Ron Gorr on Go to the Source (GTTS) Activities

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lithograph, The scout Buffalo Bill. Hon. W.F. Cody, Paul Frenzeny, between 1872
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To teach history without primary sources is analogous to building a house without walls. Without the structure of authentic historical references, student understanding will collapse if it is confined to the subjectivity of teachers, texts, and the modern world around them. Albeit, most teachers and texts attempt to provide a balanced delivery of content, but nothing beats the analytical dissection of an actual primary document and the historical truth that can be garnered from it. As an added bonus, primary-source activities can augment the redevelopment of history curricula that are finally beginning to recognize the significance of these critical resources.

I think [my students] know what primary documents are, but I'm not sure they understand why they are important.

So who am I? Most likely, I am just like you! I have been teaching U.S. history (AP and regular) for 15 years and I have had some pretty nice successes. I've incorporated primary sources into my lectures, projects, and PowerPoints; I have asked students to periodically find their own content-related primary sources; I have used Document-Based Essay questions to help prepare kids for the AP exam; and recently, I even combined primary source research with a Wiki assignment (see my earlier blog entry). Overall, I feel like I have met or exceeded my district and state standards and my students are certainly exposed to a wide array of primary sources throughout the year. But, I still feel like there is a gap in my student's learning. I think they know what primary documents are, but I'm not sure they understand why they are important. For some, this might seem like a hair-splitting point, but for me, it is the difference between providing a busywork time-killer and demanding high-level critical analysis. It is at the core of historical thinking and a skill that I feel obligated to expose my students to before they go off to college. Luckily, I attended a seminar offered by the Teaching American History (TAH) Grant project "Ties That Bind" that provided an adaptable template for me to follow when I am attempting to evaluate and analyze primary sources with my students.

What are Go To The Source (GTTS) Activities?

Created by Professor William Virden, founder of the Colorado Institute for Historical Study and a professor at the University of Northern Colorado, and his partner Mary Borg in 2000, Go To The Source (GTTS) Activities are basically teacher-created questionnaires that are focused upon a single primary source or a small collection of primary sources. Since they are teacher generated, the documents and artifacts can be hand-selected for age-appropriateness, relevance, and wow factor. In addition, teachers can differentiate the process for all levels and abilities.

A Specific Example

In creating my "Go To The Source" activities, I started with a general topic like "The West" and worked with local college libraries and museum archives, to augment the internet resources that I found. I found that preparation was the key to getting the most from my research time. I contacted librarians and archivists ahead of time and they happily pulled resources before I arrived. They typically love their collections and are passionate about helping researchers, so utilize their expertise. Most of the information I used was from the Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum and the Pikes Peak (Carnegie) Library.

One of my favorite pieces was a Poster from the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Click the link and go to pages 8 and 9 to see the poster and my GTTS activity associated with it. Keep this activity open in another window for reference.

I chose the poster because I thought it addressed a number of the themes I was trying to elucidate to my students about the allure of the American West, specifically the romantic notions that were associated with it. My students seemed to agree when they took part in the GTTS activity associated with it. They really liked it and actually asked to do more of them.

Prior to the lesson, I tried to contextualize the poster, by teaching most of the traditional history associated with the West. In an attempt to dive a little deeper, I tried to help the kids understand that modern notions about the West are often glorified, embellished, and romanticized by movies, literature, and other forms of media. So much so that many of the stereotypes that we see as "western," have been transferred across the globe and have been woven into the histories of Australia, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, etc. The Buffalo Bill poster serves as a wonderful piece of evidence in this discussion.

My next step was to analyze the poster and deduce all of the components that I wanted the kids to draw from it. Once I knew what I wanted them to learn, I wrote questions to help them dissect the poster like a historian.

LOTS and HOTS Questions

In GTTS activities, these questions take two forms. The first questions establish who, what, why, when, and where. The answers to these Lower Order Thinking (LOTS) questions should be easily identifiable and relatively simplistic for students, but provide them with important information necessary to analyze and evaluate the document. (See questions 1-5 on the GTTS activity for examples of LOTS questions.)

Once the students get into the document, now it is time to help them see the real significance of it. This can be done by transitioning to Higher Order Thinking (HOTS) questions. These should challenge students to: explain, compare, contrast, predict, hypothesize, infer, value, judge, and justify. Often these questions begin with Why, How, In what ways, Imagine, Suppose, Predict, If…then, Defend, Justify, or Judge. Once students have completed these, they should have a grasp of not only the who, what, and where of the document, but of its historical relevance and significance. (See questions 6-9 on the GTTS activity for examples of HOTS questions.)

TIP: Do not neglect the LOTS questions! I have a tendency to jump right to the HOTS questions because I am much more interested in the deeper analysis of the source (especially with my AP classes); however, students often need the LOTS questions to build their deductive reasoning skills. Because we, as teachers, are more versed in looking at historical sources, we analyze the basics very quickly. Students usually don't. The LOTS questions will allow them to practice this fundamental component of historical thinking. Try to write questions that help them do this.

Once you have engaged your students with a compelling and relevant primary source, it might be fun to offer an extension exercise. These allow students to apply the information gathered from the GTTS exercise by asking them to create a tangible end product that demonstrates how effectively they conceptualized the significance of the sources they analyzed. Some potential lessons could include essays, graphs, charts, webbing, diagrams, historical fiction short stories, timelines, newspapers or magazines, predictions for the future, small group presentations or PowerPoints, maps, posters, games, dioramas, letters or telegrams, compare and contrast activities, and even the creation of document-based questions. Let your teacher magic flow through!

Lastly, I think it is important that I thank Professor Virden for his generosity and his undying passion in helping teachers realize the significance of primary sources in the classroom. His hard work, along with that of his assistant Tom Carson and all of the wonderful lecturers at the seminar, allowed me to grow as an educator and historian and for that I am sincerely grateful. I know Bill is fond of saying "nothing that can be memorized is history," and with these GTTS exercises, my students are beginning to see the truth in those words.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns about this process. I'd be happy to share my experiences with you.

Ron Gorr
Air Academy High School
Colorado Springs, Colorado
rmgorr@comcast.net

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.

Elizabeth Schaefer on a New Approach to President Lincoln

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Photo, Wash_DC_20090206_005, mutantMandias, Flickr
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Summer is often a time for professional development. Have you had a chance to learn new content and strategies and visit new places? Or revisit familiar content and places? Here's some of what our teacher-writer Elizabeth Schaefer took away from a summer professional development experience in Washington, DC.

A New Angle on Lincoln and the Civil War

As you plan out your next Civil War unit, consider approaching it from a new angle, a different place. The place, Lincoln's Cottage, is tucked up on the edge of northwest Washington, DC, alongside the Soldiers' Home and is now part of the Armed Forces Retirement Home complex. It was Abraham Lincoln's summer retreat and where he spent a large portion of his presidency. Lincoln's Cottage was closed to the public until 2008 but has opened its doors to tell a fresh story about the humanity of one of the country's greatest presidents.

Lincoln's Cottage in the Classroom

The story of Lincoln's cottage is a human story—one that students can understand. It was a place of personal refuge, grief, and contemplation. Lincoln lived there for a large portion of his presidency and very likely drafted the Emancipation Proclamation in the cottage. Using the cottage as something tangible, here are three themes that you could study in your class:

Lincoln and His Family:
Lincoln's Cottage is an ideal channel to ease students' imaginations into the Civil War unit. The Lincoln family left the White House and moved all of their belongings to the cottage after the death of 11-year-old Willie Lincoln. Paint the picture for your students—a grieving mother, a 9-year-old son who just lost his brother and best friend, and a father who is leading the nation through a civil war. A range of primary sources documenting each of these individuals exists and can be used to personalize the experience and create a human president that is less out of reach. On the cottage tour, visitors are asked to consider the significance of the cottage to a grieving family and the importance of reflection to everyone. The family continued to spend half the year there for the remainder of Lincoln's presidency.

War History:
During the Civil War, although Lincoln's Cottage was a comfortable distance from the heat and bustle of the city, the house was surrounded by reminders of war. Soldiers lived and camped in the surrounding areas and interacted with the family regularly.

This can aid understanding of what a civil war entails and how the impact on everyday life differed from the concept of war as we understand it in America today.

On the tour, there are fun accounts of Lincoln's encounters with soldiers and Tad Lincoln's friendships with them that students will greatly enjoy. There is also a soldiers' graveyard on the grounds. It did not exist when the family arrived, but by the time Lincoln was assassinated it was rapidly filling up with deceased young men. The cottage offers another avenue to consider the lives and deaths of the soldiers during the war.

Another way to look at the Civil War is through the position of this "retreat." A church bell tower within feet of the cottage was used to communicate with the forts surrounding Washington, DC, to warn of oncoming attacks. I suggest having your students find the cottage and the White House in relation to these Civil War forts. You can find maps and primary source materials at http://www.nps.gov/cwdw. This can aid understanding of what a civil war entails and how the impact on everyday life differed from the concept of war as we understand it in America today.

Historic Changes:
Another theme to consider is how America has changed over time. This will have special impact if your students are in the Washington, DC, area, but the big ideas likely translate to any city. The Lincolns fled to the cottage largely because Mary Todd blamed the horrible conditions of DC for the death of her son. There was a canal flowing directly in front of the White House, and the conditions were unsanitary—hot, bug-ridden, and dirty. Willie is believed to have died from typhoid fever. Not only does this paint a clearer picture of what the cities, hospitals, and battlegrounds were like during the war, it also makes an excellent introduction to the Progressive era and its urban reform campaigns.

What do we not understand about each other? What can we never fully understand from our position in time?

The cottage provides a canvas to humanize the president, but it also provides an opportunity for historic perspective-taking. These figures were living in the 1800s and had things in common with us—grief, fear, the need for quiet time—but what do we not understand about each other? What can we never fully understand from our position in time? Lincoln is assassinated at Ford's Theatre with no real security there to stop Booth's shot. Before that, for six months out of the year, he commuted the three miles between the cottage and the White House on horseback, often alone. This is an excellent opportunity to discuss why this could not happen today. What has changed about technology and what lessons have we learned? How would our understanding of the world be different if a president had never been assassinated? Are there things in the world that we take for granted until something bad happens and everything changes (i.e. security regulations)?

Visiting Lincoln's Cottage

The cottage is a unique historic site because, as explained on the tour, the National Trust "chose to furnish the cottage with Lincoln's ideas rather than his things." Sure enough, as you walk through the space, the rooms are basically empty and, with the help of technology, the rooms are used as platforms for discussion. Within the education center, students can participate in a roleplaying activity to discuss Lincoln's cabinet and their role in emancipation. The site offers free buses for DCPS and DC charter schools. Directions and further information can be found at www.lincolncottage.org.

Acknowledgements

I was introduced to this site by the Civil War Washington Teaching Fellows, led by a collaboration of small historic sites within Washington, DC, including Lincoln's Cottage, Ford's Theatre, Frederick Douglass House, and Tudor Place. They provided a wealth of information and resources about the Civil War and each added something to this post.

Callie Hawkins represented Lincoln's Cottage and through her understanding of its importance to President Lincoln, breathed life into the site and demonstrated its endless educational possibility.

Bibliography

Bayne, Julia Taft. Tad Lincoln's Father. University of Nebraska, 2001. A memoir on the Lincolns' family life.

Pinsker, Matthew. Lincoln's Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers' Home. New York: Oxford UP, 2003. This book captures the story of Lincoln's Cottage in detail.

