Jennifer Orr on Data Retrieval Charts

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Detail, data retrieval chart
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Young children take in ideas at an astounding rate. Because so much is new to them they have to process and make sense of much more than adults do. It is critical, therefore, that we help students with this process. Data retrieval charts offer a way to visually show the organization of and connections between information. This makes it easier for students to make sense of and more deeply understand what they are learning.

Data retrieval charts are exactly what the name suggests: a chart for data. I have used them frequently with my first graders because they are a wonderful visual tool for understanding concepts that are new or challenging.

Data retrieval charts are exactly what the name suggests: a chart for data.

At the beginning of first grade we explore the idea of past and present. Six year olds struggle with comprehending anything that happened before they were born. So we look at past and present through four areas: school, family life, community, and transportation; all ideas with which young children have some experience. The chart has those topics across the top with two rows below them, one for past and one for present. As we read books, look at images, watch videos, interview people, or gather data in any other way we add it to our chart. We add words, phrases, sentences, and pictures.

One positive characteristic of a data retrieval chart is its visual nature. It hangs in our room throughout our study of past and present and often beyond it. That way students see it often, can add to it whenever we want, and can use it to help us understand the rest of our social studies curriculum. Therein lies the retrieval piece of a data retrieval chart.

We also study several famous Americans during the year: Ben Franklin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington Carver. The curricular expectation is that students will understand the contributions made to our country by these men. Our data retrieval chart for this study has the names of the men down one side with several categories across the top: date of birth and death (with a timeline along the bottom to support their understanding of when each man lived), contributions, and interesting facts. I include interesting facts because my students inevitably learn things about these men that are not really contributions but that fascinate them. Some years my students have requested other columns added to fit their interests, such as one about family or childhood.

Students often return to our data retrieval charts as we learn new things about American history. They might notice new connections or find themselves asking questions about how certain information relates to what they are learning now. They also often look back at our charts during writing. They enjoy writing about things they are learning and the data retrieval charts help them recall information and synthesize their thinking.

For more information

Graphic organizers like data retrieval charts help students collect, connect, and visualize information. Pick up more tips and tricks for using graphic organizers in Ask a Master Teacher, see them in use in Teaching in Action, and learn scaffolding hints for diverse learners in Teaching English Language Learners.

Brookgreen Gardens

Description

In 1931 Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington founded Brookgreen Gardens, a non-profit 501(c) (3) garden museum, to preserve the native flora and fauna and display objects of art within that natural setting.

Today, Brookgreen Gardens is a National Historic Landmark with the most significant collection of figurative sculpture, in an outdoor setting, by American artists in the world, and has the only zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums on the coast of the Carolinas.

In 2010, the Brookgreen Gardens Education Department provided field trip experiences for 4,093 students with South Carolina curriculum-based programs about History, Art, and Nature. Additionally, our annual curriculum-based special event for Horry and Georgetown County students, “Gullah Gullah Days,” a third-grade social studies program, provided educational enrichment for 1,708 students.

Programs generally are 50-minutes in length. History programs are: “Creek Excursion”, “Stretching and Growing: Children on Lowcountry Rice Plantations: and “Rice Plantation Exploration.” Cultural presentations offered are: “Gullah Lessons on History, Family & Respect”, “Gullah/Geechee Rhythms”, and “Priscilla’s Posse, A (Simulated) Press Conference about Gullah Heritage.” Teachers receive pre-visit Program Information Sheets that detail: content area, grade, maximum number of students, South Carolina State Standards, and program description. Program descriptions also are available at www.brookgreen/org, after viewers click on Education.

The Children’s Discovery Room attracts numerous enthusiastic public guests. Its seven interactive stations target 4- to 12-year-olds and reflect the history, nature, and art of Brookgreen Gardens. Educators also may gain historical enrichment through visiting one of the following Public programs: Gullah/Geechee Program Series, the Lowcountry Trail Audio Tour, Oaks History and Nature Trail, the Creek Excursion, and the “Lowcountry Change & Continuity” exhibit.

African American History Month 2011

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Photo, Navy baseball team--Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, Sept. 1944, NARA
Photo, Navy baseball team--Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, Sept. 1944, NARA
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It's February! Resources throughout the web stand ready to provide you with lessons and primary source materials for Black History Month (also known as African American History Month), but African American history stretches far beyond the confines of one month and the narrative litany of a handful of cultural heroes. Maybe you want to go beyond Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, and Jackie Robinson. What stories can you uncover beyond the headlining stories textbooks provide? Remind your students of the complexity of African American history with these resources.

Documenting African American History
  • The New York Times' lesson plan "Stories to Tell: Curating an African-American History Exhibit" introduces students to the difficulties in curating a large museum—or even just one exhibit. How can curators for the developing Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture create a museum that honors all of African American history?
  • Search the Carnegie Museum of Art's Teenie Harris Archive Project for photographs taken by photographer Charles "Teenie" Harris for the Pittsburgh Courier. Published from 1907 to 1965, the Courier was a major African American newspaper, and these photographs show Harris's journalistic perspective on Pittsburgh events of all scales. Use the keywords "Teenie Harris," along with others related to your topic of interest, to find images of life at school, home, community events, church, work, and out on the town.
  • The Smithsonian National Museum of American History's Portraits of a City provides a similar photographic record of a place. The Scurlocks ran studios in DC for much of the 20th century, documenting African American life in the nation's capital.
  • The Library of Congress's American Memory collection The African American Experience in Ohio, 1850-1920 focuses on the themes of slavery, politics, and religion. Its wide range of primary-source documents, including thousands of newspaper articles, can help students construct a view of just what the collection's title implies.
  • High-quality photographs in the National Archives and Records Administration's "Pictures of African Americans During World War II" could give students a look into another kind of community—one that formed both overseas and on the home front during war.
Looking for More Suggestions?

If none of these resources fit into your curriculum or spark your interests, there's plenty where they came from. Search our Website Reviews using the topic "African Americans," and you'll turn up close to 300 websites, on topics ranging from Marcus Garvey to the construction of race to Seattle's Black Panthers to sheet music by and about African Americans. Or test your African American history knowledge in our weekly quiz feature! You and your students can take online quizzes on African American baseball players and other athletes, the historical accuracy of the film Glory, Jim Crow laws, and foodways.

You can also explore the African American History Month pages of history and educational organizations, including:

Where Experience Meets Practicality

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Photography, Flat Classroom Workshop, 17 Sept 2009, Flickr CC
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Over the course of the many different TAH grants in which the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) has participated, it has become increasingly clear that listening and sharing are not just skills taught in kindergarten to get children through elementary school. Rather, they are essential skills for life, particularly when your work requires constant collaboration with a wide range of groups, including teachers, scholars, libraries, museums, and school administrators. It has also become clear that it is through listening and sharing with these many different stakeholders that the most rewarding results are achieved. This is where we find ways to make the experiences we provide meet practice in the classroom.

