Title: Social structure, status & roles
Plan by: Connie Mogen
Time: 85 min.
Course: Sociology
Grade: 12

Materials: text book, chalk board, deck of cards

Objectives:
1. Students will be to define terms for Sections 1 & 2, Chapter 5.
        Section 1                    Section 2
        Social structure           role
        ascribed status            rights
        achieved status           obligations
        status set                     role perfomance
        master status               social interaction
                                           role conflict
                                           role strain

Brief review of ch 4
Introduce Chapter 5
Discuss Social Structure
    Discuss strange classroom on p.139
        Why was it strange?
        What's different?
         What are the usual roles of our society called?
          Why do we need social structure?
Do activity with deck of cards to demonstrate ascribed status. Give each
student a card. Write on the board what status each card represents.
        K,Q,J= privileged
        10,9,8,7 =semi-privileged
        6,5,4= not privileged
        3,2,1,= inferior
Discuss ascribed and acheived status(p. 141)
        Can you give examples of  ascribed status?
                gender, eye color, hair type, race
        Can you give examples of acheived status?
                 doctor, lawyer, minister, president, engineer
        Could a status be both ascribed and acheived?
                Ex. student - you are students because you have to be. I
am a student because I chose to                 be.
Discuss status sets and master status.(p. 142)
    Can we have more than one status?
        Have students give examples and write them on the board.
    What are all out statuses called?
        status sets
    Are all our statuses the same? Are some more important? What are the
more important statuses     called?  Why? Are master statuses achieved
or ascribed?  List examples of both on the board.
Discuss experiment: Adopting statuses in a simulated prison (p. 144).
       Why did "guards" treat the "prisoners" so badly? Why do you think
 the "prisoners" tolerated the mistreatment?
        Briefly relate to my experience working at the Developmental
Center especially steareotyping         of roles of residents and staff.
Discuss roles, rights and obligations (p. 146).
    role= expected behavior associated with a status
    What are your rights as students?  As a son or daughter?  What are
your obligations in those             roles?
Discuss role performance and social interaction.(p.147)
    Discuss ex. in text- boys fighting to try to influence each other.
 Are insults cues to the next "act"?
Discuss Snapshot of America(p. 149).
    Which two states had the highest rate of  school expulsions for gun
violations?  Why was S. D. so high? Yet with this high rate we don't
have school shootings. Why? Colorado had a very low rate     of
expulsions but the Columbine shootings happened there the year after
this report. What does     this mean? Do you think the statistics were
accurate?
Discuss role conflict and role strain(p.149).
    Use myself as example.  I am a student, employee, wife, mother,
grandmother, daughter, sibling. Could I have conflict in all those
roles?
    Could we have conflict within a role?  Example- student with too
many assignments due at once.
Discuss two-career families(p. 152).
    How many of you have working mothers?  Is there role strain for her?
 For your dad?  You?  What could you do to relieve the strain
for her?

Have students and Mr. Murphy fill out evalutions on me.  Thank them for
allowing me this opportunity!