(Note: In 2011, DC public schools began transitioning to the Common Core State Standards.)

• Geography

  • 2.1. Broad Concept: Students use map and globe skills to determine the absolute locations of places and interpret information available through a map or globe’s legend, scale, and symbolic representations.

    Students:

    1. Understand how maps and globes depict geographical information in different ways. (G)
    2. Locate the continents, regions, or countries from which students, parents, guardians, grandparents, or other relatives or ancestors came to Washington, DC. (G)
    3. Identify the location and significance of well-known sites, events, or landmarks in different countries and regions from which Washington, DC, students’ families hail. (G)
    4. Explain the human characteristics of places, including houses, schools, communities, neighborhoods, and businesses. (G)

    Examples

    • Students survey their families and/or caregivers to determine where they or their parents came from. In class, each student places push-pins on a map to show their countries or states of origin (2.1.1).
    • Using research sources (e.g., the Internet, encyclopedias, trade book magazines), students choose a landmark from their families’ backgrounds. They prepare a poster, book, diorama, native dress, or other representation of an event or landmark to share with the class (2.1.3).

• Civic Values

  • 2.2. Broad Concept: Students describe the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

    Students:

    1. Identify the rights and responsibilities that students have in the school as citizens and members of the school community (e.g., right to vote in a class election, responsibility to follow school rules, responsibility not to harm one another, responsibility to respect each other’s feelings). (P)
    2. Understand how one becomes an American citizen (e.g., by birth, naturalization). (P)
    3. Define the meaning of words associated with good citizenship (e.g., politeness, achievement, courage, honesty, and reliability). (P)

    Examples

    • Students, together with their teacher, develop a proposed code of behavior for the classroom and school. In small groups, students examine each proposal and determine why it is important to the smooth functioning of the classroom or school community. Student groups share their conclusions in a class meeting (2.2.1).
    • Students identify historic or familiar figures that exemplify certain virtues (e.g., a person from within the school or community who exemplifies politeness, Benjamin Franklin for achievement, Rosa Parks for courage, Abraham Lincoln for honesty, or Harry Truman for reliability). Students divide into small groups to write and perform a puppet show that demonstrates each virtue (2.2.2).
  • 2.3. Broad Concept: Students explain governmental institutions and practices in the United States and other countries.

    Students:

    1. Explain the development and consequences of school and classroom rules. (P)
    2. Explain how human beings went from developing rules for small groups to developing rules for larger and larger groups, including nations and states, then global communities.
    3. Understand how the United States makes laws, determines whether laws have been violated, and the consequences for such laws. (P)
    4. Identify ways in which groups and nations interact with one another to try to resolve problems (e.g., trade, treaties). (P)

    Examples

    • Students listen to House Mouse, Senate Mouse, by Peter W. Barnes and Cheryl Shaw Barnes, to become familiar with the legislative process. As a class, they choose an issue that deserves attention and write a bill to address the issue. They make a chart listing the steps the bill will go through as it makes its way through Congress (2.3.4).
  • 2.4. Broad Concept: Students understand the importance of individual action and character, and they explain, from examining biographies, how people who have acted righteously have made a difference in others’ lives and have achieved the status of heroes in the remote and recent past. (P, S)

    Examples

    • Teachers are free to choose whatever biographies they wish. Here are some suggestions: Neil Armstrong, Joan Baez, Benjamin Banneker, Sitting Bull, Luisa Capetillo, Cesar Chavez, Linda Chávez, Roberto Clemente, France Anne Córdova, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Juan Carlos Finlay, Bill Gates, Alberto Gonzales, Dolores Huerta, Daniel Inouye, Abraham Lincoln, Thurgood Marshall, Cecilia Muñoz, Rosa Parks, Louis Pasteur, Colin Powell, Sally Ride, Jackie Robinson, Sacagawea, Jonas Salk, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Clarence Thomas, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, Walter Washington, Ida B. Wells, and the Wright brothers.
  • 2.5. Broad Concept: Students describe the human characteristics of familiar places and varied backgrounds of U.S. citizens and residents in those places.