Institutions like museums and libraries have a unique set of resources that can enrich and revive teachers’ intellectual lives and interest in history. Beyond access to primary sources, these institutions can also provide valuable interactions with historians and curators. This is not always easy, however. One of the most common criticisms among teachers throughout our most recent TAH grant has been that while the scholars have offered a lot of interesting information, most of it is inapplicable to their classroom or grade level. In answer to this repeated concern, the TAH team, which included the AAS, Old Sturbridge Village, and the Worcester Public Schools, decided to offer separate sessions with the scholars for the different grade levels, and encouraged the scholars to follow a more informal, interactive lecture format. The feedback has been very positive and the teachers have begun to fully appreciate what specialty speakers have to offer.

Institutions like museums and libraries have a unique set of resources that can enrich and revive teachers’ intellectual lives and interest in history.

This grade-level specific content has also extended to breakout sessions, where elementary and high school teachers are looking for very different pedagogical approaches to the material. In particular, elementary teachers have often commented on the limited time they have to teach Social Studies and History, and are always looking for ways to teach the material quickly and powerfully. One way in which the team has attempted to rectify this problem is to focus on images and graphic arts. Elementary teachers have found that analyzing an image can often provide a poignant and thorough introduction to a historical subject.

Another approach has been to provide ideas about how to make history interdisciplinary, particularly highlighting its ability to connect to the English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum. In some cases, the district’s ELA coordinator has presented at professional development workshops to illustrate how history can become a focal point for teaching ELA. Other workshops on the elementary level have incorporated math and science skills into a history lesson. By adjusting to the teachers’ constraints in the classroom, the professional development we provided became much more applicable and exciting for the teachers.

Elementary teachers have found that analyzing an image can often provide a poignant and thorough introduction to a historical subject.

Finally, the introduction of “teacher-coaches” to the program has been a great buoy to both the coaches and their colleagues. Among the requirements to become a teacher-coach is an independent original research project conducted in the AAS collections. Each of the coaches presents a workshop based on their research at one of the TAH professional development days. The enthusiasm these teacher-coaches gain for their subject through in-depth research brings energy into their workshops, and their ability to translate the material to classroom activities for their colleagues is greatly appreciated. Teachers have overwhelmingly deemed this an excellent opportunity for both the teacher-coaches and their colleagues.

"Shared authority" is a term often heard in the museum world these days, but I think it should also extend to collaborative programs such as TAH. By sharing authority between cultural institutions, scholars, and teachers, by really listening to each other and adjusting, by understanding each group's strengths and needs, we can create programming that is thoughtful, useful, and effective.

A Day On, Not a Day Off

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Logo, Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
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Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Since 1994 and the signing into law of the King Holiday and Service Act, the holiday is a "day on, not a day off," a national day of service. According to the King Center, King's widow, Coretta Scott King, described the holiday this way:

Every King Holiday has been a national "teach-in" on the values of nonviolence, including unconditional love, tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation, which are so desperately needed to unify America. It is a day of intensive education and training in Martin's philosophy and methods of nonviolent social change and conflict-reconciliation. The Holiday provides a unique opportunity to teach young people to fight evil, not people, to get in the habit of asking themselves, "what is the most loving way I can resolve this conflict?"

Maybe you've given your students background on the holiday and prepared them to get involved in the local community today. But Martin Luther King Jr. Day shouldn't be the only day your students are ready to serve—and King isn't the only topic that can connect service and history education.

More Than One Day of Service

President Barack Obama's United We Serve initiative calls on citizens to come together to improve their communities. The government Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service website reflects that call, and provides resources you can draw on throughout the year.

Helping to preserve history can be service, too!

Use this site to familiarize yourself (and your students, depending on their grade level and readiness to organize projects) with service opportunities in your area. Search by city, state, or zip code; register your own project; or read up on planning a project with the site's detailed Action Guides.

Now consider your curriculum and your local community. Don't limit yourself to Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, or to the third Monday of January. Think about the Great Depression, the New Deal, the Progressive Era, the women's rights movement, the victory gardens and scrap drives of the World War II homefront, the Berlin Airlift. What sorts of projects might you guide students in initiating (or at least considering) for any of these topics or time periods that would also help them learn—and feel connected to—historical content?

Serving to Preserve

Helping to preserve history can be service, too! Listen to teacher James Percoco speak on teaching with memorials and monuments and think about your local history. Are there places that need young volunteers? Locations that students could research and then prepare their own interpretive materials?

Use Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a reminder not just to memorialize history, but to empower students to connect with, interpret, and preserve it in the service of the present!

Resources on Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sounds good, you say, but maybe you need resources for teaching about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, before you head off onto wider projects. Last year, we recommended a variety of online resources in our Jan. 13 blog entry. Here are those recommendations again—and a few new ones! Remember to search our Website Reviews and try our Lesson Plan Gateway for even more links to great materials.

Presidents in the Library

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Photo, US Flag, Kennedy Library, Boston, Feb. 16, 2009, Tony the Misfit, Flickr
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Happy (almost) Presidents Day! Have your ever thought about all of the papers a presidency must create? Emails, memoranda, schedules, notes, speeches, letters, drafts, on and on and on, an entire term (or terms) set down in a sea of potential primary sources. But how can educators access this wealth of materials?

In many cases, all you have to do is go online. Before the 20th century, presidents had ownership of their papers, and many were lost to time or split up in private collections. However, in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided that his papers should become the property of the American people following his presidency. He donated both his papers and part of his Hyde Park estate to the government, and the first presidential library was born.

In 1955, the Presidential Libraries Act set rules for gifting the government with property and other resources to be used to establish the libraries, and in 1978, the Presidential Records Act made it official—presidential papers were government property.

Today, 13 presidential libraries house the papers of the last 13 presidents. The National Archives and Records Administration, which oversees the libraries, describes them as combination archive-museums, “bringing together in one place the documents and artifacts of a President and his administration and presenting them to the public for study and discussion without regard for political considerations or affiliation.”