For more information

Field trips may be out of the reach of many teachers, but historic sites can still offer rich teachable resources. Maybe you or your students can learn about opportunities to help preserve and pass on history in your area, or you might design an individualized field trip for students to pursue in their own time, at their own pace.

Reminding students that people in the past differed from us in as many ways as they resembled us can be difficult. A research brief on reading Abraham Lincoln shows how students (and teachers) use modern-day frameworks of thought to approach historical sources. How can you challenge students' assumptions about how people in the past thought, felt, reasoned, and expressed themselves?

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: 8th-Grade Standards

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Eighth grade social studies engages students in the comprehensive study of West Virginia, from the Pre-Columbian period to the present day. Special emphasis is placed on the interdependence of geographic, cultural, political, environmental and economic factors affecting the development and future of the state. Students develop empathy for citizens worldwide as they demonstrate connections and loyalty to homeland. Students are actively engaged citizens of their school and community and develop national and global civic perspective and responsibility. Students become economically literate to understand West Virginiaís global connectivity in the market place both as a producer and a consumer of international goods and services. Students synthesize their information to predict the future development and evolution of their state. 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.08.01 / Students will:

  • characterize and model good citizenship by building social networks of reciprocity and trustworthiness (Civic Dispositions).
  • model a respect for 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.08.1 / Performance Descriptors

    • Novice:
      • match policies with citizen actions at the local, state and national level.
      • identify the process used to express opinions, solve problems and seek assistance.
      • recognize that citizens do voice their opinions for the common good and to preserve core democratic values.

    • Partial Mastery:
      • identify citizen action plans at the local, state and national level.
      • describe the process used to express opinions, solve problems and seek assistance.
      • explain that citizens should voice their opinions for the common good and to preserve core democratic values.

    • Mastery:
      • evaluate the importance of citizen actions at the local, state, and national level.
      • outline the process used to express opinions, solve problems and seek assistance.
      • evaluate the effectiveness of public opinion that promotes the common good and preserves core democratic values.

    • Above Mastery:
      • make recommendations for citizen actions at the local, state, and national level.
      • critique a plan of action outlining a the process of expressing opinions, solving problems and seeking assistance.
      • research and debate instances where public opinion affected the common good and preserved core democratic values.

    • Distinguished:
      • predict how citizen actions will influence public policy, at the local, state and national level.
      • create and recommend various plans of action outlining processes of expressing opinions, solving problems and seeking assistance.
      • compare and contrast models of public opinion turned to action and determine how these action plans affected the common good and core democratic values.

  • Objectives / Students will:

    • SS.O.08.01.01: evaluate how citizens can influence and participate in government at the local, state and national levels and assume the role of an active citizen participating in the democratic process(e.g., voting, community service, letter writing, town meeting, school elections).
    • SS.O.08.01.02: debate and practice forms of civic discussion.
    • SS.O.08.01.03: argue the effectiveness of selected public policies and citizen behaviors.
    • SS.O.08.01.04: compare and contrast the relationship between policy statements and action plans used to address issues of public concern.
    • SS.O.08.01.05: organize and provide examples of multiple points of view about selected public issues and evaluate the influence of diverse forms of public opinion on the development of public policy and decision-making.
    • SS.O.08.01.06: examine the strategies designed to strengthen the common good, which include a range of options for citizen action.
    • SS.O.08.01.07: identify, analyze, evaluate and interpret sources and examples of the responsibilities, privileges and rights of citizens.
    • SS.O.08.01.08: justify changes in the legal voting age and correlate voting as a responsibility and right of citizens.
    • SS.O.08.01.09: outline and utilize a process to express opinion, resolve problems and/or seek assistance.
    • SS.O.08.01.10: examine and analyze a local community and propose ways in which tourism can be developed.

Social Studies Standard 2: Civics

SS.S.08.02 / 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.08.2 / Performance Descriptors

    • Novice:
      • name major branches of the governments of West Virginia and the United States.
      • identify basic constitutional principles, individual rights and responsibilities.
      • match significant individuals to their contributions to the law-making process.

    • Partial Mastery:
      • differentiate between the governments of West Virginia and the United States.
      • list constitutional principles, individual rights, and responsibilities.
      • name significant individuals and their contributions to the law-making process.

    • Mastery:
      • analyze the structure and function of the West Virginia and United States governments.
      • examine constitutional principles including individual rights and responsibilities.
      • assess the impact of individuals, special interest groups, media influence public policy and government.

    • Above Mastery:
      • compare and contrast the structure and function of the West Virginia and United States governments.
      • critique constitutional principles including individual rights and responsibilities.
      • evaluate the impact of the contributions of individuals and groups to the law-making process.

    • Distinguished:
      • analyze the structure and function of the West Virginia and United States governments.
      • debate relationship between constitutional principles, individual rights, and responsibilities.
      • justify and defend the impact of the contributions of individuals and groups who have influenced the law-making process.

  • Objectives / Students will:

    • SS.O.08.02.01: analyze the division of powers and responsibilities of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the United States and West Virginia state government.
    • SS.O.08.02.02: cite the elected officials at the national, state and local levels, their requirements, duties and responsibilities (e.g., President, Governors, Senators, Representatives/Delegates, Members of Board of Public Works, County Commissioners, Mayor/City Council).
    • SS.O.08.02.03: examine the amendment process of the West Virginia Constitution, give examples of amendments and explain why they occurred.
    • SS.O.08.02.04: examine the amendment process of the West Virginia Constitution, give examples of amendments and explain why they occurred.
    • SS.O.08.02.05: analyze the functions and jurisdictions of the federal, state, local and special courts (e.g., United States Supreme Court, State Supreme Court, circuit courts, magistrate courts, family courts) and explain why a selected case would be heard in a designated court.
    • SS.O.08.02.06: examine and explain the various types of elections in West Virginia (e.g., primary/general, state/local, partisan/non-partisan).
    • SS.O.08.02.07: research and describe how special interest groups and the media influence government and the law-making process in West Virginia (e.g., West Virginia Education Association, United Mine Workers, Division of Tourism).
    • SS.O.08.02.08: explain major principles of American constitutional government (e.g., federalism, separation of powers, the elastic clause, checks and balances, government by consent of the governed, individual rights) and locate these principles in the West Virginia Constitution.
    • SS.O.08.02.09: analyze conditions under which constitutional government flourishes.
    • SS.O.08.02.10: list and explain the laws passed in a current legislative session and evaluate their impact (e.g., tourism, economy, education, health).

Social Studies Standard 3: Economics

SS.S.08.03 / 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 system (Factors of Production).
  • analyze the elements of competition and how they impact the economy (Competition).
  • examine and evaluate the interdependence of global economies (Global Economies).

  • SS.PD.08.3 / Performance Descriptors

    • Novice:
      • identify economic principles, past policies, and future development opportunities.
      • identify various factors that impact the economic development of West Virginia.
      • name the most important industries in West Virginia and the sources and uses of revenue for state and local governments.

    • Partial Mastery:
      • describe economic principles and their effects on past policies and future development.
      • explain the impact of various factors on the economic development of West Virginia.
      • identify and discuss West Virginia industries and state and local revenues and explain the importance of each to West Virginia economy .

    • Mastery:
      • analyze economic principles to explain past policies and suggest changes for future development.
      • evaluate the impact of various factors on the economic development of West Virginia.
      • correlate resource use, industrial development, labor/management relations and tourism with occupational choices, changes to the environment, local and state revenue and policy decisions.

    • Above Mastery:
      • assess economic principles to predict changes for future development of industry, agriculture, human services and tourism.
      • analyze and discuss the impact and relationship of various factors on the economic development of West Virginia.
      • critique the effect of resource use, industrial development, labor/ management relations and tourism on occupational choices, changes to the environment, local and state revenue and policy decisions.

    • Distinguished:
      • summarize the interaction of economic principles as they influence future development and use this information to design an economic plan for West Virginia.
      • create a product showing the impact and relationship among various factors on the economic development of West Virginia.
      • design an economic plan for West Virginia incorporating resource use, industrial development, labor/ management relations, tourism changes to the environment, local and state revenue and policy decisions.

  • Objectives / Students will:

    • SS.O.08.03.01: correlate West Virginiaís economic conditions with possible affects on social conditions (e.g., employment, in/out migration).
    • SS.O.08.03.02: Evaluate the impact of each of the following on the economic growth of West Virginia
      • absentee ownership
      • national and international trade
      • renewable and nonrenewable natural resources
      • labor/management strategies
      • migration
      • physical geography
      • cultural geography
    • SS.O.08.03.03: research industries and products (e.g., tourism, coal, glass, recreation, agriculture) that are important to the economy of the four regions of West Virginia and how they relate to occupations.
    • SS.O.08.03.04: identify major sources and uses of revenue for state and local governments (e.g., property tax, income tax, fees and licenses, excise tax, levies).
    • SS.O.08.03.05: analyze the effects of national and state governmental actions on West Virginiaís economy.
    • SS.O.08.03.06: anticipate the changes in West Virginiaís economy and people due to industrial development and debate the issue of industrialization vs. preserving history and/or the environment.
    • SS.O.08.03.07: examine the effect of technological changes and cost of living on West Virginiaís economy and demographic profile (e.g., in employment, entrepreneurial businesses agriculture, tourism, education, industry).
    • SS.O.08.03.08: recognize major industries in West Virginia and identify representative jobs under each (e.g., manufacturing, mining, tourism, health care).
    • SS.O.08.03.09: assess the economic benefit or detriment of changing tourist attractions from seasonal to year round (e.g., Snowshoe).

Social Studies Standard 4: Geography

SS.S.08.04 / 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 the tools and assess techniques available for geographic study (Uses of Geography).

  • SS.PD.08.4 / Performance Descriptors

    • Novice:
      • name and label the four major physical geographic regions of West Virginia and identify isolation, interaction and identify mental maps.
      • label physical features, counties and cities on a variety of maps and read literature to identify locations, cultural development and the impact of climate.
      • recognize exploration, settlement patterns and technological advances of West Virginia in relation to geographic features over time.

    • Partial Mastery:
      • describe the four major physical geographic regions of West Virginia and identify the impact of isolation, interaction and explain the mental maps that result.
      • identify and label physical features, counties and cities on a variety of maps and explain literature passages to identify locations, cultural development and the impact of climate.
      • examine exploration, settlement patterns and technological advances of West Virginia in relation to geographic features and cultural geography.

    • Mastery:
      • research the four major physical geographic regions in West Virginia contribute to the various configurations of physical and cultural processes that impact isolation, interaction and analyze the mental maps that result.
      • illustrate physical and cultural features, counties and cities on a variety of maps and interpret literature to identify locations, cultural development and the impact of climate.
      • analyze exploration and settlement patterns and illustrate the relationship between geographic features, cultural geography and technological change.

    • Above Mastery:
      • summarize the four major physical geographic regions in West Virginia contribute to the various configurations of physical and cultural processes that impact isolation, interaction and justify the mental maps that result.
      • use geospatial data to create a variety of maps with physical and cultural features, counties and cities, and choose and interpret literature to identify locations, cultural development and the impact of climate.
      • research past exploration, settlement patterns and technological advances and relate these to the changes in physical and cultural geographic features.

