question 2
Why did many early civilizations begin near rivers?
- rivers had no fish
- rivers gave water, fertile soil and ways to travel
- rivers were quiet
- rivers were always dry
rivers gave water, fertile soil and ways to travel
Hint: The environment shaped where people settled.
Question 3
Mountains and deserts often kept some societies…
- connected to all
- in the sky
- at sea
- separate from others
separate from others
Hint: Landforms can be barriers.
Question 4
A food surplus is…
- food that is spoiled
- more food than people need right away
- food for animals only
- too little food
more food than people need right away
Hint: Surplus lets some people do other jobs.
Question 5
The change to growing crops and raising animals is called the…
- digital revolution
- industrial revolution
- agricultural revolution
- printing revolution
agricultural revolution
Hint: Farming began thousands of years ago in several parts of the world.
Question 6
Why does the study of how societies began help us today?
- it replaces maps
- it shows why we have jobs, rules and traditions
- it explains the weather
- it is not related to today
it shows why we have jobs, rules and traditions
Hint: Many parts of modern life began long ago.