    Students:

    1. Distinguish traditional food, customs, sports and games, and music from other countries that can be found in the United States today. (P, S)
    2. Describe beliefs, customs, ceremonies, and traditions of the varied cultures, drawing from folklore. (P, S)
    3. Explain the ways in which we are all part of the same community, sharing principles, goals, and traditions despite varied ancestry (e pluribus unum). (P, S)
    4. Understand the significance of the Statue of Liberty and how many people have come to the United States, and continue to come here, from all around the world. (I, P, S)

    Examples

    • Students invite their families and/or caregivers to share their family traditions, customs, and folklore with the class or school, which might include wearing special clothing, teaching students a song, preparing a typical food dish, narrating a folktale, demonstrating a craft, etc. (2.5.2).
    • Students read and discuss the following books: Lily and Miss Liberty, by Carla Stevens, and The Story of the Statue of Liberty, by Betsy Maestro (2.5.4).
  • 2.6. Broad Concept: Students describe the North American landscape, indigenous adaptations to it, and modifications to it.

    Students:

    1. Explain the differences between native groups in different parts of North America. (S)
    2. Describe how their organization corresponded to the environment. (G, S)
    3. Reconstruct the daily life of a person in several native societies. (E, S)

    Examples

    • Students learn about the Rumisen Ohlone peoples of the Silicone Valley and read When the World Ended; How Hummingbird Got Fire; How People Were Made — Rumisen Ohlone Stories, by Linda Yamane. Students discuss how the environment helped the Rumisen Ohlone peoples develop their folklore (2.6.2).

In addition to the standards for kindergarten through grade 2, students demonstrate the following intellectual, reasoning, reflection, and research skills:

• Chronology and Cause and Effect
  

  1. Students place key events and people of the historical era they are studying in a chronological sequence and within a spatial context.
  2. Students correctly apply terms related to time (e.g., past, present, future, years, decades, centuries, millennia, epochs, and generations).

• Geographic Skills

  1. Students use map and globe skills to determine the locations of places.
  2. Students identify the human and physical characteristics of the places they are studying.
  3. Students develop spatial ability by drawing sketch maps of the local community, regions of the United States, and major regions of the world.

• Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View

  1. Students analyze societies in terms of the following themes: military, political, economic, social, religious, and intellectual.
  2. Students pose relevant questions about events they encounter in historical documents.
  3. Students distinguish fact from fiction.
  4. Students use nontext primary and secondary sources, such as maps, charts, graphs, photographs, works of art, and technical charts.

CO.1. Standard: History

• CO.1.1. Concepts and skills students master:

  • Identify historical sources and utilize the tools of a historian

  Evidence Outcomes

  Students can:

  • a. Identify community and regional historical artifacts and generate questions about their function and significance
  • b. Explain the past through oral or written firsthand accounts of history
  • c. Explain the information conveyed by historical timelines
  • d. Identify history as the story of the past preserved in various sources
  • e. Create timelines to understand the development of important community traditions and events

  21st-century Skills and Readiness Competencies

  Inquiry Questions:

  1. How can two people understand the same event differently?
  2. Why is it important to use more than one source for information?
  3. How can putting events in order by time help describe the past?
  4. What kinds of tools and sources do historical thinkers use to investigate the past?

  Relevance and Application:

  1. The ability to identify reliable historical sources is essential to searching for and communicating information. For example, individuals searching on the Internet must find reliable sources for information; reporters must find reliable information for news stories; and historians must use scholarly sources when writing nonfiction pieces.
  2. The tools of historians are used to share thoughts and ideas about the past such as selecting a historical name for a building, school, park, or playground; recounting a news event in the neighborhood; and using a timeline to gauge progress toward the completion of a project.

  Nature of History:

  1. Historical thinkers gather firsthand accounts of history through oral histories.
  2. Historical thinkers use artifacts and documents to investigate the past.

• CO.1.2. Concepts and skills students master:

  • People have influenced the history of neighborhoods and communities

  Evidence Outcomes

  Students can:

  • a. Organize the historical events of neighborhoods and communities chronologically
  • b. Compare and contrast past and present situations, people, and events in neighborhoods, communities, and the nation
  • c. Give examples of people and events, and developments that brought important changes to the community
  • d. Compare how communities and neighborhoods are alike and different
  • e. Describe the history, interaction, and contribution of the various peoples and cultures that have lived in or migrated to neighborhoods and communities

  21st-century Skills and Readiness Competencies

  Inquiry Questions:

  1. How can understanding the past impact decision-making today?
  2. How have events and ideas from the past shaped the identity of communities and neighborhoods today?