    • Distinguished:
      • create a new geographic regional configuration in West Virginia based on innovations and cultural changes in recent years and explain the various factors that have contributed to your configurations including the mental map that will result.
      • use geospatial data and digital tools to create a variety of maps with physical and cultural features, counties and cities, and choose and write a piece of literature to identify locations, cultural development and the impact of climate.
      • evaluate settlement patterns of West Virginia, anticipate future population trends, and draw conclusions regarding the future effects of technological advances.

  • Objectives / Students will:

    • SS.O.08.04.01: provide exact location and relative location to explain West Virginiaís position on a variety of maps and globes by using correct geographic vocabulary and graphic displays. (e.g., neighboring states, Tropic of Capricorn, time zones, Equator).
    • SS.O.08.04.02: communicate the four major physical geographic regions, major rivers, landforms, borders and points of interest in West Virginia.
    • SS.O.08.04.03: analyze and discuss the mental images (mental maps) of West Virginiaís geographic and cultural regions that are created through reading descriptive literature.
    • SS.O.08.04.04: point out the counties and major cities of West Virginia on a map and correlate the reasons for the development of the major cities within their respective counties.
    • SS.O.08.04.05: explain the reasons for the locations and types of transportation systems developed in West Virginia and recommend future systems.
    • SS.O.08.04.06: distinguish climate, landforms, resources and population density in West Virginiaís regions using special purpose maps. (e.g., topographical, climate, Geographic Information Systems) and evaluate the impact of climate, landforms and resources on peopleís lives and settlement patterns.
    • SS.O.08.04.07: illustrate how the cultural and economic isolation of different areas of the United States and West Virginia have been changed through technological advances (e.g., TV, radio, telephone, computers, highways).
    • SS.O.08.04.08: critique the geographic factors that led to development of agriculture, coal, glass, chemical, metallurgical and tourism industries in West Virginia.
    • SS.O.08.04.09: research various regional configurations found in West Virginia (e.g., geographic, tourist, health, educational, language patterns, cultural, occupational), and analyze the impact of these factors on the regional mental maps developed by West Virginia students and all other West Virginia citizens, and then present an example using one or more of these factors.
    • SS.O.08.04.10: conclude how West Virginiaís environment affects tourism.

Social Studies Standard 5: History

SS.S.08.05 / 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.08.5 / Performance Descriptors

    • Novice:
      • label significant people, places, documents, literature, music, art and events in the correct period and context of West Virginia history.
      • name and recall different physical and cultural regions across the state.
      • name the economic development, government and the diversity of cultures and society within the state.
      • name and list important industry, labor, transportation and technology issues of West Virginia.

    • Partial Mastery:
      • associate significant people, places, documents, literature, music, art and events in the correct period and context of West Virginia history.
      • list physical regions across the state and show their cultural patterns.
      • discuss the economic development, government, and the diversity of cultures and society within the state.
      • identify and define important industry, labor, transportation and technology issues of West Virginia.

    • Mastery:
      • explain significant people, places, documents, literature, music, art and events in the correct period and context of West Virginia history.
      • compare and contrast physical regions across the state and explain cultural patterns and differences.
      • explain economic development, government , the diversity of cultures and society within the state.
      • evaluate and discuss important industry, labor, transportation and technology issues and predict challenges facing West Virginia today.

    • Above Mastery:
      • analyze the significance of the actions of people, places, documents, literature, music, art and events and their impact on West Virginia history.
      • illustrate the connections between the physical regions and cultural patterns across the state, and evaluate cultural conflicts that could occur.
      • illustrate the possible connections among the economic development, government and the diversity of cultures and society within the state.
      • argue the importance of industry, labor, transportation and technology issues, and discuss the ramifications of these challenges.

    • Distinguished:
      • present an historical summary of West Virginia by incorporating the significance of people, actions, places, documents, literature, music, art and events that contributed to its development.
      • summarize the connections between the physical regions and cultural patterns across the state, and anticipate cultural conflicts that could be resolved.
      • summarize and debate the connections among the economic development, government and the diversity of cultures and society within the state.
      • research the history of industry, labor, transportation and technology issues, and summarize the significance of the historical decisions on conditions today.

  • Objectives / Students will:

    • SS.O.08.05.01: cite reasons for exploration, transportation routes and discoveries by major explorers and explain the sequence of events and incentives for Virginiaís expansion west to the Ohio River.
    • SS.O.08.05.02: compare and contrast the motives, incentives and settlement patterns of the French and English explorers and settlers on the western frontier.
    • SS.O.08.05.03: point out characteristics of various Native American cultures in West Virginia from the pre-Columbian period to the arrival of Europeans.
    • SS.O.08.05.04: relate the types of transportation that facilitated the growth of West Virginia and western expansion.
    • SS.O.08.05.05: evaluate the sequence and analyze the impact of contemporary social, economic and technological developments on people and culture in West Virginia and the United States.
    • SS.O.08.05.06: analyze the evolution of the labor movement in West Virginia and the United States.
    • SS.O.08.05.07: research and construct the sequence of events and cite the reasons for and resulting consequences of conflicts and wars that led to the formation of West Virginia as a state. (e.g., French and Indian War, American Revolution, Civil War).
    • SS.O.08.05.08: interpret facts about West Virginia and other areas from various types of charts, graphs, maps, pictures, models, timelines and primary sources (e.g. letters, journals and publications) and summarize what you have learned.
    • SS.O.08.05.09: evaluate the cultural conflict between the Europeans and Native Americans as it relates to western Virginia.
    • SS.O.08.05.10: explain the effect of immigration on the culture of West Virginia from European settlement through the early twentieth century.
    • SS.O.08.05.11: research and critique the role of ethnic and racial minorities, men, women and children in West Virginia who have made significant contributions to our history in the public and/or private sectors; choose the person you believe made the most significant contribution and explain your choice. (e.g., statehood, abolition, education, industry, literature, government).
    • SS.O.08.05.12: critique the significance of historical experience and of geographical, social and economic factors that have helped to shape both West Virginian and American society.
    • SS.O.08.05.13: assess the moral, ethical and legal tensions that led to the creation of the new state of West Virginia and how those tensions were resolved.
    • SS.O.08.05.14: point out and locate places of historical importance in West Virginia that can be visited by tourists.
    • SS.O.08.05.15: compile lists of fairs and festivals in West Virginia that can be attributed to the influence of various cultural groups who have settled in the state, explain the heritage of the fair or festival and its significance to the preservation of West Virginia history.

Social Studies Standard 6: Reading

SS.S.08.06 / Students will:

  • use the dimensions of reading (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.

(Refer to policy 2520.1 for specific grade level reading and writing objectives.)

California

Does the state assess history/social studies?
Yes
How are state history/social studies assessments used? (graduation/promotion; accountability; diagnostic)
Accountability
Is a course in U.S. history required for high school graduation?
Yes
Grades Tested
8, 10, 11
What kind of questions are on the test?
Multiple Choice
Is world history a component of state-level social studies assessment at any grade level?
Yes
Is a course in world history required for high school graduation?
Yes
Is historical thinking addressed in standards?
Yes

DC: Eighth Grade Standards

Article Body

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

  • Our Colonial Heritage (1600-1720)

    • 8.1. Broad Concept: Students explain the religious, political, and economic reasons for movement of people from Europe to the Americas, and they describe the impact of exploration and settlement by Europeans on Native Americans.
      1. Describe the varied economies and trade networks within and among major indigenous cultures prior to contact with Europeans and their systems of government, religious beliefs, distinct territories, and customs and traditions. (G, P, R, E)
      2. Explain instances of both cooperation and conflict between Native Americans and European settlers, such as agriculture, trade, cultural exchanges, and military alliances, as well as later broken treaties, massacres, and conflicts over control of the land. (G, P, M, E)
      3. Explain geographic reasons for the development of communications and smuggling within the colonies (irregular coastlines, need for products not produced locally). (G)
      4. Locate and identify the first 13 colonies, and describe how their location and natural environment influenced their development. (G)
      5. Identify the contributions of political and religious leaders in colonial America (e.g., John Smith, William Bradford, Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, John Winthrop, Thomas Hooker, and William Penn). (P, R)
      6. Describe the significance and leaders of the First Great Awakening, which marked a shift in religious ideas, practices, and allegiances in the colonial period and the growth in religious toleration and free exercise of religion. (R)
      7. Describe the day-to-day colonial life for men, women, and children in different regions and their connection to the land. (S, E)
      8. Examine the beginnings of Africans in America by identifying some of the major ethnic/national groups that came (e.g., Yoruba, Ibo, Bambara, Ki-Kongo, Wolof, Akan, and Hausas).
      9. Explain that some Africans came to America as indentured servants who were released at the end of their indentures, as well as those who came as captives to slavery. (G, E, S)
      10. Identify the origins and development of slavery in the colonies, the struggle between proponents and opponents of slavery in the colonies, and overt and passive resistance to enslavement (e.g., the Middle Passage). (P, S)

      Examples

      • Students survey the conflicts between Europeans and Native Americans—including the Pequot massacre in Connecticut, the King Philip’s War, and the armed conflict at Jamestown in 1622—and brainstorm reasons why the two civilizations clashed (8.1.1 and 8.1.2).
      • Working in groups, students conduct research on the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. In a PowerPoint presentation, chart, or poster, each group includes information about regional culture, economy, and class structure (8.1.4 and 8.1.7).

  • A New Nation (1720-1787)

    • 8.2. Broad Concept: Students understand the major events preceding the founding of the nation and relate their significance to the development of American constitutional democracy.

      Students:

      1. Describe the relationship between the moral and political ideas of the Great Awakening and the development of revolutionary fervor. (P, R)
      2. Explain how freedom from European feudalism and aristocracy and the widespread ownership of property fostered individualism and contributed to the American Revolution. (P)
      3. Analyze the philosophy of government expressed in the Declaration of Independence, with an emphasis on government as a means of securing individual rights (e.g., key phrases such as “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights”). (P)
      4. Identify the political and economic causes and consequences of the American Revolution and the major battles, leaders, and events that led to a final peace (e.g., free press, taxation without representation). (P, M, E)
      5. Analyze how the American Revolution influenced other nations’ revolutions. (P)
      6. Explain the nation’s blend of civic republicanism, classical liberal principles, and English parliamentary traditions. (P)
      7. Describe the functions and responsibilities of a free press. (P)

      Examples

      • Students brainstorm about the influence of the Great Awakening and Enlightenment thought on the American Revolution (8.2.1).
      • Students write an essay on one section of the Declaration of Independence, connecting it to the principles of the Enlightenment (8.2.3 and 8.2.4).
      • Students read segments of John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government and compare it to the Declaration of Independence (8.2.3 and 8.2.6).
      • Students conduct research on a Founding Father or Mother (with a focus on the person’s contribution to the revolution) and write a paper or present an oral report (8.2.4).
      • Students examine the changes in British mercantile policy after 1763 that fueled the Revolution (e.g., the Quartering Act, Stamp Act, Grenville and Townshend Acts, Tea Act, and Coercive Acts) (8.2.4).

