Alabama Social Studies SS24.S.3a
The Standard
- SS24.S.3
- Compare and contrast the three major sociological theories: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction.*
Apply the major sociological theories to a situation and evaluate the differences in interpretations.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies · Sociology Overview
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students look at one situation through three lenses. They explain how functionalism focuses on group order, conflict theory on power, and symbolic interactionism on everyday meanings.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a school phone rule, a student can explain why it might help a class run smoothly, who might have a say in making it, and what the rule means to students. They can say what each explanation leaves out.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think conflict theory means people are arguing, rather than asking who has power. They may assume functionalism says every rule is fair, or confuse symbolic interactionism with giving a personal opinion.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A school bans phones at lunch. Write one explanation from each of the three theories, then name one difference between the explanations.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs printed dress code evidence cards and three labeled mats: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Have them sort and defend each placement.
Ask: Who benefits from a dress code, and what might it mean to a student who gets sent home? Compare the explanations in writing.
Play a theory relay: give teams a school lunch line scenario and have each student add one explanation or limitation to a shared sheet.
Have students read the school phone policy, ask two classmates about it, and write one explanation from each of the three theories.
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Related Standards
- SS24.S.6a
Analyze deviance from each of the three sociological perspectives (interactionist, functional, and conflict).
- SS24.S.2
Explain methods and tools of research used by sociologists.*
- SS24.S.5c
Investigate and explain the impact of psychological theories that influence sociology, including Erikson’s Psychosocial Development, Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral ...
- SS24.S.3
Compare and contrast the three major sociological theories: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction.*
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