Presidential Libraries Online

Each of the libraries maintains its own website. Though the resources available on each vary greatly, almost all provide biographical information on the president and first lady, student and educator sections, and a selection of digitized photographs and documents. Some have extensive searchable databases full of documents, photos, and other primary sources! Here's a list of the libraries:

  • Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, West Branch, IA — features 13 simple online exhibits and Hoover Online! Digital Archives, a collection of suggested units and lesson plans for secondary students with primary sources.
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY — the first presidential library, completed in 1940. Offers five curriculum guides, an online exhibit on the art of the New Deal, and the Pare Lorentz Center, which encourages using multimedia to teach about FDR.
  • Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, Independence, MO — offers a searchable lesson plan database and digitized photographs, audio clips, and political cartoons, as well as documents divided up by topic (topics include such teachable subjects as the decision to drop the atom bomb and Japanese Americans during World War II).
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Abilene, KS — features a selection of online documents, grouped by topics (topics include Brown vs. Board of Education, Hawaiian statehood, McCarthyism, and others), and transcripts of oral history interviews.
  • John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Boston, MA — provides six online exhibits (including exhibits on the space program, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and desegregating the University of Mississippi), a photo gallery, major speeches, and a searchable digital archive. It also houses the Ernest Hemingway Collection.
  • Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, Austin, TX — features a photo archive, the presidential daily diary, selected speeches, and the subsite LBJ for Kids!
  • Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Yorba Linda, CA — includes digitized documents, samples of the Nixon tapes, a photo gallery, video oral histories, four lesson plans, and online exhibits on Watergate, gifts to the head of state, and Nixon's meeting with Elvis.
  • Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Ann Arbor, MI — features 10 simple online exhibits, as well as digitized documents and photos.
  • Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, Atlanta, GA — offers selected documents and photographs, including the diary of Robert C. Ode, hostage in the Iran Hostage Crisis.
  • Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, CA — includes an image archive arranged by topic, and the public papers of Reagan, arranged by month and year.
  • George H. W. Bush Presidential Library, College Station, TX — includes 12 lesson plans, a photo archive, and searchable public papers of his presidency.
  • William J. Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock, AR — has both virtual exhibits and a digital library in development.
  • George W. Bush Presidential Library — the newest of the public libraries, it does not yet have a permanent building. Many papers from the Bush administration are not yet available to the public (papers become public five years after the end of a presidency, which can be extended up to 12 years).

Remember that many of the presidential libraries offer museum tours and activities for school groups! If your school is close to one, consider a field trip or participating in the professional development opportunities the library may offer.

Beyond the Libraries

Looking for resources on a pre-Hoover president? Several libraries exist outside of the official presidential library system, including the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum, and the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum. Try the Library of Congress's American Memory collections, as well, for papers that belonged to Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison.

West Virginia: 1st-Grade Standards

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First grade Social Studies explores the role of the citizen in the schools, family and community. Students learn responsibilities, privileges and rights, patriotic traditions, symbols, functions of money and the connection of the past to the present. Conflict resolution, consumer roles and good safety practices will be introduced. Students recognize geographic features and identify regions. A variety of graphic skills will be incorporated, including graphs, charts and timelines. Economic concepts of basic needs and community occupations will be explored. The objectives for elementary West Virginia Social Studies may be integrated throughout the K-3 curriculum. The West Virginia Standards for 21st Century Learning include the following components: 21st Century Content Standards and Objectives and 21st Century Learning Skills and Technology Tools. All West Virginia teachers are responsible for classroom instruction that integrates learning skills, technology tools and content standards and objectives.

Social Studies Standard 1: Citizenship

SS.S.01.01/Students will:

  • characterize and model good citizenship by building social networks of reciprocity and trustworthiness (Civic Dispositions).
  • model a respect of symbols, ideas and concepts of the United States and analyze the roles of significant individuals (Respect for People, Events, and Symbols).
  • develop and employ the civic skills necessary for effective citizenship by using criteria to make judgments, arrive at and defend positions and evaluate the validity of the positions or data (Evaluation Skills).
  • develop the participatory skills of interacting, monitoring and influencing that are essential for informed, effective and responsible citizenship, including participation in civic life to shape public policy (Participatory Skills).
  • recognize and communicate the responsibilities, privileges and rights of United States citizens (Civic Life).
  • SS.PD.1.1/Performance Descriptors
    • Novice—Students are able to:
      • list examples of civic responsibility
      • give an example of volunteering locally
      • define good citizenship

    • Partial Mastery—Students are able to:
      • give examples for civic responsibilities, privileges, and rights
      • identify a local problem define volunteerism
      • discuss behavior that demonstrates good citizenship

    • Mastery—Students are able to:
      • explain various civic responsibilities, privileges and rights, and defend a position as to why civic responsibility is important
      • propose solutions to a local problem and investigate opportunities for volunteering locally
      • model behavior that demonstrates good citizenship

    • Above Mastery—Students are able to:
      • categorize examples of civic responsibilities, privileges, and rights
      • research local problems, choose one, and propose a solution
      • defend reasons for being a good citizen

    • Distinguished—Students are able to:
      • discriminate between civic responsibilities, privileges, and rights and give examples of each
      • choose a local problem, recommend a solution, and develop a plan to implement the solution
      • assess characteristics of citizens and determine which ones demonstrate good citizenship

  • Objectives / Students will:
    • SS.O.01.01.01: express opinions and accept opinions of others in solving problems and/or resolving conflicts.
    • SS.O.01.01.02: illustrate examples of honesty, caring and trustworthiness in the home and at school.
    • SS.O.01.01.03: participate in developing classroom rules and discussing the consequences of breaking rules.
    • SS.O.01.01.04: demonstrate respect and responsibility for self and others’ materials and belongings.
    • SS.O.01.01.05: be given the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, participate in patriotic singing and celebrate national holidays and discuss their significance.
    • SS.O.01.01.06: discuss the importance of volunteerism and participate in school/community projects.
    • SS.O.01.01.07: demonstrate and give examples of appropriate behavior in dangerous situations (e.g., fire, poison, traffic, strangers and drugs).

Social Studies Standard 2: Civics/Government

SS.S.01.02 / Students will:

  • examine and analyze the purposes and basic principles of the United States government (Purposes of Government).
  • outline and evaluate and analyze the origins and meaning of the principles, ideals and core democratic values expressed in the foundational documents of the United States (Ideals of United States Democracy).
  • examine and distinguish the structure, function and responsibilities of governments and the allocation of power at the local, state and national levels (United States Government and Politics).
  • analyze how the world is organized politically and compare the role and relationship of the United States to other nations and to world affairs (United States Government and World Affairs).
  • SS.PD.1.2 / Performance Descriptors
    • Novice—Students are able to:
      • define local, county, and state government
      • name important holidays and local celebrations of West Virginia
      • recognize and are given opportunity to recite the State Song or State Motto

    • Partial Mastery—Students are able to:
      • state a function or role of government at the local, county, and state level
      • recognize important holidays, celebrations and people of West Virginia
      • know what a State Motto and State Song are and are given opportunity to recite each

    • Mastery—Students are able to:
      • compare and contrast roles and functions of the government at the local, county and state levels
      • identify important state symbols, holidays, celebrations and people
      • recognize and are given the opportunity to recite the State Motto and State Song

    • Above Mastery—Students are able to:
      • evaluate the importance of roles or functions of local and county levels compared to those of the state level of government
      • describe the importance of state symbols, holidays, celebrations, and people
      • discuss the purpose of the State Motto and State Song and are given the opportunity to recite each

    • Distinguished—Students are able to:
      • compare roles and functions of the state government to the roles and function of the national and discuss how they relate to each other
      • select important state symbols, holidays, celebrations, or people and examine the role of each in the state government
      • relate the event(s) leading to the development of the State Motto and State Song and are given the opportunity to recite each

  • Objectives / Students will:
    • SS.O.01.02.01: describe, discuss and practice various group roles (e.g., group leader, recorder, reporter, collector) in the classroom.
    • SS.O.01.02.02: identify the three levels of government (local, state and federal).
    • SS.O.01.02.03: identify the President and Governor and other government leaders and describe their roles and explain the need for authority figures.
    • SS.O.01.02.04: explain the difference between rules and laws, establish criteria for determining if a rule or law is fair and identify the consequences for breaking rules.