  • The Constitution of the United States (1777-1789)

    • 8.3. Broad Concept: Students analyze the political principles underlying the U.S. Constitution, and they compare the enumerated and implied powers of the federal government.
      1. Describe the significance of the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, and the Mayflower Compact. (P)
      2. Analyze the Articles of Confederation and the reasons for its replacement by the Constitution. (P)
      3. Explain the Constitution and its success in implementing the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. (P)
      4. Evaluate the major debates that occurred during the development of the Constitution and their ultimate resolutions in such areas as shared power among institutions, divided state-federal power, slavery, the rights of individuals and states (later addressed by the addition of the Bill of Rights), and the status of American Indian nations. (P)
      5. Describe the political philosophy underpinning the Constitution as specified in The Federalist Papers (by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay), and explain the role of such leaders as James Madison, George Washington, Roger Sherman, Gouverneur Morris, and James Wilson in the writing and ratification of the Constitution. (P)
      6. Describe the principles of federalism, dual sovereignty, separation of powers, checks and balances, the nature and purpose of majority rule, and the ways in which the American idea of constitutionalism preserves individual rights. (P)
      7. Identify and explain the origins, purpose, and differing views of the framers on the issue of the separation of church and state. (P, R)
      8. Explain the significance of Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom as a forerunner of the First Amendment. (P, R)
      9. Describe the powers of government set forth in the Constitution and the fundamental liberties ensured by the Bill of Rights. (P)
      10. Explain the need and reasons for amendments to the Constitution. (P)

      Examples

      • Students compare the enumerated powers of Congress to the “elastic clause” (Article 1, Section 8, clause 18) (8.3.3).
      • In groups representing the small and large states at the Constitutional convention, students debate the merits of the New Jersey Plan versus the Virginia Plan, and they focus on the “bundle of compromises” that came out of the original debate (8.3.4 and 8.3.5).
      • Students read segments of Madison’s Federalist Nos. 47, 48, 51 (known as The Federalist Papers) on the importance of separation of powers, and they brainstorm on how the three branches of U.S. government check and balance each other (8.3.3, 8.3.5, and 8.3.6).
      • Working in groups, students research First Amendment cases on freedom of speech, religion, and assembly (e.g., Schenck v. United States 1919, Engle v. Vitale 1962, and Texas v. Johnson 1989) (8.3.7, 8.3.4, 8.3.8, and 8.3.9).
    • 8.4. Broad Concept: Students understand the foundation of the American political system and the ways in which citizens participate in it.
      1. Analyze the principles and concepts codified in state constitutions between 1777 and 1781 that created the context out of which American political institutions and ideas developed. (P)
      2. Explain how the ordinances of 1785 and 1787 privatized national resources and transferred federally owned lands into private holdings, townships, and states. (G, P)
      3. Explain the strict versus loose interpretation of the Constitution and how the conflicts between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton resulted in the emergence of two political parties (e.g., their views of foreign policy, Alien and Sedition Acts, economic policy, National Bank, funding, and assumption of the revolutionary debt). (P)
      4. Understand the significance of domestic resistance movements and the way in which the central government responded to such movements (e.g., Shays’ Rebellion, the Whiskey Rebellion). (P)
      5. Describe the basic law-making process and how the Constitution provides numerous opportunities for citizens to participate in the political process and to monitor and influence government (e.g., function of elections, political parties, and interest groups). (P)
      6. Enumerate the advantages of a common market among the states as foreseen in and protected by the Constitution’s clauses on interstate commerce, common coinage, etc. (E)

      Examples

      • Students conduct research on the ways in which the political ideas of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were an extension of their personalities and backgrounds. On a chart, a PowerPoint, or an essay, they compare and contrast the differing viewpoints of Jefferson and Hamilton that became the intellectual foundations of the first political parties (resource: Thomas Bailey and David Kennedy, The American Spirit. Houghton Mifflin, Ninth Edition) (8.4.3).
      • After being introduced to Shays’ Rebellion, students read a section of Madison’s Federalist 10 in which he addresses the issue of factions (interest groups). Students brainstorm about why the Founding Fathers were so concerned about factions (8.4.4 and 8.4.5).
      • Students research an interest or minority group that became a force for change (e.g., women’s suffrage, African American civil rights, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Sierra Club, or Organized Labor). They report their findings to the class (8.4.5).
      • Students research the number of votes that each state has in the Electoral College and plot the numbers on a map. After they survey several controversial elections, students brainstorm about the advantages and disadvantages of the Electoral College system (8.4.5).

  • Launching the Young Nation (1789-1849)

    • 8.5. Broad Concept: Students analyze the aspirations and ideals of the people of the new nation.
      1. Explain the policy significance of famous speeches (e.g., Washington’s farewell address, Jefferson’s 1801 inaugural address). (P)
      2. Explain and identify on a map the territorial expansion during the terms of the first four presidents (e.g., the Lewis and Clark expedition, the Louisiana Purchase). (G, P)
      3. Describe daily life—including traditions in art, music, and literature—of early national America (e.g., through writings by Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper). (S, I)
      4. Analyze the rise of capitalism and the economic problems and conflicts that accompanied it (e.g., Jackson’s opposition to the National Bank; early decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court that reinforced the sanctity of contracts). (E)

      Examples

      • Students trace the journey of Lewis and Clark and identify the states that resulted from the Louisiana Purchase. Each student explores one section of The Original Journals of Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804–1806 and summarizes the main points to the class (lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/) (8.5.2).
      • Students create a PowerPoint presentation of the art of the Hudson River School (e.g., Thomas Cole and Frederick Church) or other artists that depicted nature scenes (e.g., Albert Bierstadt) to develop an understanding of the antebellum Romantic movement (8.5.3).
      • Students research and reenact the McCulloch v. Maryland case and read sections of John Marshall’s opinion (8.5.4).
    • 8.6. Broad Concept: Students analyze U.S. foreign policy in the early Republic.
      1. Explain the political and economic causes and consequences of the War of 1812 and the major battles, leaders, and events that led to a final peace. (P, M, E)
      2. Outline the major treaties with American Indian nations during the administrations of the first four presidents and the varying outcomes of those treaties. (P)
      3. Identify on a map the changing boundaries of the United States and the relationships the country had with its neighbors (currently Mexico and Canada) and Europe, including the influence of the Monroe Doctrine, and explain how those relationships influenced westward expansion and the Mexican-American War. (G, P)

      Examples

      • Working in small groups, students research the major engagements of the War of 1812, including the naval battles on Lakes Erie and Champlain, battles against the Tecumseh Confederation, the British attack on the Chesapeake, and the Battle of New Orleans. Each group reports to the class (8.6.1 and 8.6.2).
      • Students research the significance of world events on U.S. foreign policy, such as the connection between the Haitian Revolution, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Adams-Onis Treaty, or the connection between Latin American independence movements and the Monroe Doctrine (8.6.3).

  • The Divergent and Unifying Paths of the American People (1800-1850)

    • 8.7. Broad Concept: Students analyze the paths of the American people in the North from 1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced.
      1. Locate and identify the states that made up the Northern region of the United States on a map. (G)
      2. Describe the influence of industrialization and technological developments on the region, including human modification of the landscape and how physical geography shaped human actions (e.g., growth of cities, deforestation, farming, mineral extraction). (G)
      3. Outline the physical obstacles to and the economic and political factors involved in building a network of roads, canals, and railroads (e.g., Henry Clay’s American System). (G, E)
      4. List and describe the reasons for the wave of immigration from Northern Europe to the United States, and describe the growth in the number, size, and spatial arrangements of cities (e.g., Irish immigrants and the Great Irish Famine). (G)
      5. Describe the lives of black Americans who gained freedom in the North and founded mutual aid societies, schools, and churches to advance their rights and communities. (P, S)
      6. Explain how the American North saw the emergence of ethnic self-identities that became political power groups and defined communities in urban areas (Germans, Irish, Jews, and black Yankees), and describe the political struggles among them. (G, S, I)
      7. Trace the development of the American education system from its earliest roots, including the roles of religious and private schools and Horace Mann’s campaign for free public education and its assimilating role in American culture. (R, S)
      8. Explain the women’s suffrage movement (e.g., biographies, writings, and speeches of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Maria Stewart, Margaret Fuller, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony). (P, S)
      9. Identify common themes in American art as well as transcendentalism and individualism (e.g., writings about and by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow). (I)

      Examples

      • Students build models of early 19th-century technological innovations (e.g., the Erie Canal, a reaper, a steamboat, or a cotton mill), and they brainstorm about the connections among revolutions in agriculture, transportation, and industry (8.7.2).
      • Students examine the conflict between the Democrats and the Whigs over economic policy. They compare the conflict between Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson to that of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton (8.7.3).
      • Students view the WGBH series Africans in America on abolition and the PBS series The Irish in America: The Long Journey Home on immigration. They write about the cultural and economic changes in the U.S. landscape, including immigration, and the nativist response in the reform movements of abolition (8.7.4, 8.7.6, 8.7.7 and 8.7.8).
      • Students research the life of Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church of Philadelphia in 1817 (8.7.5).
    • 8.8. Broad Concept: Students analyze the paths of the American people in the South from 1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced.
      1. Locate and identify the states that made up the Northern region of the United States on a map. (G)
      2. Locate and identify the states that made up the Southern region of the United States on a map. (G)
      3. Describe the development of the agrarian economy in the South, the locations of the cotton- producing states, and the significance of cotton and the cotton gin. (G, E)
      4. Explain the characteristics of white Southern society and how the physical environment influenced events and conditions prior to the Civil War. (G, S)
      5. Trace the development of slavery; its effects on black Americans and on the region’s political, social, religious, economic, and cultural development; and the strategies that were tried to both overturn and preserve it (e.g., through the writings of David Walker, Henry Highland Garnet, Martin Delany, and Frederick Douglass and the historical documents on Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey). (P, S)

      Examples

      • Working in groups, students create a chart and present a PowerPoint presentation on the rise of the slave population in the cotton states between 1830 and 1860 (fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/) (8.8.1 and 8.8.2).
      • Students read sections from speeches, diaries, and journals of abolitionists who lived on plantations, such as Sarah and Angelina Grimke, the famous antebellum actress Fanny Kemble, and Frederick Douglass (8.83 and 8.8.4).
    • 8.9. Broad Concept: Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the West from 1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced.
      1. Locate and identify the states that made up the Western region of the United States on a map. (G)
      2. Describe the election of Andrew Jackson as president in 1828, the importance of Jacksonian democracy, and his actions as president (e.g., the spoils system, veto of the National Bank, and opposition to the Supreme Court). (P)
      3. Describe the course and outcome of conflicts between American Indians and European settlers over land (Indian Wars).
      4. Describe the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the land-exchange treaties that forced Native Americans who lived east of the Mississippi River further west, and the effect these policies had on Native American nations (e.g., Cherokee Nation versus Georgia). (G, P, S)
      5. Describe the purpose, challenges, and economic incentives associated with westward expansion, including the concept of Manifest Destiny (e.g., accounts of the removal of Indians, the Cherokees’ Trail of Tears, and settlement of the Great Plains) and the territorial acquisitions that spanned numerous decades. (G, P, S)
      6. Locate the great rivers on a map, and explain their importance and the struggle over water rights. (G, P)
      7. Describe the role of pioneer women and the new status that Western women achieved (e.g., Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, Mary Fields “Stagecoach Mary,” slave women gaining freedom in the West, and Wyoming granting suffrage to women in 1869). (S)
      8. Describe Mexican settlements and their locations, cultural traditions, attitudes toward slavery, land- grant system, and economies. (G, P, E)
      9. Describe the Texas War for Independence and the Mexican-American War, including territorial settlements, the aftermath of the wars, and the effects the wars had on the lives of Americans, including Mexican Americans today. (G, M, S)

