Culture – JSS1 Social Studies Lesson Note (Second Term)

Culture is the total way of life of a people, shared from one generation to another. It has two components: material culture, which covers physical objects such as food, dress and houses, and non-material culture, which covers non-physical things such as ideas, values, rules, norms, morals and languages.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• explain the meaning of culture
• state the two components of culture
• give examples of material and non-material culture
• state the importance of material culture
• state the importance of non-material culture

What are the components of culture?

Culture has two components: material culture and non-material culture.

What is material culture?

Material culture refers to the concrete physical objects and resources which people of a society use to define their culture. They include food, dress, houses, etc.

What is the importance of material culture?

1. It defines behaviour and perceptions.
2. It shows how people influence the environment and how the environment, in turn, influences them.
3. It shows the geographical distribution and uniformity of artefacts of a people.
4. It helps people to preserve their identity as a group.
5. It is used to make inferences about the material aspects of a people’s culture and history.

What is non-material culture?

Non-material culture refers to the non-physical ideas, values, rules, norms, morals, languages, etc. which people of a society use to define their culture.

What is the importance of non-material culture?

1. It helps to determine how members of a given culture think, feel and behave.
2. It helps in shaping societal development.
3. It helps to express oneness among people of the same culture.
4. It helps in showing patterns of communication in different cultures within a political society.
5. It consists of symbolic values passed down from one generation to the next.

Evaluation

1. Explain the meaning of culture.
2. Discuss the components of culture and their importance.