  Relevance and Application:

  1. Historical information and context are used to interpret, evaluate, and inform decisions or policies regarding current issues. For example, the history of a city determines how it might advertise for tourism purposes.
  2. Philosophies and ideas from history continue to inform and impact the present. For example, the independent Western philosophy affects how local government works.
  3. Technological developments continue to evolve and affect the present. An example of this would be the way communication is now almost instantaneous and thus, speeds up the nature of events.

  Nature of History:

  1. Historical thinkers investigate relationships between the past and present.
  2. Historical thinkers organize findings in chronological order as one way to examine and describe the past.

CO.2. Standard: Geography

• CO.2.1. Concepts and skills students master:

  • Geographic terms and tools are used to describe space and place

  Evidence Outcomes

  Students can:

  • a. Use map keys ,legends, symbols, intermediate directions, and compass rose to derive information from various maps
  • b. Identify and locate various physical features on a map
  • c. Identify the hemispheres, equator, and poles on a globe
  • d. Identify and locate cultural, human, political, and natural features using map keys and legends

  21st-century Skills and Readiness Competencies

  Inquiry Questions:

  1. How do you define, organize, and think about the space around you?
  2. What is a human feature versus a physical feature?
  3. Why do we use geographical tools such as maps, globes, grids, symbols, and keys?
  4. How would you describe a setting without using geographic words?
  5. How can using the wrong geographic tool or term cause problems?

  Relevance and Application:

  1. Individuals use geographic tools and technology such as observations, maps, globes, photos, satellite images, and geospatial software to describe space and uses of space.
  2. Individuals and businesses use maps to give directions.

  Nature of Geography:

  1. Spatial thinkers use visual representations of the environment.
  2. Spatial thinkers identify data and reference points to understand space and place.

• CO.2.2. Concepts and skills students master:

  • People in communities manage, modify and depend on their environment

  Evidence Outcomes

  Students can:

  • a. Identify how communities manage and use nonrenewable and renewable resources
  • b. Identify local boundaries in the community
  • c. Explain why people settle in certain areas
  • d. Identify examples of physical features that affect human activity
  • e. Describe how the size and the character of a community change over time for geographic reasons

  21st-century Skills and Readiness Competencies

  Inquiry Questions:

  1. How do available resources and their uses create change in a community?
  2. Are renewable and nonrenewable resources managed well? How do you know?
  3. Why are physical features often used as boundaries?
  4. What are the various groups in a community and how are they alike and different?
  5. How do you choose if you should recycle, reduce, reuse, or throw something away?

  Relevance and Application:

  1. Maps change over time.
  2. Individuals and businesses understand that they must manage resources in the environment such as conserving water, safeguarding clean air, managing electricity needs, and reducing the amount of waste.
  3. Communities collaborate to modify, manage, and depend on the environment. For example, elected officials decide how to manage resources, and communities may limit hunting, water usage, or other activities.
  4. Geographic technology is used to gather, track, and communicate how resources might be managed or modified. For example, ski areas track snowfall rates, analyze data for avalanche danger and even create snow.

  Nature of Geography:

  1. Spatial thinkers compare information and data, and recognize that environmental factors influence change in communities.
  2. Spatial thinkers study the uneven distribution and management of resources.

CO.3. Standard: Economics

• CO.3.1. Concepts and skills students master:

  • The scarcity of resources affects the choices of individuals and communities

  Evidence Outcomes

  Students can:

  • a. Explain scarcity
  • b. Identify goods and services and recognize examples of each
  • c. Give examples of choices people make when resources are scarce
  • d. Identify possible solutions when there are limited resources and unlimited demands

  21st-century Skills and Readiness Competencies

  Inquiry Questions:

  1. How does scarcity affect purchasing decisions?
  2. What goods and services do you use?
  3. How are resources used in various communities?
  4. What are some ways to find out about the goods and services used in other communities?