      Examples

      • Students compare and contrast Jacksonian and Jeffersonian democracy, and they develop a chart outlining similarities and differences regarding presidential power, views on the Constitution, states’ rights, nationalism, and the National Bank (8.9.2).
      • After being introduced to both nationalistic and critical interpretations of Manifest Destiny, students brainstorm on the paradoxical nature of westward expansion and on what groups benefited from that expansion. They apply the problems of westward expansion, either verbally or in writing, to Native American removal, westward settlement, the Texas question, the Oregon question, the California gold rush, and the Mexican War (8.9.2, 8.9.4, 8.9.5, 8.9.8, and 8.9.9).
      • Students trace the Oregon Trail on a map and research the actual necessities that were required for an overland trip (8.9.5).
      • Students read diaries of pioneer women in Pioneer Women, by Joanna Stratton (8.9.7).
    • 8.10. Broad Concept: Students analyze the issue of slavery, including the early and steady attempts to abolish slavery and to realize the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.
      1. Describe the abolition of slavery in early state constitutions. (P, S)
      2. Describe the significance of the Northwest Ordinance in education and in the banning of slavery in new states north of the Ohio River. (P, S)
      3. Identify the various leaders of the abolitionist movement (e.g., John Quincy Adams, his proposed constitutional amendment and the Amistad case; John Brown and the armed resistance; Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad; Theodore Weld, crusader for freedom; William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator; Frederick Douglass and the Slave Narratives; Martin Delany and The Emigration Cause; and Sojourner Truth and “Ain’t I a Woman”). (P)
      4. Describe the importance of the slavery issue as raised by the annexation of Texas and California’s admission to the union as a free state under the Compromise of 1850. (P, S)
      5. Analyze the significance of the States’ Rights Doctrine, the Missouri Compromise (1820), the Wilmot Proviso (1846), the Compromise of 1850, Henry Clay’s role in the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), the Dred Scott v. Sanford decision (1857), and the Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858). (P)
      6. Identify the conditions of enslavement, and explain how slaves adapted and resisted in their daily lives.
      7. Describe the lives of free blacks and the laws that limited their freedom and economic opportunities (e.g., Cincinnati riots and the Ohio Black Codes). (P, S, E)

      Examples

      • Students analyze the Northern arguments—political, social, economic, and moral—against slavery. After looking at the Southern “positive good” argument, students focus (verbally or in writing) on the effect that the Dred Scott case had on the North and John Brown’s raid had on the South (8.10.3 and 8.10.5).
      • Students brainstorm about the significance of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote, “Mexico will poison us,” about the events following the Mexican War (8.10.4 and 8.10.5).
      • Students watch the PBS show Roots of Resistance: A Story of the Underground Railroad. Students then research and report on the narratives of escaped slaves (8.10.3 and 8.10.6).
      • Students stage a debate about the issue of popular sovereignty versus the position of the Republican Party that sought to ban slavery in the territories (8.10.5).

  • Civil War and Reconstruction (1830-1877)

    • 8.11. Broad Concept: Students analyze the multiple causes, key events, and complex consequences of the Civil War.
      1. Trace on a map the boundaries constituting the North and the South, the geographical differences between the two regions, and the differences between agrarians and industrialists. (G, P)
      2. Compare the conflicting interpretations of state and federal authority as emphasized in the speeches and writings of statesmen, such as Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun. (P)
      3. Identify the constitutional issues posed by the doctrine of nullification and secession and the earliest origins of that doctrine. (P)
      4. Describe Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and his significant writings and speeches and their relationship to the Declaration of Independence (e.g., his House Divided speech in 1858, Gettysburg Address in 1863, Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and inaugural addresses in 1861 and 1865). (P)
      5. Explain the views and lives of leaders (e.g., Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, and Robert E. Lee) and soldiers on both sides of the war, including those of black soldiers and regiments. (P, M)
      6. Describe African American involvement in the Union army, including the Massachusetts 54th Regiment led by Colonel Robert Shaw. (M, S)
      7. Describe critical developments and events in the war, including locating on a map the major battles, geographical advantages and obstacles, technological advances, and General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. (G, M, P)
      8. Explain how the war affected combatants, civilians, the physical environment, and future warfare. (G, M, S)

      Examples

      • Students develop a chart on resources, population, industrial output, and agricultural output of the North and South in 1861 (8.11.1).
      • After viewing the first episode of Ken Burns’ The Civil War, students discuss the differences between long-term causes (e.g., why the Civil War was fought) and short-term causes (e.g., how the Civil War started). They address in writing or verbally whether or not the Civil War was an irrepressible conflict (8.11.2 and 8.11.3).
      • Students read the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln’s second inaugural address and discuss how Lincoln redefined the Declaration of Independence (resource: Garry Wills, Lincoln at Gettysburg, and biographies by Stephen B. Oats and David Herbert Donald) (8.11.4).
      • Students watch a clip of the film Glory and research military tactics and the organization of troops in both armies (8.11.6 and 8.11.7).
    • 8.12. Broad Concept: Students analyze the character and lasting consequences of Reconstruction.
      1. Explain the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution and their connection to Reconstruction. (P)
      2. List and describe the original aims of Reconstruction (e.g., to reunify the nation) and its effects on the political and social structures of different regions. (G, P, S)
      3. Explain the effects of the Freedmen’s Bureau and the restrictions placed on the rights and opportunities of freedmen, including racial segregation and Jim Crow laws. (P, S)
      4. Trace the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and vigilante justice. (P, S)
      5. Explain the movement of both white Northern entrepreneurs (carpetbaggers) and black Yankees from the North to the South and their reasons for doing so. (S, G, E)
      6. Explain the push-pull factors in the movement of former slaves to the cities in the North and to the West and their differing experiences in those regions (e.g., the experiences of Buffalo Soldiers, the Exodusters). (G)
      7. Outline the pulling out of the federal army and its troops from the South due to an agreement negotiated by a bipartisan Congressional Commission, thus ending Reconstruction. (P, M)
      8. Explain how the war affected combatants, civilians, the physical environment, and future warfare. (G, M, S)

      Examples

      • Students assess, either in writing or verbally, the successes and failures of the Reconstruction amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) in securing equal rights for African Americans (8.12.1, 8.12.2, and 8.12.3).
      • Students research the Force Acts passed by the U.S. Congress shortly after the Civil War to protect the voting rights of African Americans and limit the reach of the Ku Klux Klan (www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/tguide/index.html) (8.12.4).
      • Students research the lives of people who played significant roles in Reconstruction, such as carpetbagger Marshall Harvey Twitchell, a Vermont ex-Union army officer, who was a powerful force in Republican politics in Louisiana after the Civil War (www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/tguide/index.html) (8.12.5 and 8.12.3).
      • Students research and then discuss the similarities and differences of the presidential elections of 1876 and 2000 (8.12.7).

  • The Rise of Industrial America (1877-1914)

    • 8.13. Broad Concept: Students analyze the transformation of the American economy and the changing social and political conditions in the United States in response to the Industrial Revolution.
      1. Explain the location and effects of urbanization, renewed immigration, and industrialization (e.g., the effects on social fabric of cities, wealth and economic opportunity, the conservation movement). (G, S, E)
      2. Identify the new sources of large-scale immigration and the contributions of immigrants to the building of cities and the economy (e.g., Italians, Jews, Greeks, Slavs, and Asians); the ways in which new social and economic patterns encourage assimilation of newcomers into the mainstream amid growing cultural diversity; and the new wave of nativism. (G, S)
      3. Explain ecological, economic, and race factors that contributed to the start of the mass migration of African Americans from the Southern regions of the United States to the Northeast and Midwest regions. (G, E, P, S).
      4. Explain the connection between the ideology of Manifest Destiny and accelerated economic growth of the United States in the late 19th century (e.g., connection between U.S. business interests and military intervention in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean). (P, E)

      Examples

      • Students survey the Gilded Age through the art of Thomas Eakins, Robert Henri, and Mary Cassatt; the photography of Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine; and the music of Scott Joplin and John Phillip Sousa. They discuss how art, photography, and music provide a lens for viewing a historical period (8.13.1 and 8.13.2).
      • Students read Justice Harlan’s dissenting opinion in the Plessey v. Ferguson case and discuss the rise of Jim Crow (8.13.3).

Texas: 8th-Grade Standards

Article Body

§113.20. Social Studies, Grade 8, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.

Introduction

  1. In Grade 8, students study the history of the United States from the early colonial period through Reconstruction. The knowledge and skills in subsection (b) of this section comprise the first part of a two-year study of U.S. history. The second part, comprising U.S. history from Reconstruction to the present, is provided in §113.41 of this title (relating to United States History Studies Since 1877 (One Credit), Beginning with School Year 2011-2012). The content in Grade 8 builds upon that from Grade 5 but provides more depth and breadth. Historical content focuses on the political, economic, religious, and social events and issues related to the colonial and revolutionary eras, the creation and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, challenges of the early republic, the Age of Jackson, westward expansion, sectionalism, Civil War, and Reconstruction. Students describe the physical characteristics of the United States and their impact on population distribution and settlement patterns in the past and present. Students analyze the various economic factors that influenced the development of colonial America and the early years of the republic and identify the origins of the free enterprise system. Students examine the American beliefs and principles, including limited government, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, and individual rights, reflected in the U.S. Constitution and other historical documents. Students evaluate the impact of Supreme Court cases and major reform movements of the 19th century and examine the rights and responsibilities of citizens of the United States as well as the importance of effective leadership in a constitutional republic. Students evaluate the impact of scientific discoveries and technological innovations on the development of the United States. Students use critical-thinking skills, including the identification of bias in written, oral, and visual material.
  2. To support the teaching of the essential knowledge and skills, the use of a variety of rich primary and secondary source material such as the complete text of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, landmark cases of the U.S. Supreme Court, biographies, autobiographies, novels, speeches, letters, diaries, poetry, songs, and artworks is encouraged. Motivating resources are available from museums, historical sites, presidential libraries, and local and state preservation societies.
  3. The eight strands of the essential knowledge and skills for social studies are intended to be integrated for instructional purposes. Skills listed in the social studies skills strand in subsection (b) of this section should be incorporated into the teaching of all essential knowledge and skills for social studies. A greater depth of understanding of complex content material can be attained when integrated social studies content from the various disciplines and critical-thinking skills are taught together. Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
  4. Students identify the role of the U.S. free enterprise system within the parameters of this course and understand that this system may also be referenced as capitalism or the free market system.
  5. Throughout social studies in Kindergarten-Grade 12, students build a foundation in history; geography; economics; government; citizenship; culture; science, technology, and society; and social studies skills. The content, as appropriate for the grade level or course, enables students to understand the importance of patriotism, function in a free enterprise society, and appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation as referenced in the Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.002(h).
  6. Students understand that a constitutional republic is a representative form of government whose representatives derive their authority from the consent of the governed, serve for an established tenure, and are sworn to uphold the constitution.
  7. State and federal laws mandate a variety of celebrations and observances, including Celebrate Freedom Week.
    • a. Each social studies class shall include, during Celebrate Freedom Week as provided under the TEC, §29.907, or during another full school week as determined by the board of trustees of a school district, appropriate instruction concerning the intent, meaning, and importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, in their historical contexts. The study of the Declaration of Independence must include the study of the relationship of the ideas expressed in that document to subsequent American history, including the relationship of its ideas to the rich diversity of our people as a nation of immigrants, the American Revolution, the formulation of the U.S. Constitution, and the abolitionist movement, which led to the Emancipation Proclamation and the women's suffrage movement.
    • b. Each school district shall require that, during Celebrate Freedom Week or other week of instruction prescribed under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, students in Grades 3-12 study and recite the following text: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed."
  8. Students identify and discuss how the actions of U.S. citizens and the local, state, and federal governments have either met or failed to meet the ideals espoused in the founding documents.