Social Studies Standard 3: Economics

SS.S.01.03 / Students will:

  • analyze the role of economic choices in scarcity, supply and demand, resource allocation, decision-making, voluntary exchange and trade-offs (Choices).
  • research, critique and evaluate the roles of private and public institutions in the economy (Institutions).
  • compare and contrast various economic systems and analyze their impact on individual citizens (Economic Systems).
  • illustrate how the factors of production impact the United States economic systems (Factors of Production).
  • analyze the elements of competition and how they impact the economy (Competition).
  • examine and evaluate the interdependence of global economies (Global Economics).
  • SS.PD.1.3 / Performance Descriptors
    • Novice—Students are able to:
      • identify occupations of people in West Virginia
      • list natural resources of West Virginia and tell how they are important to the state’s economy

    • Partial Mastery—Students are able to:
      • give examples of occupations of people in West Virginia
      • give examples of natural resources and recognize geographic features that affect the state’s economy

    • Mastery—Students are able to:
      • categorize the major occupations of people in West Virginia
      • locate and provide examples of the natural resources and geographic features of West Virginia and discuss their effect upon the state’s economic development

    • Above Mastery—Students are able to:
      • compare major occupations of people in West Virginia
      • research and examine how natural resources and geographic features effect the state’s economic development and contribute to the economic well-being of its residents

    • Distinguished—Students are able to:
      • compare major occupations of people in West Virginia and evaluate their importance to the state
      • assess the importance of the state’s natural resources to the nation’s economy and summarize how geographic features have an effect upon the state’s economic development

  • Objectives / Students will:
    • SS.O.01.03.01: recognize that all people share the same basic needs and choose from among needs and wants and predict the consequences of those choices.
    • SS.O.01.03.02: demonstrate the exchange of goods and services (using money or other goods and services).
    • SS.O.01.03.03: recognize the characteristics of occupations in the community.

Social Studies Standard 4: Geography

SS.S.01.04 / Students will:

  • interpret and choose maps, globes and other geographic tools to categorize and organize information about personal directions, people, places, and environments (The World in Spatial Terms).
  • examine the physical and human characteristics of place and explain how the lives of people are rooted in places and regions (Places and Regions).
  • analyze the physical processes that shape the earth's surface and create, sustain and modify the cultural and natural environment (Physical Systems).
  • analyze and illustrate how the earth is shaped by the movement of people and their activities (Human Systems).
  • analyze the interaction of society with the environment (Environment and Society).
  • point out geographic perspective and tools and assess techniques available for geographic study (Uses of Geography).
  • SS.PD.1.4 / Performance Descriptors
    • Novice—Students are able to:
      • state West Virginia as a place where they live and identify the mountains as a major geographic feature of the state
      • demonstrate or show cardinal directions on a map
      • list the seasons and tell how they feel when it is cold or hot and what kinds of activities can be done during these times
      • name at least one basic natural resource

    • Partial Mastery—Students are able to:
      • understand the relationship of West Virginia to the United States and identify the Ohio River and Appalachian Mountains as major geographic features of their state
      • draw a simple map and show cardinal directions and symbols on their map
      • list the days of the week and the seasons and tell how climate/weather affects the types of work people do
      • list two or three common natural resources.

    • Mastery—Students are able to:
      • locate West Virginia and United States on a globe or map and locate major geographic features on a United States map
      • construct and interpret simple maps using cardinal directions, location, scale, and symbols in a legend
      • sequence days, months, and seasons of the year and relate how climate and weather affect people lives
      • give examples of basic natural resources

    • Above Mastery—Students are able to:
      • locate surrounding states of West Virginia and illustrate examples of major geographic features found on a United States map
      • construct a simple map with a legend, cardinal directions, and map symbols
      • can state the day, month, or season following each designated example in sequence
      • discuss effects of climate/weather on people’s lives and classify examples of basic natural resources

    • Distinguished—Students are able to:
      • locate surrounding states of West Virginia and surrounding countries of the United States and compare two or more examples of each major geographic feature on a United States map
      • construct a simple map to scale with a legend using cardinal directions and map symbols
      • given a designated day, month, or season, students can relate the names of other days, months, or seasons in the sequence before and after
      • compare climate/weather in different areas of the United States and compare uses of different natural resources

  • Objectives / Students will:
    • SS.O.01.04.01: construct a simple map of a familiar area (such as the school) incorporating cardinal directions and map symbols.
    • SS.O.01.04.02: locate and identify the following using a globe and world map: (1)West Virginia (2)United States (3)geographic features
    • SS.O.01.04.03: sequence the seasons of the year, days of the week and months.
    • SS.O.01.04.04:give examples of basic natural resources.
    • SS.O.01.04.05: recognize and relate how climate/weather affects the way people live (e.g., food, clothing, shelter, recreation).
    • SS.O.01.04.06: construct and interpret simple maps using cardinal directions, locations, a scale and symbols in a legend.

