System analysis offers the teacher a significant organizational device for studying society and social problems in the classroom. System analysis can be used directly to describe and understand the relationships and interactions between individuals, bridging the distance between learning conceptually and learning directly from personal experience. Another pedagogical advantage of the system approach is that it can be taught in its own right as subject matter, or it can be used as a vehicle for producing greater understanding of matter taught in history, sociology, etc. The fundamental characteristics of a system, representing the interaction of two or more parts, are goal- or non-goal-orientation; mechanical, social, and natural types; the functions of detecting, selecting, and effecting; intrasystems; intersystems; communication and transaction capabilities; and change and equilibrium. These characteristics, diagrammed and applied to the concepts of family and poverty and to ecological problems illustrate use of the method. Numerous examples of elementary level classroom activities exploring the characteristics of system ideas and relating system concepts directly to student's daily lives are also included in this document. (JH)