Knowledge and skills

  1. History:
    The student understands traditional historical points of reference in U.S. history through 1877. The student is expected to:
    • a. identify the major eras and events in U.S. history through 1877, including colonization, revolution, drafting of the Declaration of Independence, creation and ratification of the Constitution, religious revivals such as the Second Great Awakening, early republic, the Age of Jackson, westward expansion, reform movements, sectionalism, Civil War, and Reconstruction, and describe their causes and effects;
    • b. apply absolute and relative chronology through the sequencing of significant individuals, events, and time periods; and
    • c. explain the significance of the following dates: 1607, founding of Jamestown; 1620, arrival of the Pilgrims and signing of the Mayflower Compact; 1776, adoption of the Declaration of Independence; 1787, writing of the U.S. Constitution; 1803, Louisiana Purchase; and 1861-1865, Civil War.
  2. History:
    The student understands the causes of exploration and colonization eras. The student is expected to:
    • a. identify reasons for European exploration and colonization of North America; and
    • b. compare political, economic, religious, and social reasons for the establishment of the 13 English colonies.
  3. History:
    The student understands the foundations of representative government in the United States. The student is expected to:
    • a. explain the reasons for the growth of representative government and institutions during the colonial period;
    • b. analyze the importance of the Mayflower Compact, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, and the Virginia House of Burgesses to the growth of representative government; and
    • c. describe how religion and virtue contributed to the growth of representative government in the American colonies.
  4. History:
    The student understands significant political and economic issues of the revolutionary era. The student is expected to:
    • a. analyze causes of the American Revolution, including the Proclamation of 1763, the Intolerable Acts, the Stamp Act, mercantilism, lack of representation in Parliament, and British economic policies following the French and Indian War;
    • b. explain the roles played by significant individuals during the American Revolution, including Abigail Adams, John Adams, Wentworth Cheswell, Samuel Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, James Armistead, Benjamin Franklin, Bernardo de Gálvez, Crispus Attucks, King George III, Haym Salomon, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Paine, and George Washington;
    • c. explain the issues surrounding important events of the American Revolution, including declaring independence; writing the Articles of Confederation; fighting the battles of Lexington, Concord, Saratoga, and Yorktown; enduring the winter at Valley Forge; and signing the Treaty of Paris of 1783;
    • d. analyze the issues of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, including the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise; and
    • e. analyze the arguments for and against ratification.
  5. History:
    The student understands the challenges confronted by the government and its leaders in the early years of the republic and the Age of Jackson. The student is expected to:
    • a. describe major domestic problems faced by the leaders of the new republic such as maintaining national security, building a military, creating a stable economic system, setting up the court system, and defining the authority of the central government;
    • b. summarize arguments regarding protective tariffs, taxation, and the banking system;
    • c. explain the origin and development of American political parties;
    • d. explain the causes, important events, and effects of the War of 1812;
    • e. identify the foreign policies of presidents Washington through Monroe and explain the impact of Washington's Farewell Address and the Monroe Doctrine;
    • f. explain the impact of the election of Andrew Jackson, including expanded suffrage; and
    • g. analyze the reasons for the removal and resettlement of Cherokee Indians during the Jacksonian era, including the Indian Removal Act, Worcester v. Georgia, and the Trail of Tears.
  6. History:
    The student understands westward expansion and its effects on the political, economic, and social development of the nation. The student is expected to:
    • a. explain how the Northwest Ordinance established principles and procedures for orderly expansion of the United States;
    • b. explain the political, economic, and social roots of Manifest Destiny;
    • c. analyze the relationship between the concept of Manifest Destiny and the westward growth of the nation;
    • d. explain the causes and effects of the U.S.-Mexican War and their impact on the United States; and
    • e. identify areas that were acquired to form the United States, including the Louisiana Purchase.
  7. History:
    The student understands how political, economic, and social factors led to the growth of sectionalism and the Civil War. The student is expected to:
    • a. analyze the impact of tariff policies on sections of the United States before the Civil War;
    • b. compare the effects of political, economic, and social factors on slaves and free blacks;
    • c. analyze the impact of slavery on different sections of the United States; and
    • d. identify the provisions and compare the effects of congressional conflicts and compromises prior to the Civil War, including the roles of John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster.
  8. History:
    The student understands individuals, issues, and events of the Civil War. The student is expected to:
    • a. explain the roles played by significant individuals during the Civil War, including Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and Abraham Lincoln, and heroes such as congressional Medal of Honor recipients William Carney and Philip Bazaar;
    • b. explain the causes of the Civil War, including sectionalism, states' rights, and slavery, and significant events of the Civil War, including the firing on Fort Sumter; the battles of Antietam, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg; the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation; Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House; and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln; and
    • c. analyze Abraham Lincoln's ideas about liberty, equality, union, and government as contained in his first and second inaugural addresses and the Gettysburg Address and contrast them with the ideas contained in Jefferson Davis's inaugural address.
  9. History:
    The student understands the effects of Reconstruction on the political, economic, and social life of the nation. The student is expected to:
    • a. evaluate legislative reform programs of the Radical Reconstruction Congress and reconstructed state governments;
    • b. evaluate the impact of the election of Hiram Rhodes Revels;
    • c. explain the economic, political, and social problems during Reconstruction and evaluate their impact on different groups; and
    • d. identify the effects of legislative acts such as the Homestead Act, the Dawes Act, and the Morrill Act.
  10. Geography:
    The student understands the location and characteristics of places and regions of the United States, past and present. The student is expected to:
    • a. locate places and regions of importance in the United States during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries;
    • b. compare places and regions of the United States in terms of physical and human characteristics; and
    • c. analyze the effects of physical and human geographic factors on major historical and contemporary events in the United States.
  11. Geography:
    The student understands the physical characteristics of North America and how humans adapted to and modified the environment through the mid-19th century. The student is expected to:
    • a. analyze how physical characteristics of the environment influenced population distribution, settlement patterns, and economic activities in the United States during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries;
    • b. describe the positive and negative consequences of human modification of the physical environment of the United States; and
    • c. describe how different immigrant groups interacted with the environment in the United States during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
  12. Economics:
    The student understands why various sections of the United States developed different patterns of economic activity. The student is expected to:
    • a. identify economic differences among different regions of the United States;
    • b. explain reasons for the development of the plantation system, the transatlantic slave trade, and the spread of slavery;
    • c. explain the reasons for the increase in factories and urbanization; and
    • d. analyze the causes and effects of economic differences among different regions of the United States at selected times in U.S. history.
  13. Economics:
    The student understands how various economic forces resulted in the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. The student is expected to:
    • a. analyze the War of 1812 as a cause of economic changes in the nation; and
    • b. identify the economic factors that brought about rapid industrialization and urbanization.
  14. Economics:
    The student understands the origins and development of the free enterprise system in the United States. The student is expected to:
    • a. explain why a free enterprise system of economics developed in the new nation, including minimal government intrusion, taxation, and property rights; and
    • b. describe the characteristics and the benefits of the U.S. free enterprise system during the 18th and 19th centuries.
  15. Government:
    The student understands the American beliefs and principles reflected in the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and other important historic documents. The student is expected to:
    • a. identify the influence of ideas from historic documents, including the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact, the Federalist Papers, and selected Anti-Federalist writings, on the U.S. system of government;
    • b. summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation;
    • c. identify colonial grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence and explain how those grievances were addressed in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and
    • d. analyze how the U.S. Constitution reflects the principles of limited government, republicanism, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, and individual rights.
  16. Government:
    The student understands the process of changing the U.S. Constitution and the impact of amendments on American society. The student is expected to:
    • a. summarize the purposes for and process of amending the U.S. Constitution; and
    • b. describe the impact of 19th-century amendments, including the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, on life in the United States.
  17. Government:
    The student understands the dynamic nature of the powers of the national government and state governments in a federal system. The student is expected to:
    • a. analyze the arguments of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, including those of Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, James Madison, and George Mason; and
    • b. explain constitutional issues arising over the issue of states' rights, including the Nullification Crisis and the Civil War.
  18. Government:
    The student understands the impact of landmark Supreme Court cases. The student is expected to:
    • a. identify the origin of judicial review and analyze examples of congressional and presidential responses;
    • b. summarize the issues, decisions, and significance of landmark Supreme Court cases, including Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, and Gibbons v. Ogden; and
    • c. evaluate the impact of selected landmark Supreme Court decisions, including Dred Scott v. Sandford, on life in the United States.
  19. Citizenship:
    The student understands the rights and responsibilities of citizens of the United States. The student is expected to:
    • a. define and give examples of unalienable rights;
    • b. summarize rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights;
    • c. explain the importance of personal responsibilities, including accepting responsibility for one's behavior and supporting one's family;
    • d. identify examples of responsible citizenship, including obeying rules and laws, staying informed on public issues, voting, and serving on juries;
    • e. summarize the criteria and explain the process for becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States; and
    • f. explain how the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens reflect our national identity.
  20. Citizenship:
    The student understands the importance of voluntary individual participation in the democratic process. The student is expected to:
    • a. explain the role of significant individuals such as Thomas Hooker, Charles de Montesquieu, John Locke, William Blackstone, and William Penn in the development of self-government in colonial America;
    • b. evaluate the contributions of the Founding Fathers as models of civic virtue; and
    • c. analyze reasons for and the impact of selected examples of civil disobedience in U.S. history such as the Boston Tea Party and Henry David Thoreau's refusal to pay a tax.
  21. Citizenship:
    The student understands the importance of the expression of different points of view in a constitutional republic. The student is expected to:
    • a. identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups on important historical and contemporary issues;
    • b. describe the importance of free speech and press in a constitutional republic; and
    • c. summarize a historical event in which compromise resulted in a peaceful resolution.
  22. Citizenship:
    The student understands the importance of effective leadership in a constitutional republic. The student is expected to:
    • a. analyze the leadership qualities of elected and appointed leaders of the United States such as George Washington, John Marshall, and Abraham Lincoln; and
    • b. describe the contributions of significant political, social, and military leaders of the United States such as Frederick Douglass, John Paul Jones, James Monroe, Stonewall Jackson, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
  23. Culture:
    The student understands the relationships between and among people from various groups, including racial, ethnic, and religious groups, during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The student is expected to:
    • a. identify selected racial, ethnic, and religious groups that settled in the United States and explain their reasons for immigration;
    • b. explain the relationship between urbanization and conflicts resulting from differences in religion, social class, and political beliefs;
    • c. identify ways conflicts between people from various racial, ethnic, and religious groups were resolved;
    • d. analyze the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to our national identity; and
    • e. identify the political, social, and economic contributions of women to American society.
  24. Culture:
    The student understands the major reform movements of the 19th century. The student is expected to:
    • a. describe the historical development of the abolitionist movement; and
    • b. evaluate the impact of reform movements, including educational reform, temperance, the women's rights movement, prison reform, abolition, the labor reform movement, and care of the disabled.
  25. Culture:
    The student understands the impact of religion on the American way of life. The student is expected to:
    • a. trace the development of religious freedom in the United States;
    • b. describe religious motivation for immigration and influence on social movements, including the impact of the first and second Great Awakenings; and
    • c. analyze the impact of the First Amendment guarantees of religious freedom on the American way of life.
  26. Culture:
    The student understands the relationship between the arts and the times during which they were created. The student is expected to:
    • a. describe developments in art, music, and literature that are unique to American culture such as the Hudson River School artists, John James Audubon, "Battle Hymn of the Republic," transcendentalism, and other cultural activities in the history of the United States;
    • b. identify examples of American art, music, and literature that reflect society in different eras; and
    • c. analyze the relationship between fine arts and continuity and change in the American way of life.
  27. Science, technology, and society:
    The student understands the impact of science and technology on the economic development of the United States. The student is expected to:
    • a. explain the effects of technological and scientific innovations such as the steamboat, the cotton gin, and interchangeable parts;
    • b. analyze the impact of transportation and communication systems on the growth, development, and urbanization of the United States;
    • c. analyze how technological innovations changed the way goods were manufactured and marketed, nationally and internationally; and
    • d. explain how technological innovations brought about economic growth such as how the factory system contributed to rapid industrialization and the Transcontinental Railroad led to the opening of the west.
  28. Science, technology, and society:
    The student understands the impact of scientific discoveries and technological innovations on daily life in the United States. The student is expected to:
    • a. compare the effects of scientific discoveries and technological innovations that have influenced daily life in different periods in U.S. history; and
    • b. identify examples of how industrialization changed life in the United States.
  29. Social studies skills:
    The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired through established research methodologies from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to:
    • a. differentiate between, locate, and use valid primary and secondary sources such as computer software, databases, media and news services, biographies, interviews, and artifacts to acquire information about the United States;
    • b. analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions;
    • c. organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals, including graphs, charts, timelines, and maps;
    • d. identify points of view from the historical context surrounding an event and the frame of reference which influenced the participants;
    • e. support a point of view on a social studies issue or event;
    • f. identify bias in written, oral, and visual material;
    • g. evaluate the validity of a source based on language, corroboration with other sources, and information about the author;
    • h. use appropriate mathematical skills to interpret social studies information such as maps and graphs;
    • i. create thematic maps, graphs, charts, models, and databases representing various aspects of the United States; and
    • j. pose and answer questions about geographic distributions and patterns shown on maps, graphs, charts, models, and databases.
  30. Social studies skills:
    The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to:
    • a. use social studies terminology correctly;
    • b. use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation, and proper citation of sources;
    • c. transfer information from one medium to another, including written to visual and statistical to written or visual, using computer software as appropriate; and
    • d. create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies information.
  31. Social studies skills:
    The student uses problem-solving and decision-making skills, working independently and with others, in a variety of settings. The student is expected to:
    • a. use a problem-solving process to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution; and
    • b. use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, identify options, predict consequences, and take action to implement a decision.