Social Studies Standard 5: History

SS.S.01.05 / Students will:

  • organize, analyze and compare historical events, distinguish cause-effect relationships, theorize alternative actions and outcomes, and anticipate future application (Chronology).
  • use the processes and resources of historical inquiry to develop appropriate questions, gather and examine evidence, compare, analyze and interpret historical data (Skills and Application).
  • examine, analyze and synthesize historical knowledge of major events, individuals, cultures and the humanities in West Virginia, the United States, and the world (Culture and Humanities).
  • use historical knowledge to analyze local, state, national and global interdependence (Interpretation and Evaluation).
  • examine political institutions and theories that have developed and changed over time; and research and cite reasons for development and change (Political Institutions).
  • SS.PD.1.5 / Performance Descriptors
    • Novice—Students are able to:
      • recognize that communities change over time
      • discuss historical data from various sources
      • match characteristics of the past and contributions of heroic people
      • describe cultural differences to build understanding and empathy
      • collect family historical information through two generations
      • discuss the different types of families

    • Partial Mastery—Students are able to:
      • discuss the ways in which communities change over time
      • participate in the organization of historical data
      • describe characteristics of the past and contributions of heroic people
      • understand cultural differences to build understanding and empathy
      • collect family historical information through two generations and examine the comparisons to present-day living
      • give examples of different types of families

    • Mastery—Students are able to:
      • give examples of ways communities change over time
      • participate in the collection and organization of historical data
      • identify characteristics of the past and contributions of heroic people
      • investigate cultural differences to build understanding and empathy
      • collect family historical information through two generations and make comparisons to present-day living
      • compare and contrast different types of families

    • Above Mastery—Students are able to:
      • collect information about the ways in which communities change over time
      • organize and classify historical information
      • research characteristics of the past and contributions of heroic people
      • contrast/compare cultural differences to build understanding and empathy
      • research family historical information through three generations and make comparisons to present-day living
      • compare and contrast different types of families, listing the characteristics of each

    • Distinguished—Students are able to:
      • research changes in communities over time
      • evaluate and prioritize historical information
      • categorize characteristics of the past and compare/contrast contributions of heroic people
      • make inferences from cultural differences to support understanding and empathy
      • defend family historical information through three generations using primary sources and make comparisons to present-day living
      • compare and contrast different types of families, summarizing by categories the characteristics of each

  • Objectives / Students will:
    • SS.O.01.05.01: give examples of ways communities change over time (e.g., landscape, buildings, jobs, population).
    • SS.O.01.05.02: collect information to contrast family history through two generations (parents, grandparents) and make comparisons to present-day.
    • SS.O.01.05.03: identify characteristics of the past and contributions of heroic people using sources such as stories, folk tales, pictures, poems, songs, legends, holdings and customs, and organize historical data.
    • SS.O.01.05.04: investigate cultural differences through celebrations, holidays and family traditions to build empathy and understanding for individuals and groups.
    • SS.O.01.05.05: compare and contrast different types of families (e.g., single parent, extended, multi-generational).

Social Studies Standard 6: Reading

SS.S.01.06 / Students will:

  • use the five reading components (phonemic awareness, phonics, background knowledge/vocabulary, high frequency word/fluency, comprehension and writing) in their acquisition of social studies knowledge, insuring a foundation of college readiness in this genre.
  • recognize main ideas and supporting details to locate basic facts (e.g., names, dates, events).
  • distinguish relationships among people, ideas, and events.
  • recognize cause-effect relationships in content passages.
  • outline sequences of events.
  • summarize events and ideas. Infer main idea or purpose of content.
  • draw generalizations and conclusions about people, ideas, and events.
  • write and edit organized texts of various genres to insure that information is clearly understood.

Note: By the completion of fourth grade, West Virginia students are also expected to master the following standards.

Elementary West Virginia Studies explore historic, geographic, economic and civic concepts. These objectives shall be appropriately integrated into the kindergarten—fourth grade curriculum. Teachers introduce students to geographic places and regions. The relationship among geographic settlement patterns and economic development of West Virginia will be examined in this course. Students participate in a variety of activities enabling them to identify research and discuss the cultural heritage of the various groups who settled West Virginia. The course content reflects West Virginia’s unique characteristics as well as its national and global relationships. The West Virginia Standards for 21st Century Learning include the following components: 21st Century Content Standards and Objectives and 21st Century Learning Skills and Technology Tools. All West Virginia teachers are responsible for classroom instruction that integrates learning skills, technology tools and content standards and objectives.

Social Studies Standard 1: Citizenship

SS.S.WV.1 / Students will:

  • characterize and model good citizenship by building social networks of reciprocity and trustworthiness (Civic Dispositions).
  • model a respect of symbols, ideas and concepts of the United States and analyze the roles of significant individuals (Respect for People, Events, and Symbols).
  • develop and employ the civic skills necessary for effective citizenship by using criteria to make judgments, arrive at and defend positions and evaluate the validity of the positions of data (Evaluation Skills).
  • develop the participatory skills of interacting, monitoring and influencing that are essential for informed, effective and responsible citizenship, including participation in civic life to shape public policy (Participatory Skills).
  • recognize and communicate the responsibilities, privileges and rights of United States citizens (Civic Life).
  • SS.PD.WV.1 / Performance Descriptors
    • Novice—Students are able to:
      • list examples of civic responsibility;
      • give an example of volunteering locally; and
      • define good citizenship.

    • Partial Mastery—Students are able to:
      • give examples for civic responsibilities, privileges, and rights;
      • identify a local problem define volunteerism;
      • discuss behavior that demonstrates good citizenship.

    • Mastery—Students are able to:
      • categorize and give examples of civic responsibilities, privileges, and rights;
      • propose solutions to a local problem volunteer to help;
      • model behavior that demonstrates good citizenship.

    • Above Mastery—Students are able to:
      • explain the importance of civic responsibilities, privileges and rights;
      • research local problems, choose one, and propose a solution;
      • defend reasons for being a good citizen.

    • Distinguished—Students are able to:
      • summarize the differences between civic responsibilities, privileges, and rights;
      • choose a local problem and develop a plan to implement a solution;
      • assess characteristics of good citizenship.

  • Objectives / Students will:
    • SS.O.WV.1.1: explain various civic responsibilities, privileges and rights (e.g., the act of voting as a West Virginia citizen).
    • SS.O.WV.1.2: propose solutions and investigate opportunities for public volunteerism concerning a local problem.
    • SS.O.K.1.3: model the behavior that shows how students are citizens of their classroom, community, state, and nation.
    • SS.O.K.1.4: take and defend a position as to why fulfilling one’s civic responsibility is important.

Social Studies Standard 2: Civics/Government

SS.S.WV.2 / Students will:

  • examine and analyze the purposes and basic principles of the United States government (Purposes of Government).
  • outline and evaluate and analyze the origins and meanings of the principles, ideals, and core democratic values expressed in the foundational documents of the United States (Ideals of United States Democracy).
  • examine and distinguish the structure, function, and responsibilities of governments and the allocation of power at the local, state and national levels (United States Government and Politics).
  • analyze how the world is organized politically and compare the role and relationship of the United States to other nations and to world affairs (United States Government and World Affairs).

  • SS.PD.WV.2 / Performance Descriptors

    • Novice—Students are able to:
      • define local, county, and state government;
      • name important holidays and local celebrations of West Virginia; and
      • identify and are given opportunity to recite the State Song or State Motto.

    • Partial Mastery—Students are able to:
      • state a role or function of government at the local, county, and state level;
      • discuss important holidays, local celebrations and people of West Virginia; and
      • define and are given the opportunity to recite the State Motto and State Song.