  Relevance and Application:

  1. Comparison of prices of goods and services in relationship to limited income helps to make informed and financially sound decisions.
  2. Decisions must be made if there is a limited amount of income and the need for a costly good or service. For example, you may borrow, save, or get a new job to make the purchase. (PFL)
  3. Scarcity of resources affects decisions such as where to buy resources based on cost or where to locate a business.

  Nature of Economics:

  1. Economic thinkers analyze how goods and services are produced and priced.
  2. Economic thinkers analyze scarcity of resources and its impact on cost of goods and services.

CO.4. Standard: Civics

• CO.4.1. Concepts and skills students master:

  • Responsible community members advocate for their ideas

  Evidence Outcomes

  Students can:

  • a. List ways that people express their ideas respectfully
  • b. Identify how people monitor and influence decisions in their community
  • c. Describe ways in which you can take an active part in improving your school or community
  • d. Identify and give examples of civic responsibilities that are important to individuals, families, and communities
  • e. Describe important characteristics of a responsible community member

  21st-century Skills and Readiness Competencies

  Inquiry Questions:

  1. What are beliefs that help people live together in communities?
  2. What civic responsibilities do you think are important?
  3. How can different cultures and beliefs influence a community?
  4. What are responsible ways to advocate ideas in a community?

  Relevance and Application:

  1. Ideas are promoted through the use of various media such as blogs, websites, flyers, and newsletters.
  2. Individuals collaborate to responsibly advocate for the ideas they think will improve society. For example, a group lobbies the city council to create a new park or employ more firefighters.

  Nature of Economics:

  1. Responsible community members influence the rules, policies, and law in their communities.

(Note: By the completion of fourth grade, New Jersey students are expected to master the following standards.)

Social Studies Standard 6.1—U.S. History: America in the World

All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to think analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the environment shape the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make informed decisions that reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive citizens in local, national, and global communities.

• A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

  • Rules and laws are developed to protect peopleís rights and the security and welfare of society.
    • 6.1.4.A.1: Explain how rules and laws created by community, state, and national governments protect the rights of people, help resolve conflicts, and promote the common good.
  • The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights guarantee certain fundamental rights for citizens.
    • 6.1.4.A.2: Explain how fundamental rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights (i.e., freedom of expression, freedom of religion, the right to vote, and the right to due process) contribute to the continuation and improvement of American democracy.
  • American constitutional government is based on principles of limited government, shared authority, fairness, and equality.
    • 6.1.4.A.3: Determine how ìfairness,î ìequality,î and the ìcommon goodî have influenced change at the local and national levels of United States government.
  • There are different branches within the United States government, each with its own structure, leaders, and processes, and each designed to address specific issues and concerns.
    • 6.1.4.A.4: Explain how the United States government is organized and how the United States Constitution defines and limits the power of government.
    • 6.1.4.A.5: Distinguish the roles and responsibilities of the three branches of the national government.
    • 6.1.4.A.6: Explain how national and state governments share power in the federal system of government.
  • In a representative democracy, individuals elect representatives to act on the behalf of the people.
    • 6.1.4.A.7: Explain how the United States functions as a representative democracy, and describe the roles of elected representatives and how they interact with citizens at local, state, and national levels.
    • 6.1.4.A.8: Compare and contrast how government functions at the community, county, state, and national levels, the services provided, and the impact of policy decisions made at each level.
  • The examination of individual experiences, historical narratives, and events promotes an understanding of individual and community responses to the violation of fundamental rights.
    • 6.1.4.A.9: Compare and contrast responses of individuals and groups, past and present, to violations of fundamental rights.
    • 6.1.4.A.10: Describe how the actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders served as catalysts for social change and inspired social activism in subsequent generations.
  • The United States democratic system requires active participation of its citizens.
    • 6.1.4.A.11: Explain how the fundamental rights of the individual and the common good of the country depend upon all citizens exercising their civic responsibilities at the community, state, national, and global levels.
    • 6.1.4.A.12: Explain the process of creating change at the local, state, or national level.
  • Immigrants can become and obtain the rights of American citizens.
    • 6.1.4.A.13: Describe the process by which immigrants become United States citizens.
  • The world is comprised of nations that are similar to and different from the United States.
    • 6.1.4.A.14: Describe how the world is divided into many nations that have their own governments, languages, customs, and laws.
  • In an interconnected world, it important to consider different cultural perspectives before proposing solutions to local, state, national, and global challenges.
    • 6.1.4.A.15: Explain how and why it is important that people from diverse cultures collaborate to find solutions to community, state, national, and global challenges.
    • 6.1.4.A.16: Explore how national and international leaders, businesses, and global organizations promote human rights and provide aid to individuals and nations in need.