South Carolina's Eighth Grade Standards

Article Body

SC.8-1. Standard / Course—South Carolina: One of the United States

The student will demonstrate an understanding of the settlement of South Carolina and the United States by Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans.

  • 8-1.1. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

    Summarize the collective and individual aspects of the Native American culture of the Eastern Woodlands tribal group, including the Catawba, Cherokee, and Yemassee.

  • 8-1.2. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

    Compare the motives, activities, and accomplishments of the exploration of South Carolina and North America by the Spanish, French, and English.

  • 8-1.3. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

    Summarize the history of English settlement in New England, the mid-Atlantic region, and the South, with an emphasis on South Carolina as an example of a distinctly southern colony.

  • 8-1.4. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

    Explain the significance of enslaved and free Africans in the developing culture and economy of the South and South Carolina, including the growth of the slave trade and resulting population imbalance between African and European settlers; African contributions to agricultural development; and resistance to slavery, including the Stono Rebellion and subsequent laws to control slaves.

  • 8-1.5. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

    Explain how South Carolinians used their natural, human, and political resources uniquely to gain economic prosperity, including settlement by and trade with the people of Barbados, rice and indigo planting, and the practice of mercantilism.

  • 8-1.6. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

    Compare the development of representative government in South Carolina to representative government in the other colonial regions, including the proprietary regime, the period of royal government, and South Carolina’s Regulator Movement.

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

    1. Interpret parallel time lines from different places and cultures.
    2. Evaluate multiple points of view or biases and attribute the perspectives to the influences of individual experiences, societal values, and cultural traditions.
    3. Compare the locations of places, the conditions at places, and the connections between places.
    4. Explain why trade occurs and how historical patterns of trade have contributed to global interdependence.

  • SC.8-2. Standard / Course—South Carolina: One of the United States

    The student will demonstrate an understanding of the causes of the American Revolution and the beginnings of the new nation, with an emphasis on South Carolina’s role in the development of that nation.

    • 8-2.1. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the political and economic consequences of the French and Indian War on the relationship of the South Carolina colonists with Native Americans and England.

    • 8-2.2. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Summarize the response of South Carolina to events leading to the American Revolution, including the Stamp Act, the Tea Acts, and the Sons of Liberty.

    • 8-2.3. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the roles of South Carolinians in the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

    • 8-2.4. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Compare the perspectives of different groups of South Carolinians during the American Revolution, including Patriots, Tories/Loyalists, women, enslaved and free Africans, and Native Americans.

    • 8-2.5. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Summarize the role of South Carolinians in the course of the American Revolution, including the use of partisan warfare and the battles of Charleston, Camden, Cowpens, Kings Mountain and Eutaw Springs.

    • 8-2.6. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the role of South Carolinians in the establishment of their new state government and the national government after the American Revolution.

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

      1. Evaluate multiple points of view or biases and attribute the perspectives to the influences of individual experiences, societal values, and cultural traditions.
      2. Understand responsible citizenship in relation to the state, national, and international communities.
      3. Compare the locations of places, the conditions at places, and the connections between places.
      4. Identify and explain the relationships among multiple causes and multiple effects.

  • SC.8-3. Standard / Course—South Carolina: One of the United States

    The student will demonstrate an understanding of South Carolina’s role in the development of the new national government.

    • 8-3.1. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the tensions between the Upcountry and the Lowcountry of South Carolina, including their economic struggles after the Revolutionary War, their disagreement over representation in the General Assembly, the location of the new capital, and the transformation of the state’s economy.

    • 8-3.2. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the role of South Carolina and its leaders in the Constitutional Convention, including their support of the Three-Fifths Compromise and the Commerce Compromise as well as the division among South Carolinians over the ratification of the Constitution.

    • 8-3.3. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the basic principles of government as established in the United States Constitution.

    • 8-3.4. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Analyze the position of South Carolina on the issues that divided the nation in the early 1800s, including the assumption of state debts, the creation of a national bank, the protective tariff and the role of the United States in the European conflict between France and England and in the War of 1812.

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

      1. Identify and explain the relationships among multiple causes and multiple effects.
      2. Evaluate multiple points of view or biases and attribute the perspectives to the influences of individual experiences, societal values, and cultural traditions.
      3. Analyze evidence, arguments, claims, and beliefs.

  • SC.8-4. Standard / Course—South Carolina: One of the United States

    The student will demonstrate an understanding of the multiple events that led to the Civil War.

    • 8-4.1. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the importance of agriculture in antebellum South Carolina, including the plantation system and the impact of the cotton gin on all social classes.

    • 8-4.2. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Analyze how sectionalism arose from racial tension, including the Denmark Vesey plot, slave codes and the growth of the abolitionist movement.

    • 8-4.3. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Analyze key issues that led to South Carolina’s secession from the Union, including the nullification controversy and John C. Calhoun, the extension of slavery and the compromises over westward expansion, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott decision, and the election of 1860.

    • 8-4.4. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Evaluate the arguments of unionists, cooperationists, and secessionists on the issues of states’ rights and slavery and the ways that these arguments contributed to South Carolina’s secession.

    • 8-4.5. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Compare the military strategies of the North and the South during the Civil War and the fulfillment of these strategies in South Carolina and in the South as a whole, including the attack on Fort Sumter, the Union blockade of Charleston and other ports, the early capture of Port Royal, and the development of the Hunley submarine; the exploits of Robert Smalls; and General William T. Sherman’s march through the state.

    • 8-4.6. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Compare the differing impact of the Civil War on South Carolinians in each of the various social classes, including those groups defined by race, gender, and age.

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

      1. Analyze evidence, arguments, claims, and beliefs.
      2. Identify and explain the relationships among multiple causes and multiple effects.
      3. Evaluate multiple points of view or biases and attribute the perspectives to the influences of individual experiences, societal values, and cultural traditions.

  • SC.8-5. Standard / Course—South Carolina: One of the United States

    The student will understand the impact of Reconstruction, industrialization, and Progressivism on society and politics in South Carolina in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

    • 8-5.1. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Analyze the development of Reconstruction policy and its impact in South Carolina, including the presidential and the congressional reconstruction plans, the role of black codes, and the Freedmen’s Bureau.

    • 8-5.2. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Describe the economic impact of Reconstruction on South Carolinians in each of the various social classes.

    • 8-5.3. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Summarize the successes and failures of Reconstruction in South Carolina, including the creation of political, educational, and social opportunities for African Americans; the rise of discriminatory groups; and the withdrawal of federal protection.

    • 8-5.4. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Summarize the policies and actions of South Carolina’s political leadership in implementing discriminatory laws that established a system of racial segregation, intimidation, and violence.

    • 8-5.5. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Compare industrial development in South Carolina to industrialization in the rest of the United States, including the expansion of railroads, the development of the phosphate and textile industries, and immigration.

    • 8-5.6. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Compare the plight of farmers in South Carolina with that of farmers throughout the United States, including the problems of overproduction, natural disasters, and sharecropping and encompassing the roles of Ben Tillman, the Populists, and land-grant colleges.

    • 8-5.7. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Compare migration patterns of South Carolinians to such patterns throughout the United States, including the movement from rural to urban areas and the migration of African Americans from the South to the North, Midwest, and West.

    • 8-5.8. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Compare the Progressive movement in South Carolina with the national Progressive movement, including the impact on temperance; women’s suffrage; labor laws; and educational, agricultural, health, and governmental reform.

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

      1. Identify and explain the relationships among multiple causes and multiple effects.
      2. Evaluate multiple points of view or biases and attribute the perspectives to the influences of individual experiences, societal values, and cultural traditions.
      3. Compare the locations of places, the conditions at places, and the connections between places.

  • SC.8-6. Standard / Course—South Carolina: One of the United States

    The student will demonstrate an understanding of the role of South Carolina in the nation in the early twentieth century.

    • 8-6.1. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the reasons for United States involvement in World War I and the war’s impact on South Carolina and the nation as a whole, including the building of new military bases and the economic impact of emigration to industrial jobs in the North.

    • 8-6.2. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the reasons for United States involvement in World War I and the war’s impact on South Carolina and the nation as a whole, including the building of new military bases and the economic impact of emigration to industrial jobs in the North.

    • 8-6.3. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the reasons for depressed conditions in the textile mills and on farms in South Carolina and other regions of the United States in the 1920s and the impact of these conditions on the coming of the Great Depression.

    • 8-6.4. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain the effects of the Great Depression and the lasting impact of the New Deal on people and programs in South Carolina, including James F. Byrnes and Mary McLeod Bethune, the Rural Electrification Act, the general textile strike of 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, the Public Works Administration, the Social Security Act, and the Santee Cooper electricity project.