    • Mastery—Students are able to:
      • compare and contrast roles and functions of the government at the local, county and state levels;
      • identify and describe important state symbols, holidays, celebrations and people; and
      • explain and are given the opportunity to recite the State Motto and State Song.

    • Above Mastery—Students are able to:
      • evaluate the importance of roles or functions of local and county levels compared to those of the state level of government;
      • analyze the importance of state symbols, holidays, celebrations, and people; and
      • discuss the purpose of the State Motto and State Song and are given the opportunity to recite each.

    • Distinguished—Students are able to:
      • compare roles and functions of the state government to the roles and function of the national and discuss how they relate to each other;
      • choose important state symbols, holidays, celebrations, or people and summarize their roles; and
      • explain event(s) leading to the development of the State Motto and State Song and are given the opportunity to recite each.

  • Objectives / Students will:
    • SS.O.WV.2.1: identify state symbols, the state capital, celebrations, holidays, famous West Virginians, and the title of the elected leader (the Governor) of the state government.
    • SS.O.WV.2.2: recognize and be given the opportunity to recite the State Motto and sing the State Song.
    • SS.O.WV.2.3: compare and contrast the roles and functions of the government (e.g., legislative, executive, judicial branches) at the local, county and state levels.

Social Studies Standard 3: Economics

SS.S.K.03 / Students will:

  • analyze the role of economic choices in scarcity, supply and demand, resource allocation, decision-making, voluntary exchange and trade-offs (Choices).
  • research, critique and evaluate the roles of private and public institutions in the economy (Institutions).
  • compare and contrast various economic systems and analyze their impact on individual citizens (Economic Systems).
  • illustrate how the factors of production impact the United States economic systems (Factors of Production).
  • analyze the elements of competition and how they impact the economy (Competition).
  • examine and evaluate the interdependence of global economies (Global Economics).
  • SS.PD.WV.3 / Performance Descriptors
    • Novice—Students are able to:
      • identify occupations of people in West Virginia; and
      • list natural resources and recognize geographic features and tell how they are important to the state’s economy.

    • Partial Mastery—Students are able to:
      • give examples of occupations of people in West Virginia; and
      • give examples of natural resources and identify the geographic features that affect the state’s economy.

    • Mastery—Students are able to:
      • categorize major occupations of people in West Virginia; and
      • research the natural resources and geographic features of West Virginia and discuss their effect upon the state’s economic development.

    • Above Mastery—Students are able to:
      • compare major occupations of people in West Virginia; and
      • explain how natural resources and geographic features effect the state’s economic development and contribute to the economic well-being of its residents.

    • Distinguished—Students are able to:
      • critique the importance of major occupations of people in West Virginia; and
      • assess the importance of the state’s natural resources and geographic features to its economic development and the economy of the nation.

  • Objectives / Students will:
    • SS.O.WV.3.1: locate and give examples of the natural resources and geographic features of West Virginia and show their effect upon the economic development of the state.
    • SS.O.WV.3.2: categorize the major occupations of people in the private and public sectors of West Virginia.

Social Studies Standard 4: Geography

SS.S.K.04 / Students will:

  • interpret and choose maps, globes and other geographic tools to categorize and organize information about personal directions, people, places, and environments (The World in Spatial Terms).
  • examine the physical and human characteristics of place and explain how the lives of people are rooted in places and regions (Places and Regions).
  • analyze the physical processes that shape the earthís surface and create, sustain and modify the cultural and natural environment (Physical Systems).
  • analyze and illustrate how the earth is shaped by the movement of people and their activities (Human Systems).
  • analyze the interaction of society with the environment (Environment and Society).
  • point out geographic perspective and tools and assess techniques available for geographic study (Uses of Geography).
  • SS.PD.WV.04 / Performance Descriptors
    • Novice—Students are able to:
      • know that West Virginia is divided into counties and each has a county seat, that there are bordering states, discuss selected items, and define exact and relative locations; and
      • know that there are four physical geographic regions, tell what the weather patterns are and identify the natural resource land physical geography

    • Partial Mastery—Students are able to:
      • name West Virginia counties and county seats, bordering states, and selected items and differentiate between the exact and relative location of each; and
      • name the four physical geographic regions, describe the weather patterns and explain the impact of natural resource location and physical geography.

    • Mastery—Students are able to:
      • locate West Virginia counties and county seats, bordering states, and selected items and differentiate between the exact and relative location of each; and
      • determine the four physical geographic regions, illustrate the weather patterns and analyze the impact of natural resource location and physical geography.

    • Above Mastery—Students are able to:
      • place West Virginia counties and county seats, bordering states, and selected items on a map and explain the importance of differentiating between the exact and relative location of each; and
      • debate the similarities and differences of the four physical geographic regions, explain the weather pattern changes and evaluate the impact of natural resource location and physical geography;

    • Distinguished—Students are able to:
      • create a map that illustrates relationships between West Virginia counties and the location of their county seats, bordering states, and selected items and create a description differentiating between the exact and relative location of each; and
      • summarize the four physical geographic regions, evaluate the importance of the weather patterns and analyze the relationship between the location of natural resources and physical geography, and evaluate their impact on the inhabitants.

  • Objectives / Students will:
    • SS.O.WV.04.01: locate West Virginia and bordering states on a United States map.
    • SS.O.WV.04.02: determine the four physical geographic regions of West Virginia and the major communities contained within each region.
    • SS.O.K.04.03: locate counties and county seats on a West Virginia map.
    • SS.O.K.04.04: analyze the impact of West Virginia’s geography on transportation, settlement, jobs, clothing, food, shelter, services and interaction with others outside the state.
    • SS.O.K.04.05: illustrate West Virginia’s climate and track the weather.
    • SS.O.K.04.06: compare and contrast the characteristics of renewable and nonrenewable resources.
    • SS.O.K.04.06: differentiate between the exact and relative locations of their state, town, county, and personal address.
    • SS.O.K.04.08: research West Virginia’s population, products, resources, transportation, state parks, forests, and scenic/recreational resources and draw conclusions from the information.
    • SS.O.WV.04.09: use a grid system to locate natural and man-made items on a map.
    • SS.O.WV.04.10: recognize the eight tourist regions of West Virginia.

Social Studies Standard 5: History

SS.S.WV.05 / Students will:

  • organize, analyze and compare historical events, distinguish cause-effect relationships, theorize alternative actions and outcomes, and anticipate future application (Chronology).
  • use the processes and resources of historical inquiry to develop appropriate questions, gather and examine evidence, compare, analyze and interpret historical data (Skills and Application).
  • examine, analyze and synthesize historical knowledge of major events, individuals, cultures and the humanities in West Virginia, the United States, and the world (Culture and Humanities).
  • use historical knowledge to analyze local, state, national and global interdependence (Interpretation and Evaluation).
  • examine political institutions and theories that have developed and changed over time; and research and cite reasons for development and change (Political Institutions).
  • SS.PD.WV.05 / Performance Descriptors
    • Novice—Students are able to:
      • give examples of past and present lifestyles of West Virginia;
      • list examples of economic, social, and political history of West Virginia; and
      • verbally give short answers to specific questions.

