The People's Share
GED · Social Studies · 70 minutes

Social Studies

Civics, history, economics, and geography, and the reading skills the test uses for all four.

The test: 70 minutes. Most questions give you a passage, a map, a chart, or a cartoon and ask you to read it. The subjects, by share of the test:

Flyover

Level one · an introduction to the whole subject · read these first

  1. 1
    The American StorySeven movements, from before 1492 to now: the story the other four sets keep pointing into.
  2. 2
    The Civics FlyoverSeven questions about how American government works, and the fights over it.
  3. 3
    The Economics FlyoverSeven questions about making, choosing, and getting.
  4. 4
    The Geography FlyoverSix pages: maps, settlement, migration, borders, the land, and one connected world.
  5. 5
    Round Trip to the Big BangEight parts: out to the beginning of everything, and back to this morning.

All five sets are also gathered on one page: The Social Studies Flyover.

Diagnostics

What you already know, and what to work on first · one for each subject

30 questions · half the testCivics DiagnosticEight short parts, from kinds of government to voting and public policy. It checks itself, and a results table tells you where to go next. 30 questionsU.S. History DiagnosticEight parts, from before 1492 to the years since September 11, 2001, following the seven Movements of the American Story. 30 questionsEconomics DiagnosticSeven parts: choices and scarcity, markets and prices, wages, money and credit, the big numbers, government, and key events. 27 questionsGeography DiagnosticSeven parts: reading maps, where people live, why people move, borders, people and the land, population, and trade. 28 questionsWorld History DiagnosticSeven parts, from the first humans and farming through ancient civilizations, empires, revolutions, and the world today. 30 questions · for every subjectReading Skills DiagnosticMost questions on the test ask you to read something: a passage, a source, a map, a timeline, a chart, a cartoon. This checks those ten skills, and every answer is in the material itself. Each part points to the skills quiz that teaches it.

Skills Quizzes

How to read the test’s passages, sources, maps, graphs, and cartoons

Ancient America to the Singularity · the toolkitTen quizzes on the reading skills every Social Studies question depends on. Each one teaches the skill first, then asks, and explains every answer.

Also in the series: Interlude I, a reading with nothing scored, and the Map of the Terrain, which shows all seventy-two topics the series will reach.

Drills

Short sets of questions, one thing at a time, numbered in order

drillsSocial Studies DrillsTen questions at a time (or five) on one small piece of the subject, with two worked examples first and the reasoning for every answer. The drills follow the Map of the Terrain in order, so you can work straight down the list. Family I, the Toolkit (the reading skills behind almost every question), has all thirty-three, from reading a passage through maps, graphs, political cartoons and numbers, with a mixed review at the end; Family II, Foundations of American Government, has all twenty-six; and Family III, Rights, Citizens, and Politics, has its first drills, on the Bill of Rights and the landmark cases.

The Long Hike

Level two · lessons at length, subject by subject

Civics and Government 50 percent: half the test

lessonsCivics, Chapter by ChapterThe whole civics half of the test in twelve chapters, from where government gets its power to what citizens can do. Each chapter tells the story, reads the documents in plain words, and ends with twelve test-style questions and a key. Chapters 1 through 7 are here now, with All the Amendments. lessonThe Bill of RightsThe first ten amendments, one at a time: the words, what they mean in plain English, what they protect in daily life, and the court cases behind them. Twelve test-style questions at the end. lesson and referenceAll the AmendmentsAll twenty-seven changes to the Constitution, how an amendment is made, and the story behind each one, grouped by what they did. Twelve test-style questions at the end. readingsRights on PaperTwelve true stories of rights won and denied, from Clarence Gideon’s pencil to Kalief Browder’s three years on Rikers, with the Constitution’s own words beside each, and two arguments to weigh. Every reading prints on its own.
readingMerit or Diversity? A False ChoiceAn article on an argument about fairness, jobs, and schools. First write your own answers on the Start Here page, then read the article and argue with it.

U.S. History 20 percent of the test

Track A · readThe American Story, Read at LengthThe seven Movements of the American Story flyover, taken further: readings and videos for each, two voices from people who were there, and questions to take home. The pages open as Word files for now. Track B · watchThe Khan Academy U.S. History Course, with Our NotesThe whole Khan Academy course, nine periods in order, with a page of notes beside each video and readings that fill its gaps. Your progress saves on your device. The notes open as Word files for now.
comingThe history trailThe Ancient America series continues past the toolkit into the American story, two quizzes at a time.
appWhen Was That?Every event in order, with the dates worth knowing by heart marked with a star.

Economics 15 percent of the test

reading, from Language ArtsThe minimum wageA test-length article with questions, on one of the economics arguments the test likes to use.
comingEconomics lessonsSupply and demand, money and banks, wages, the big numbers, and government’s role, at length.

Geography and the World 15 percent of the test

skills quiz 3Reading MapsTitle, legend, compass, and scale bar: the first thing every map question asks of you.
comingGeography lessonsWhere people live and why they move, borders, resources, and the environment, at length.

The Deep Dive

Level three · full courses and primary sources on other sites

Every source tells its story from somewhere. Each line below says who made the source and what it pays most attention to, so you can read it knowing where it stands.

Civics and government
  • Khan Academy, U.S. Government and Civics · a full course in short videos and practice questions, built to follow the AP U.S. Government course. It explains how the system is designed to work.
  • ushistory.org, American Government · an online textbook from the Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia. A standard survey of how American government is organized.
  • Landmark Cases · Supreme Court cases told as stories, with the background, the arguments on each side, and the decision. Made by Street Law and the Supreme Court Historical Society. We read these in class.
  • Oyez · a free archive of Supreme Court cases, with short summaries and recordings of the arguments made in the courtroom.
  • iCivics · free civics games and readings, started by retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. It teaches how government works and how to take part.
  • Annenberg Classroom, Guide to the Constitution · the Constitution part by part, each beside a plain explanation, from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, with short videos on the Constitution and court cases.
U.S. history
  • Khan Academy, U.S. History · a survey course in short videos, built to follow the AP U.S. History course, period by period. It follows mostly the national and political story.
  • ushistory.org, U.S. History · an online textbook from the Independence Hall Association. A standard survey, from before European contact to recent decades.
  • Zinn Education Project · lessons and readings that teach history from the experience of working people, enslaved people, women, and movements for change, from Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change.
The founding documents
  • National Archives, Milestone Documents · the documents themselves, kept by the federal government’s archive: the Declaration, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and more, each with a short introduction.
Economics
  • Khan Academy, Economics · courses in short videos on markets, money, and the national economy, built to follow the AP economics courses. It teaches the standard textbook approach.
For every subject

Practice Tests

Before test day · under the clock

nowPractice tests on GED.comSign in to your GED.com account. There is a free practice test, and GED Ready, the official practice test, which costs a small fee and tells you whether you are likely to pass.
comingOur full-length practice testSeventy minutes, as on the test, across all four subjects.
comingBefore the Test: Civics in One SittingThe last look before test day: the terms, the famous quotations, the pairs that are easy to mix up, and a mixed set of questions, drawn from all twelve civics chapters.

Apps

Pages you work with your hands · nothing is scored

When Was That?All of time, from the Big Bang to today, in eight parts. Tap any event to read about it. A game at the bottom, Before or After?, asks which of two events came first. The quipu machineCounting the way the Inca did, with knots on cords. It goes with Skills Quiz 10.

Homework and Bulletins!

Assignments and notices for every class are posted out front, on the GED page.