Social Studies Word Wall: Words and Meanings on Printable Cards

Flip a social studies word for its meaning, then print the set as label cards.

Social Studies Word Wall: Words and Meanings on Printable Cards

continent

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Next step Capitals and map words on flashcardsNext: find social studies words in a word search

All 60 words

Maps and globes 12

  • border A border is the line where one state or country ends and the next begins.
  • cardinal directions The cardinal directions are the four main ones: north, south, east and west.
  • compass rose A compass rose is the drawing on a map that shows north, south, east and west.
  • continent A continent is one of the seven largest areas of land on the Earth.
  • equator The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of the Earth, halfway between the poles.
  • globe A globe is a round model of the Earth that shows its land and water.
  • hemisphere A hemisphere is half of the Earth. The equator splits it into north and south halves.
  • map A map is a flat drawing that shows where things are in a place.
  • map key A map key is the box that tells what each symbol on the map stands for.
  • ocean An ocean is a huge body of salt water. Oceans cover most of the Earth.
  • scale A scale shows how a distance on the map matches the real distance on the ground.
  • symbol A symbol is a small picture or shape that stands for something real, such as a road.
Show all 60 words (48 more)

Community and citizenship 12

  • citizen A citizen is a member of a town, a state or a country.
  • community A community is a group of people who live, work or learn in the same place.
  • culture Culture is a group's way of life: its language, food, music, stories and customs.
  • law A law is a rule made by a government that everyone in the place must follow.
  • leader A leader is a person who guides a group and helps it decide what to do.
  • neighborhood A neighborhood is a small part of a town or city where people live near one another.
  • responsibility A responsibility is a duty, something you are expected to do, such as following rules.
  • rights Rights are things every person is free to do or have by law, such as going to school.
  • rule A rule tells what people may or may not do, at home, at school or in a game.
  • tradition A tradition is a way of doing something that a group hands down over the years.
  • volunteer A volunteer is a person who chooses to help without being paid.
  • vote To vote is to give your choice in a group decision, by a raised hand or a ballot.

Government 12

  • ballot A ballot is the paper or card on which a person marks a vote.
  • capital A capital is the city where the government of a state or country meets.
  • constitution A constitution is the written plan that says how a government works and what it may do.
  • council A council is a group of people chosen to make decisions for a town or city.
  • court A court is the place where a judge, and sometimes a jury, decides what the law says.
  • election An election is the time when people vote to choose a leader or decide a question.
  • government A government is the group of people who make and carry out the laws of a place.
  • governor A governor is the head of a state's government.
  • judge A judge is the person in charge of a court who decides questions of law.
  • mayor A mayor is the head of a city or town's government.
  • president In many countries, the president is the head of the country.
  • tax A tax is money people pay to a government for things all share, such as roads.

Needs, wants and money 12

  • consumer A consumer is a person who buys and uses goods or services.
  • earn To earn is to get money in return for work.
  • goods Goods are things people make or grow to sell, such as bread, shoes and bikes.
  • job A job is the work a person does to earn money.
  • money Money is what people use to pay for goods and services, such as coins and bills.
  • needs Needs are things people must have to live, such as food, water and shelter.
  • producer A producer is a person or business that makes goods or provides services.
  • save To save is to keep money to use later and not spend it now.
  • services Services are work people do for others, such as cutting hair or fixing a bike.
  • spend To spend is to use money to buy something.
  • trade To trade is to give one thing and get another in return.
  • wants Wants are things people would like to have but can live without, such as a toy.

Long ago and today 12

  • ancestor An ancestor is a person in your family who lived long before you.
  • artifact An artifact is an object people made or used long ago, such as a clay pot or a tool.
  • century A century is a span of one hundred years.
  • decade A decade is a span of ten years. Ten decades make a century.
  • future The future is the time that has not happened yet: tomorrow and after.
  • history History is the study of what happened in the past and the people who lived then.
  • invention An invention is something new that a person thought up and made for the first time.
  • museum A museum is a building that keeps and shows objects from art, science or history.
  • past The past is the time before now: yesterday, last year and long ago.
  • present The present is the time that is happening now: today.
  • primary source A primary source was made at the time by someone who was there, such as a letter.
  • timeline A timeline is a line that shows events in the order they happened.

How this list was compiled: Own work: our own choice of 60 social studies words, sorted into five sets of twelve, with a meaning and a sentence written for each. No person, political party or country is named. Each meaning was compared on 2026-09-30 with the entry in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q= plus the word) (for example mayor: the head of government of a city or town; constitution; ballot: a sheet of paper or a card; capital: the seat of government; goods; services; producer; consumer; artifact; ancestor). Compass rose, primary source and the key of a map were read in the Cambridge Dictionary, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/ plus the word. Read the same day in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_direction , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equator (halfway between the poles), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_source . Licence: own work

How it works

This social studies word wall has 60 words in five sets of twelve: maps and globes, community and citizenship, government, needs, wants and money, and long ago and today. No person, party or country is named.

Read the full guide

Five sets, one for each unit

The page opens on Maps and globes, with continent, equator and compass rose. Community and citizenship has citizen, law and vote. Government has mayor, governor and election. Needs, wants and money has goods, services and consumer. Long ago and today has timeline, century and artifact.

Print the set you are teaching

Print 12 labels puts the set on a single sheet as 60 mm squares for a pocket chart or a ring, and Print 12 cards adds the meanings on a second sheet, so pupils can quiz each other in pairs. Change sets under Show only.

  • Goods are things and services are work. Sort ten examples from the classroom into the two piles.
  • A mayor heads a city or town; a governor heads a state. Add the names for your own town and state.
  • A decade is ten years, and ten decades make a century.

Questions and answers

What words go on a social studies word wall?

The words of the unit you are teaching: map words such as continent and equator, civics words such as citizen, law and vote, money words such as goods and services, and time words such as past, century and artifact.

What is the difference between a rule and a law?

A rule tells people what they may do at home, at school or in a game. A law is a rule made by a government, and everyone in that place must follow it.

Are any people or countries named on the cards?

No. Words such as president, governor and election are explained in general terms, so one set serves any class. You add the names your own lessons need.

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