    • Partial Mastery—Students are able to:
      • describe lifestyles and cultural life of West Virginia reflected in folklore and heritage;
      • give examples of economic, social, and political history of West Virginia; and
      • write a paragraph or short answer to specific questions.

    • Mastery—Students are able to:
      • compare and contrast past and present lifestyles of West Virginia and describe the cultural life reflected in folklore and heritage;
      • reconstruct the economic, social, and political history of West Virginia; and
      • construct short reports to answer specific questions.

    • Above Mastery—Students are able to:
      • discriminate between past and present lifestyles giving reason for their differences and evaluate the folklore and heritage;
      • explain important events in economic, social, and political history of West Virginia; and
      • research topics of interest and write short summaries.

    • Distinguished—Students are able to:
      • summarize past and present lifestyles of West Virginia and relate the culture to folklore and heritage;
      • summarize changes in the economic, social, and political history of West Virginia; and
      • summarize and defend sources they use to write reports.

  • Objectives / Students will:
    • SS.O.WV.05.01: reconstruct the economic, social and political history of West Virginia.
    • SS.O.WV.05.02: research and describe the cultural life of West Virginia as reflected in folklore and heritage.
    • SS.O.K.05.03: compare and contrast past and present lifestyles of West Virginians.
    • SS.O.K.05.04: use reference sources to construct short reports that answer specific questions about West Virginia.

Historic Stories, Fictional Accounts: Achieving Multiperspectivity

Image
Photography, for heart and mind, 21 Jan 2010, Flickr CC
Question

What is the significance of examining historical events from multiple perspectives (i.e. use of fiction, nonfiction, etc.) on an elementary school level?

Answer
Multiple Perspectives

Examining historical events from multiple perspectives introduces elementary students to core aspects of history and historical thinking. And as with much of history, it has relevance to helping students become more prepared for the responsibilities of citizenship, college, and career.

Imagine that students are learning about early American settlements. Depending on where you teach and your curriculum, this might include learning about the Mayflower and Plymouth, Jamestown, or the Missions in California. Students read stories or textbook accounts of these early settlements and they learn the difficulties of the passage here and making a new life in a foreign land.

Students can learn to ask, whose voices are we not hearing?

Yet, this is only part of the story and to get a fuller picture, students need to consider the perspectives of those not necessarily represented in these accounts—most obviously, the perspective of the indigenous peoples who were here when the settlers arrived. (Viewing the settlements from this alternative perspective is not necessarily easy given that the historical record is incomplete, but using artifacts, surviving legends, historic sites, or even settlers’ first hand accounts can help students imagine this perspective.) Considering this missing perspective helps students recognize and articulate that people can experience the same event in different ways.

Students can learn to ask, whose voices are we not hearing? What perspective is not represented? What alternative stories are told about these events? Did participants in these events agree on their meaning? What might account for these differences in perspective?

This is a key piece of doing history—understanding that there are multiple perspectives and multiple stories that surround historical phenomena. And elementary students can learn this. Connections to daily life can be made, as students are familiar with such things as sifting through playmates’ differing accounts of recess events. Multiple perspectives can also be introduced in very concrete ways to young students. They could view something from different locations to see different aspects of it, or use tools such as a cardboard picture frame to see how a frame is selective--including some aspects of the view while ignoring others.

Ideally, students can learn to ask the same questions of daily life and sources that they learn to ask of history: Whose voices are we not hearing? What are the other stories that people tell about this issue? How and why do they differ?

Fiction & Nonfiction

You ask particularly about the use of fiction and nonfiction to teach multiple perspectives. See this entry about “book sets” a strategy for including both to engage students and guide them toward deep understanding of historical events. Also see this roundtable where panelists discuss the use of fiction in the elementary classroom or this blog.

Using both fiction and nonfiction allows students to engage with multiple kinds of text and it allows you, as teacher, to use the texts for different purposes. Good fiction can be used to engage and interest students in the past and help them imagine that past or create a picture of the historical context of the events you are studying. Non-fictional texts, such as primary sources, can be used to explore an experience or perspective in more depth and to represent missing perspectives. Both can be used to challenge students to look across and synthesize texts to create a fuller picture of the past.

A critical aspect of using both fiction and nonfiction texts together is that they give you an opportunity to teach students the difference between the two.

A critical aspect of using both fiction and non-fiction texts together is that they give you an opportunity to teach students the difference between the two. Young students can learn that history is an evidentiary discipline and strives for the most accurate and complete picture of the past, whereas fiction does not have this constraint. While there are examples of fictional stories that try to do the same, this basic distinction is an important one for students to learn.

Teaching young students that history includes multiple stories and perspectives aligns with the Common Core State Standards, and can prepare students for future history classes and academic work. But, more significantly, it is critical for helping students understand that their perspective can be partial and does not represent all peoples—it can help them develop empathy and be more skeptical of the single account as the one true answer in our complex world.

For more information

Also see this Ask a Master Teacher answer about the manner in which multiperspectivity can be used in the history classroom.

