Standard Indicator
7.5.2
Social Status
Purpose
Students will explain the term social status, describe how this concept
helped determine individual roles in African and Asian societies in the
past, and compare with ideas about social status today.
Materials
For the teacher: chalk, chalkboard
For each student: copy of Black Line Master (BLM) Social Status
Pyramid, pencil, writing paper, social studies textbook
For the class: access to encyclopedias or the Internet
Activity
A. Pre-Activity Discussion
1. Ask students: “What is social status?” Discuss students’ responses.
2. Explain that social status is a way of explaining the position a
person has in a society based on his or her social class or
standing. Discuss the meaning of class with students.
3. Ask students to name indicators of social status today
and write students’ suggestions on the chalkboard.
4. Draw a pyramid on the chalkboard.
5. Explain that most societies are shaped like a pyramid, because
there are fewer people in the upper classes and the majority of
people in the middle and lower classes. Ask: “Does our society
follow this model?”
6. Explain to students that researching the way that past societies
were structured can help us understand why present societies are
structured in certain ways.
(continued)
Standard 5 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 1
Indiana Social Studies Grade 7 Standards Resource, February 2003
curriculum
English/
Language Arts
Have students write
a brief summary of the
information they read.
Instruct them to write
down the main ideas
and analyze similarities
between the two
countries.
extending
THE
ACTIVITY
Have students draw
three large pyramids
on separate pieces of
poster board: one for
present-day America,
one for ancient Egypt,
and one for ancient
Japan. Have students
label the different levels
of social structure for
each pyramid. Discuss
the similarities among
the pyramids.
Standards Links
7.5.1, 7.5.8
page 199
Standard 5
B. Social Status Across the Ages
1. Tell students that they are going to research two historical
societies: Egypt and Japan. Clarify that they should look for
information on ancient Egypt and imperial Japan during the
early Tokugawa Shogunate (ca. 1600−1700).
2. Pass out copies of the BLM Social Status Pyramid.
3. Review the instructions on the BLM with students and explain
that they will need to use their textbooks, encyclopedias, or the
Internet to complete the BLM.
4. Allow students time to work on the BLM in class.
connecting
across the
Activity (continued)
5. When students have finished, read the questions on the BLM
aloud and have student volunteers read their answers aloud.
6. Lead a class discussion about the similarities in social structure
between the two countries and compare those similarities to
today’s societies.
Questions for Review
Basic Concepts and Processes
During the class discussion, ask students:
How did social status determine the role of an individual
in ancient Egypt and Japan?
How does social status determine our roles in society today?
What factors determine our social status today?
How would a person’s social status change?
How is it possible for a minority of people to hold the power
in society?
Standard 5
Why do you think the pyramid model of society hasn’t
changed much over time?
page 200
Standard 5 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 1
Indiana Social Studies Grade 7 Standards Resource, February 2003
Name:
Social Status Pyramid
Directions: Use the following worksheet to discover more about the
past societies of Egypt and Japan. Write your answers to the questions
on a separate piece of paper. Be sure to use a complete sentence for
each answer.
1. What people were at the top of the social order in ancient Egypt?
2. What kind of life did Egypt’s upper classes live?
3. Who made up the middle class in ancient Egypt?
4. Who made up the lower class in Egypt?
5. What kind of life did Egypt’s lower classes live?
6. How does ancient Egypt’s social structure compare to our social structure today?
7. How many classes were there in Japanese society during the seventeenth century
(the early Tokugawa Shogunate)? Name them from the uppermost class down.
8. Which class held the most political power?
9. Why were merchants considered to be the lowest class?
10. How could you tell if a person was a samurai?
11. Why would it have been important to the rulers of Japan to enforce such rigid social
rules and classes?
12. How does Japanese society in this period
compare to our society today?
Standard 5 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 1
Indiana Social Studies Grade 7 Standards Resource, February 2003
Black Line Master 1
page 201
Social Status Pyramid
Teacher Directions
Tell students that they are going to research two historical societies: Egypt and Japan. Clarify
that they should look for information on ancient Egypt and imperial Japan during the early
Tokugawa Shogunate (ca. 1600−1700).
Pass out copies of the BLM Social Status Pyramid. Review the instructions on the BLM with
students and explain that they will need to use their textbooks, encyclopedias, or the Internet
to complete the BLM. Allow students time to work on the BLM in class.
When students have finished, read the questions on the BLM aloud and have student volunteers
read their answers aloud. Lead a class discussion about the similarities in social structure
between the two countries and compare those similarities to today’s societies.
Answer Key
Any reasonable answers similar to the following:
1. Royalty, nobles, and priests made up the top level of the Egyptian social order.
2. The upper classes in Egypt lived a life of luxury filled with hunting, boat rides, and parties.
They lived in elaborate, large homes.
3. The middle class was made up of artisans, scribes, merchants, and tax collectors.
4. Most people in the Egyptian lower classes were farmers or builders.
5. Peasants lived a life of hard work to supply the needs and wants of the upper class.
They paid rent to the king.
6. Answers will vary.
7. There were four classes: the samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants.
8. The samurai held all the political power.
9. Merchants were the lowest class because they only sold and bought goods;
they did not produce goods.
10. Samurai carried swords and wore a distinctive topknot in their hair.
11. The rulers wanted to make sure that they were secure in their political
power and that the society remained stable.
12. Answers will vary.
Black Line Master 1
page 202
Standard 5 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 1
Indiana Social Studies Grade 7 Standards Resource, February 2003