Oklahoma Social Studies S.3.2
The Standard
- S.3
- Examine the social construction of groups and their impact on individuals.
Describe various subcultures and countercultures and explain their influence according to sociological perspectives.
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026) · S.3
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify a group's shared habits, symbols, and values. They distinguish groups that differ from mainstream culture from groups that challenge its norms. They explain a group's influence using at least two sociological perspectives.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain why sneaker collectors are a subculture and why 1960s hippie communes were countercultural. They can explain a school ban on punk hairstyles as a struggle over who sets rules and as a disagreement over what the hairstyle means.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students call any group with unusual clothes a counterculture, even if it does not challenge mainstream norms. Others assume everyone in a group thinks alike. Students may name conflict theory without discussing power.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A school bans punk hairstyles. Explain why punk can be both a subculture and a counterculture, then interpret the ban using conflict theory and symbolic interactionism.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs printed descriptions of sneaker collectors and 1960s hippie communes; have them underline group norms and circle practices challenging mainstream norms.
Ask: How would conflict theory and symbolic interactionism explain a clothing brand selling punk-style jackets?
Play theory match: pairs link functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism cards to skatepark claims about community ties, space control, and skater identity.
Show a skate shop ad and a city skatepark sign; students name one way skateboard culture affects local businesses or public space.
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Printable S.3.2 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- S.2.4
Describe various subcultures, counter cultures, and social movements, and explain their influence according to sociological perspectives.
- 7.P.2.2.B
Describe multiple factors and explain how they can influence the perspectives of individuals and groups on events from history and the modern era.
- 6.P.2.2.B
Describe multiple factors and explain how they can influence the perspectives of individuals and groups on events from history and the modern era.
- S.2
Examine the influence of culture and the way cultural transmission is accomplished.
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