• B: Geography, People, and the Environment

  • Spatial thinking and geographic tools can be used to describe and analyze the spatial patterns and organization of people, places, and environments on Earth.
    • 6.1.4.B.1: Compare and contrast information that can be found on different types of maps, and determine when the information may be useful.
    • 6.1.4.B.2: Use physical and political maps to explain how the location and spatial relationship of places in New Jersey, the United States, and other areas, worldwide, have contributed to cultural diffusion and economic interdependence.
    • 6.1.4.B.3: Explain how and when it is important to use digital geographic tools, political maps, and globes to measure distances and to determine time zones and locations using latitude and longitude.
  • Places are jointly characterized by their physical and human properties.
    • 6.1.4.B.4: Describe how landforms, climate and weather, and availability of resources have impacted where and how people live and work in different regions of New Jersey and the United States.
  • The physical environment can both accommodate and be endangered by human activities.
    • 6.1.4.B.5: Describe how human interaction impacts the environment in New Jersey and the United States.
  • Regions form and change as a result of unique physical/ecological conditions, economies, and cultures.
    • 6.1.4.B.6: Compare and contrast characteristics of regions in the United States based on culture, economics, politics, and physical environment to understand the concept of regionalism.
  • Patterns of settlement across Earthís surface differ markedly from region to region, place to place, and time to time.
    • 6.1.4.B.7: Explain why some locations in New Jersey and the United States are more suited for settlement than others.
    • 6.1.4.B.8: Compare ways people choose to use and divide natural resources.
  • Advancements in science and technology can have unintended consequences that impact individuals and/or societies.
    • 6.1.4.B.9: Relate advances in science and technology to environmental concerns, and to actions taken to address them.
  • Urban areas, worldwide, share common physical characteristics, but may also have cultural differences.
    • 6.1.4.B.10: Identify the major cities in New Jersey, the United States, and major world regions, and explain how maps, globes, and demographic tools can be used to understand tangible and intangible cultural differences.

• C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

  • People make decisions based on their needs, wants, and the availability of resources.
    • 6.1.4.C.1: Apply opportunity cost to evaluate individualsí decisions, including ones made in their communities.
    • 6.1.4.C.2: Distinguish between needs and wants and explain how scarcity and choice influence decisions made by individuals, communities, and nations.
  • Economics is a driving force for the occurrence of various events and phenomena in societies.
    • 6.1.4.C.3: Explain why incentives vary between and among producers and consumers.
    • 6.1.4.C.4: Describe how supply and demand influence price and output of products.
    • 6.1.4.C.5: Explain the role of specialization in the production and exchange of goods and services.
  • Interaction among various institutions in the local, national, and global economies influence policymaking and societal outcomes.
    • 6.1.4.C.6: Describe the role and relationship among households, businesses, laborers, and governments within the economic system.
    • 6.1.4.C.7: Explain how the availability of private and public goods and services is influenced by the global market and government.
    • 6.1.4.C.8: Illustrate how production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services are interrelated and are affected by the global market and events in the world community.
  • Availability of resources affects economic outcomes.
    • 6.1.4.C.9: Compare and contrast how access to and use of resources affects people across the world differently.
  • Understanding of financial instruments and outcomes assists citizens in making sound decisions about money, savings, spending, and investment.
    • 6.1.4.C.10: Explain the role of money, savings, debt, and investment in individualsí lives.
    • 6.1.4.C.11: Recognize the importance of setting long-term goals when making financial decisions within the community.
  • Creativity and innovation affect lifestyle, access to information, and the creation of new products and services.
    • 6.1.4.C.12: Evaluate the impact of ideas, inventions, and other contributions of prominent figures who lived New Jersey.
    • 6.1.4.C.13: Determine the qualities of entrepreneurs in a capitalistic society.
  • Economic opportunities in New Jersey and other states are related to the availability of resources and technology.
    • 6.1.4.C.14: Compare different regions of New Jersey to determine the role that geography, natural resources, climate, transportation, technology, and/or the labor force have played in economic opportunities.
    • 6.1.4.C.15: Describe how the development of different transportation systems impacted the economies of New Jersey and the United States.
  • Creativity and innovation have led to improvements in lifestyle, access to information, and the creation of new products.
    • 6.1.4.C.16: Explain how creativity and innovation resulted in scientific achievement and inventions in many cultures during different historical periods.
    • 6.1.4.C.17: Determine the role of science and technology in the transition from an agricultural society to an industrial society, and then to the information age.
    • 6.1.4.C.18: Explain how the development of communications systems has led to increased collaboration and the spread of ideas throughout the United States and the world.