DC: First Grade Standards

Article Body
  • DC.1. Content Standard / Strand: True Stories and Folktales from America and Around the World
    • 1.1. Standard / Essential Skill: Geography Students interpret maps, including the use of map elements to organize information about places and environment.
      • 1.1.1. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Locate cardinal directions (e.g., north, east, south, and west) and apply them to maps and globes. (G)
      • 1.1.2. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Plan a safe walking route from home to school. (G)
      • 1.1.3. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Locate Washington, D.C. on a map. (G)
      • 1.1.4. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Label the continents, oceans, and major mountain ranges on a map. (G)
    • 1.2. Standard / Essential Skill: Civic Values Students identify and describe the symbols, icons, songs, and traditions of the U.S. that exemplify cherished ideals and provide continuity and a sense of community across time.
      • 1.2.1. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Understand when and why we celebrate Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, D.C. Emancipation Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day. (P)
      • 1.2.2. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: State the meaning of U.S. national symbols, such as the American flag, bald eagle, White House, and Statue of Liberty. (P)
      • 1.2.3. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Recite the Pledge of Allegiance and national songs (e.g., 'America the Beautiful,' 'My Country, 'tis of Thee,' 'God Bless America,' 'Lift Every Voice and Sing,' and 'The Star Spangled Banner') and explain the general ideas expressed in the lyrics. (P)
      • 1.2.4. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Describe the meaning of words associated with civic values such as fairness, responsibility, and rules. (P)
    • 1.3. Standard / Essential Skill: Civic Values Students identify the current president of the U.S., describe what presidents do, and explain that they are elected by the people. (P)
    • 1.4. Standard / Essential Skill: Earliest People and Civilizations of the Americas Students describe the characteristics of the Maya, Inca, and Aztec civilizations.
      • 1.4.1. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Identify how their locations and climate affected their economies and trade systems. (G, E)
      • 1.4.2. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Compare the roles of people in each society, including their class structures and religious traditions. (R, S)
      • 1.4.3. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Explain their artistic and oral traditions, and their development of writing systems and calendars. (S, I)
      • 1.4.4. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Describe the inventions and advances in astronomy, mathematics, and architecture. (I)
      • 1.4.5. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Compare the daily lives of common people in these societies to those of people in other places (e.g., the indigenous peoples of North America, the Caribbean, or other native groups in Mesoamerica itself), with a special emphasis on each group's manipulation of the natural environment. (G, S, E)
  • DC.K-2. Content Standard / Strand: Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills
    • K-2.1. Standard / Essential Skill: Chronology and Cause and Effect
      • K-2.1.1. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Students place key events and people of the historical era they are studying in a chronological sequence and within a spatial context.
      • K-2.1.2. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Students correctly apply terms related to time (e.g., past, present, future, years, decade, century, millennia, epochs, and generation).
    • K-2.2. Standard / Essential Skill: Geographic Skills
      • K-2.2.1. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Students use map and globe skills to determine the locations of places.
      • K-2.2.2. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Students identify the human and physical characteristics of the places they are studying.
      • K-2.2.3. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Students develop spatial ability by drawing sketch maps of the local community, regions of the US, and major regions of the world.
    • K-2.3. Standard / Essential Skill: Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View
      • K-2.3.1. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Students analyze societies in terms of the following themes military, political, economic, social, religious and intellectual.
      • K-2.3.2. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Students pose relevant questions about events they encounter in historical documents.
      • K-2.3.3. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Students distinguish fact from fiction.
      • K-2.3.4. Student Expectation / Essential Skill: Students use non-text primary and secondary sources, such as maps, charts, graphs, photographs, works of art, and technical charts.

South Carolina's First Grade Standards

Article Body

SC.1-1. Standard / Course—Foundations of Social Studies:
Families

The student will demonstrate an understanding of how families interact with their environment both locally and globally.

  • 1-1.1. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

    Identify a familiar area of the neighborhood or local community on a simple map, using the legend and basic map symbols.

  • 1-1.2. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

    Compare schools and neighborhoods that are located in different settings around the world.

  • 1-1.3. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

    Identify various natural resources (e.g., water, animals, plants, minerals) around the world.

  • 1-1.4. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

    CCompare the ways that people use land and natural resources in different settings around the world.

  • Social Studies Literacy Skills for the Twenty-First Century:

    1. Recognize maps, mental maps, and geographic models as representations of spatial relationships.
    2. Find and describe the locations and conditions of places.
    3. Interpret information from a variety of social studies resources.(1-1)
    (1-1)Social studies resources include the following: texts, calendars, timelines, maps, mental maps, charts, tables, graphs, flow charts, diagrams, photographs, illustrations, paintings, cartoons, architectural drawings, documents, letters, censuses, artifacts, models, geographic models, aerial photographs, satellite-produced images, and geographic information systems.

  • SC.1-2. Standard / Course—Foundations of Social Studies: Families

    The student will demonstrate an understanding of how government functions and how government affects families.

    • 1-2.1. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the making and enforcing of laws as a basic function of government.

    • 1-2.2. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Summarize the concept of authority and give examples of people in authority, including school officials, public safety officers, and government officials.

    • 1-2.3. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Illustrate ways that government affects the lives of individuals and families, including taxation that provides services such as public education and health, roads, and security.

    • 1-2.4. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Summarize the possible consequences of an absence of government.

    • Social Studies Literacy Skills for the Twenty-First Century:

      1. Interpret information from a variety of social studies resources.(1-2)
      2. Identify his or her place in the family, school, and community.
      3. Practice responsible citizenship within his or her school, community, and state.
      4. Identify political, social, and economic institutions that affect the student, the school, and the community.
      (1-2)Social studies resources include the following: texts, calendars, timelines, maps, mental maps, charts, tables, graphs, flow charts, diagrams, photographs, illustrations, paintings, cartoons, architectural drawings, documents, letters, censuses, artifacts, models, geographic models, aerial photographs, satellite-produced images, and geographic information systems.

    • SC.1-3. Standard / Course—Foundations of Social Studies: Families

      The student will demonstrate an understanding of the principles of American democracy and the role of citizens in upholding those principles.

      • 1-3.1. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

        Describe the fundamental principles of American democracy, including respect for the rights, opinions, and property of others; fair treatment for all; and respect for the rules by which we live.

      • 1-3.2. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

        Identify ways that all citizens can serve the common good, including serving as public officials and participating in the election process.

      • 1-3.3. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

        Summarize the contributions to democracy that have been made by historic and political figures in the United States, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Dorothea Dix, Frederick Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

      • Social Studies Literacy Skills for the Twenty-First Century:

        1. Distinguish between past, present, and future time.
        2. Interpret information from a variety of social studies resources.(1-3)
        3. Demonstrate responsible citizenship within the school and the community.
        (1-3)Social studies resources include the following: texts, calendars, timelines, maps, mental maps, charts, tables, graphs, flow charts, diagrams, photographs, illustrations, paintings, cartoons, architectural drawings, documents, letters, censuses, artifacts, models, geographic models, aerial photographs, satellite-produced images, and geographic information systems.

      • SC.1-4. Standard / Course—Foundations of Social Studies: Families

        The student will demonstrate an understanding of how individuals, families, and communities live and work together in America and around the world.

        • 1-4.1. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

          Illustrate different elements of community life, including typical jobs; the interdependence of family, school, and the community; and the common methods of transportation and communication.

        • 1-4.2. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

          Compare the daily lives of families together in America and across the world, including the roles of family members; typical food, clothing, and shelter; and the ways that families earn a living.

        • 1-4.3. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

          Identify the ways that families and communities in America and around the world cooperate and compromise with one another in order to obtain goods and services to meet their needs and wants.

        • 1-4.4. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

          Explain the concept of scarcity and the way it forces individuals and families to make choices about which goods and services they can obtain.

        • Social Studies Literacy Skills for the Twenty-First Century:

          1. Identify political, social, and economic institutions that affect the student, the school, and the community.
          2. Identify his or her place in the family, school, and community.
          3. Explain the importance of the connection between education and success in life.
          4. Identify cause-and-effect relationships.
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