Alabama Social Studies SS24.S.11a

Social StudiesGrades 9–12Social Issues and Social Change

The Standard

SS24.S.11: Explain why social movements form, and identify the factors that produce large-scale social change as a result of these movements.*

Compare and contrast the major theories of collective behavior, including contagion theory, convergence theory, and emergent norm theory.*

2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies · Social Issues and Social Change

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain three ways a crowd can act together: behavior spreads, people with shared views gather, or new rules take shape as people interact. They use details from an event to tell these explanations apart.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given a crowd scene, a student can identify which explanation fits each detail. They can point to shared views people brought with them, copied behavior, or a new group rule as evidence.
Common Misconceptions: Students may treat every chant as proof that behavior spread through the crowd, even when people arrived ready to chant. They may mistake a new rule made by the crowd for one set by organizers.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Name the theory that best fits each clue and explain why: 'cheers spread through a crowd,' 'people who already oppose a policy gather,' and 'strangers invent a turn-taking rule during a delay.'

Lesson moves

Give pairs a bus-stop sketch and three sticky notes labeled 'already upset,' 'copies a complaint,' and 'new boarding rule'; sort them under theory headings.
Ask: 'At a planned protest, which theory explains why people came, and which could explain a chant that starts there?'
Call out 'cheer spreads,' 'protesters arrive with shared goals,' and 'riders invent a boarding rule'; students flash theory cards and defend one answer.
At a school game, compare fans arriving to cheer, a chant spreading, and students inventing a concession-line rule; name the theory for each.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SS24.S.11a, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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