• D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

  • Immigrants come to New Jersey and the United States for various reasons and have a major impact on the state and the nation.
    • 6.1.4.D.1: Determine the impact of European colonization on Native American populations, including the Lenni Lenape of New Jersey.
    • 6.1.4.D.2: Summarize reasons why various groups, voluntarily and involuntarily, immigrated to New Jersey and America, and describe the challenges they encountered.
    • 6.1.4.D.3: Evaluate the impact of voluntary and involuntary immigration on Americaís growth as a nation, historically and today.
  • Key historical events, documents, and individuals led to the development of our nation.
    • 6.1.4.D.4: Explain how key events led to the creation of the United States and the state of New Jersey.
    • 6.1.4.D.5: Relate key historical documents (i.e., the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights) to present day government and citizenship.
    • 6.1.4.D.6: Describe the civic leadership qualities and historical contributions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin toward the development of the United States government.
    • 6.1.4.D.7: Explain the role Governor William Livingston played in the development of New Jersey government.
    • 6.1.4.D.8: Determine the significance of New Jerseyís role in the American Revolution.
    • 6.1.4.D.9: Explain the impact of trans-Atlantic slavery on New Jersey, the nation, and individuals.
  • Personal, family, and community history is a source of information for individuals about the people and places around them.
    • 6.1.4.D.10: Describe how the influence of Native American groups, including the Lenni Lenape culture, is manifested in different regions of New Jersey.
    • 6.1.4.D.11: Determine how local and state communities have changed over time, and explain the reasons for changes.
  • The study of American folklore and popular historical figures enables Americans with diverse cultural backgrounds to feel connected to a national heritage.
    • 6.1.4.D.12: Explain how folklore and the actions of famous historical and fictional characters from New Jersey and other regions of the United States contributed to the American national heritage.
  • Cultures include traditions, popular beliefs, and commonly held values, ideas, and assumptions that are generally accepted by a particular group of people.
    • 6.1.4.D.13: Describe how culture is expressed through and influenced by the behavior of people.
  • American culture, based on specific traditions and values, has been influenced by the behaviors of different cultural groups living in the United States.
    • 6.1.4.D.14: Trace how the American identity evolved over time.
  • Cultures struggle to maintain traditions in a changing society.
    • 6.1.4.D.15: Explain how various cultural groups have dealt with the conflict between maintaining traditional beliefs and practices and adopting new beliefs and practices.
  • Prejudice and discrimination can be obstacles to understanding other cultures.
    • 6.1.4.D.16: Describe how stereotyping and prejudice can lead to conflict, using examples from the past and present.
  • Historical symbols and the ideas and events they represent play a role in understanding and evaluating our history.
    • 6.1.4.D.17: Explain the role of historical symbols, monuments, and holidays and how they affect the American identity.
  • The cultures with which an individual or group identifies change and evolve in response to interactions with other groups and/or in response to needs or concerns.
    • 6.1.4.D.18: Explain how an individualís beliefs, values, and traditions may reflect more than one culture.
  • People view and interpret events differently because of the times in which they live, the experiences they have had, the perspectives held by their cultures, and their individual points of view.
    • 6.1.4.D.19: Explain how experiences and events may be interpreted differently by people with different cultural or individual perspectives.
    • 6.1.4.D.20: Describe why it is important to understand the perspectives of other cultures in an interconnected world.

Social Studies Standard 6.3—Active Citizenship in the 21st Century

All students will acquire the skills needed to be active, informed citizens who value diversity and promote cultural understanding by working collaboratively to address the challenges that are inherent in living in an interconnected world.

• Active citizens in the 21st century:

  1. Recognize that people have different perspectives based on their beliefs, values, traditions, culture, and experiences.
  2. Identify stereotyping, bias, prejudice, and discrimination in their lives and communities.
  3. Are aware of their relationships to people, places, and resources in the local community and beyond.
  4. Make informed and reasoned decisions by seeking and assessing information, asking questions, and evaluating alternate solutions.
  5. Develop strategies to reach consensus and resolve conflict.
  6. Demonstrate understanding of the need for fairness and take appropriate action against unfairness.

• A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

  • 6.3.4.A.1: Evaluate what makes a good rule or law.
  • 6.3.4.A.2: Contact local officials and community members to acquire information and/or discuss local issues.
  • 6.3.4.A.3: Select a local issue and develop a group action plan to inform school and/or community members about the issue.
  • 6.3.4.A.4: Communicate with students from various countries about common issues of public concern and possible solutions.

• B: Geography, People, and the Environment

  • 6.3.4.B.1: Plan and participate in an advocacy project to inform others about environmental issues at the local or state level and propose possible solutions.

• C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

  • 6.3.4.C.1: Develop and implement a group initiative that addresses an economic issue impacting children.

• D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

  • 6.3.4.D.1: Identify actions that are unfair or discriminatory, such as bullying, and propose solutions to address such actions.

Social Studies Skills

Essential Question:

What are effective strategies for accessing various sources of information and historical evidence, determining their validity, and using them to solve a problem or find a solution to a public policy question?

• Construct timelines of the events occurring during major eras.
• Explain how major events are related to one another in time.
• Select and use various geographic representations to compare information about people, places, regions, and environments.
• Use maps and other documents to explain the historical migration of people, expansion and disintegration of empires, and growth of economic and political systems.
• Compare and contrast differing interpretations of current and historical events.
• Assess the credibility of sources by identifying bias and prejudice in documents, media, and computer-generated information.
• Select and analyze information from a variety of sources to present a reasoned argument or position in a written and/or oral format.

Theme: People Working Together

Work serves as an organizing theme for the second grade. Students learn about jobs today and long ago. They use biographies, primary sources and artifacts as clues to the past. They deepen their knowledge of diverse cultures and their roles as citizens.

• History Strand

  • Historical Thinking and Skills

    • 1. Time can be shown graphically on calendars and timelines.
    • 2. Change over time can be shown with artifacts, maps, and photographs.

  • Heritage

    • 3. Science and technology have changed daily life.
    • 4. Biographies can show how peoplesí actions have shaped the world in which we live.

• Geography Strand

  • Spatial Thinking and Skills

    • 5. Maps and their symbols can be interpreted to answer questions about location of places.

  • Places and Regions

    • 6. The work that people do is impacted by the distinctive human and physical characteristics in the place where they live.

  • Human Systems

    • 7. Human activities alter the physical environment, both positively and negatively.
    • 8. Cultures develop in unique ways, in part through the influence of the physical environment.
    • 9. Interactions among cultures lead to sharing ways of life.

• Government Strand

  • Civic Participation and Skills

    • 10. Personal accountability includes making responsible choices, taking responsibility for personal actions and respecting others.
    • 11. Groups are accountable for choices they make and actions they take.

  • Rules and Laws

    • 12. There are different rules that govern behavior in different settings.

• Economics Strand

  • Economic Decision Making and Skills

    • 13. Information displayed on bar graphs can be used to compare quantities.

  • Scarcity

    • 14. Resources can be used in various ways.

  • Production and Consumption

    • 15. Most people around the world work in jobs in which they produce specific goods and services.

  • Markets

    • 16. People use money to buy and sell goods and services.

  • Financial Literacy

    • 17. People earn income by working.