    • 8-6.5. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Compare the ramifications of World War II on South Carolina and the United States as a whole, including the training of the Doolittle Raiders and the Tuskegee Airmen, the building of additional military bases, the rationing and bond drives, and the return of economic prosperity.

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

      1. Identify and explain the relationships among multiple causes and multiple effects.
      2. Evaluate multiple points of view or biases and attribute the perspectives to the influences of individual experiences, societal values, and cultural traditions.
      3. Select or design appropriate forms of social studies resources(8-6) to organize and evaluate social studies information.
      (8-6)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.8-7. Standard / Course—South Carolina: One of the United States

    The student will demonstrate an understanding of the impact on South Carolina of significant events of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

    • 8-7.1. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Compare the social and economic impact of World War II and the Cold War on South Carolina with its impact on the rest of the United States, including the increases in the birth rate; the emergence of the consumer culture; the expanding suburbanization, highway construction, tourism and economic development; the continuing growth of military bases and nuclear power facilities; and the increases in educational opportunities.

    • 8-7.2. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Analyze the movement for civil rights in South Carolina, including the impact of the landmark court cases Elmore v. Rice and Briggs v. Elliot; civil rights leaders Septima Poinsette Clark, Modjeska Monteith Simkins, and Matthew J. Perry; the South Carolina school equalization effort and other resistance to school integration; peaceful efforts to integrate beginning with colleges and demonstrations in South Carolina such as the Friendship Nine and the Orangeburg Massacre.

    • 8-7.3. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Explain changing politics in South Carolina, including the role of Strom Thurmond, the shift from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, the increasing political participation of African Americans and women, and the passage of the Education Improvement Act (EIA).

    • 8-7.4. Knowledge And Skills / Essential Question:

      Summarize key economic issues in present-day South Carolina, including the decline of the textile industry, the state’s continuing right-to-work status, the changes in agricultural emphasis, the growing globalization and foreign investment, the influx of immigrants and migrants into the Sunbelt, the increased protection of the environment, the expanding number of cultural offerings, and the changes in tax policy.

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

      1. Identify and explain the relationships among multiple causes and multiple effects.
      2. Evaluate multiple points of view or biases and attribute the perspectives to the influences of individual experiences, societal values, and cultural traditions.
      3. Select or design appropriate forms of social studies resources(8-7) to organize and evaluate social studies information.
      4. Interpret parallel time lines from different places and cultures.
      (8-7)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.

    • New Jersey: 8th-Grade Standards

    Article Body

    (Note: By the completion of eighth 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.

    • Era: Three Worlds Meet (Beginnings to 1620)

      Indigenous societies in the Western Hemisphere migrated and changed in response to the physical environment and due to their interactions with Europeans. European exploration expanded global economic and cultural exchange into the Western Hemisphere.

      • A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

        • 6.1.8.A.1.a: Compare and contrast forms of governance, belief systems, and family structures among African, European, and Native American groups.

      • B: Geography, People, and the Environment

        • 6.1.8.B.1.a: Describe migration and settlement patterns of Native American groups, and explain how these patterns affected interactions in different regions of the Western Hemisphere.
        • 6.1.8.B.1.b: Analyze the world in spatial terms, using historical maps to determine what led to the exploration of new water and land routes.

      • C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

        • 6.1.8.C.1.a: Evaluate the impact of science, religion, and technology innovations on European exploration.
        • 6.1.8.C.1.b: Explain why individuals and societies trade, how trade functions, and the role of trade during this period.

      • D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

        • 6.1.8.D.1.a: Compare and contrast gender roles, religion, values, cultural practices, and political systems of Native American groups.
        • 6.1.8.D.1.b: Explain how interactions among African, European, and Native American groups began a cultural transformation.
        • 6.1.8.D.1.c: Evaluate the impact of the Colombian Exchange on ecology, agriculture, and culture from different perspectives.

    • Era: Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763)

      The colonists adapted ideas from their European heritage and from Native American groups to develop new political and religious institutions and economic systems. The slave labor system and the loss of Native American lives had a lasting impact on the development of the United States and American culture.

      • A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

        • 6.1.8.A.2.a: Determine the roles of religious freedom and participatory government in various North American colonies.
        • 6.1.8.A.2.b: Explain how and why early government structures developed, and determine the impact of these early structures on the evolution of American politics and institutions.
        • 6.1.8.A.2.c: Explain how race, gender, and status affected social, economic, and political opportunities during Colonial times.

      • B: Geography, People, and the Environment

        • 6.1.8.B.2.a: Determine factors that impacted emigration, settlement patterns, and regional identities of the colonies.
        • 6.1.8.B.2.b: Compare and contrast how the search for natural resources resulted in conflict and cooperation among European colonists and Native American groups in the New World.

      • C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

        • 6.1.8.C.2.a: Relate slavery and indentured servitude to Colonial labor systems.
        • 6.1.8.C.2.b: Explain the system of mercantilism and its impact on the economies of the colonies and European countries.
        • 6.1.8.C.2.c: Analyze the impact of triangular trade on multiple nations and groups.

      • D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

        • 6.1.8.D.2.a: Analyze the power struggle among European countries, and determine its impact on people living in Europe and the Americas.
        • 6.1.8.D.2.b: Compare and contrast the voluntary and involuntary migratory experiences of different groups of people, and explain why their experiences differed.

    • Era: Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)

      Disputes over political authority and economic issues contributed to a movement for independence in the colonies. The fundamental principles of the United States Constitution serve as the foundation of the United States government today.

      • A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

        • 6.1.8.A.3.a: Examine the ideals found in the Declaration of Independence, and assess the extent to which they were fulfilled for women, African Americans, and Native Americans during this time period.
        • 6.1.8.A.3.b: Evaluate the effectiveness of the fundamental principles of the Constitution (i.e., consent of the governed, rule of law, federalism, limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, and individual rights) in establishing a federal government that allows for growth and change over time.
        • 6.1.8.A.3.c: Determine the role that compromise played in the creation and adoption of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
        • 6.1.8.A.3.d: Compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation and the UNITED STATES Constitution in terms of the decision-making powers of national government.
        • 6.1.8.A.3.e: Determine why the Alien and Sedition Acts were enacted and whether they undermined civil liberties.
        • 6.1.8.A.3.f: Explain how political parties were formed and continue to be shaped by differing perspectives regarding the role and power of federal government.
        • 6.1.8.A.3.g: Evaluate the impact of the Constitution and Bill of Rights on current day issues.

      • B: Geography, People, and the Environment

        • 6.1.8.B.3.a: Assess how conflicts and alliances among European countries and Native American groups impacted the expansion of the American colonies.
        • 6.1.8.B.3.b: Determine the extent to which the geography of the United States influenced the debate on representation in Congress and federalism by examining the New Jersey and Virginia plans.
        • 6.1.8.B.3.c: Use maps and other geographic tools to evaluate the impact of geography on the execution and outcome of the American Revolutionary War.
        • 6.1.8.B.3.d: Explain why New Jerseyís location played an integral role in the American Revolution.

      • C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

        • 6.1.8.C.3.a: Explain how taxes and government regulation can affect economic opportunities, and assess the impact of these on relations between Britain and its North American colonies.
        • 6.1.8.C.3.b: Summarize the effect of inflation and debt on the American people and the response of state and national governments during this time.
        • 6.1.8.C.3.c: Evaluate the impact of the cotton gin and other innovations on the institution of slavery and on the economic and political development of the country.

      • D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

        • 6.1.8.D.3.a: Explain how the consequences of the Seven Years War, changes in British policies toward American colonies, and responses by various groups and individuals in the North American colonies led to the American Revolution.
        • 6.1.8.D.3.b: Explain why the Declaration of Independence was written and how its key principles evolved to become unifying ideas of American democracy.
        • 6.1.8.D.3.c: Analyze the impact of George Washington as general of the American revolutionary forces and as the first president of the United States.
        • 6.1.8.D.3.d: Analyze how prominent individuals and other nations contributed to the causes, execution, and outcomes of the American Revolution.
        • 6.1.8.D.3.e: Examine the roles and perspectives of various socioeconomic groups (e.g., rural farmers, urban craftsmen, northern merchants, and southern planters), African Americans, Native Americans, and women during the American Revolution, and determine how these groups were impacted by the war.
        • 6.1.8.D.3.f: Analyze from multiple perspectives how the terms of the Treaty of Paris affected United States relations with Native Americans and with European powers that had territories in North America.
        • 6.1.8.D.3.g: Evaluate the extent to which the leadership and decisions of early administrations of the national government met the goals established in the Preamble of the Constitution.

    • Era: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)

      Westward movement, industrial growth, increased immigration, the expansion of slavery, and the development of transportation systems increased regional tensions.

      • A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

        • 6.1.8.A.4.a: Explain the changes in Americaís relationships with other nations by analyzing policies, treaties, tariffs, and agreements.
        • 6.1.8.A.4.b: Analyze how the concept of Manifest Destiny influenced the acquisition of land through annexation, diplomacy, and war.
        • 6.1.8.A.4.c: Assess the extent to which voting rights were expanded during the Jacksonian period.

      • B: Geography, People, and the Environment

        • 6.1.8.B.4.a: Assess the impact of the Louisiana Purchase and western exploration on the expansion and economic development of the United States.
        • 6.1.8.B.4.b: Map territorial expansion and settlement, as well as the locations of conflicts with and removal of Native Americans.

      • C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

        • 6.1.8.C.4.a: Analyze the debates involving the National Bank, uniform currency, and tariffs, and determine the extent to which each of these economic tools met the economic challenges facing the new nation.
        • 6.1.8.C.4.b: Explain how major technological developments revolutionized land and water transportation, as well as the economy, in New Jersey and nation.
        • 6.1.8.C.4.c: Analyze how technological innovations affected the status and social class of different groups of people, and explain the outcomes that resulted.

      • D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

        • 6.1.8.D.4.a: Analyze the push-pull factors that led to increases in immigration, and explain why ethnic and cultural conflicts resulted.
        • 6.1.8.D.4.b: Explore efforts to reform education, womenís rights, slavery, and other issues during the Antebellum period.
        • 6.1.8.D.4.c: Explain the growing resistance to slavery and New Jerseyís role in the Underground Railroad.

    • Era: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)

      The Civil War resulted from complex regional differences involving political, economic, and social issues, as well as different views on slavery. The Civil War and Reconstruction had a lasting impact on the development of the United States.

      • A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

        • 6.1.8.A.5.a: Explain how and why the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address continue to impact American life.
        • 6.1.8.A.5.b: Compare and contrast the approaches of Congress and Presidents Lincoln and Johnson toward the reconstruction of the South.

      • B: Geography, People, and the Environment

        • 6.1.8.B.5.a: Determine the role of geography, natural resources, demographics, transportation, and technology in the progress and outcome of the Civil War.

      • C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

        • 6.1.8.C.5.a: Assess the human and material costs of the Civil War in the North and South.
        • 6.1.8.C.5.b: Analyze the economic impact of Reconstruction on the South from different perspectives.

      • D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

        • 6.1.8.D.5.a: Prioritize the causes and events that led to the Civil War from different perspectives.
        • 6.1.8.D.5.b: Analyze critical events and battles of the Civil War and determine how they contributed to the final outcome of the war.
        • 6.1.8.D.5.c: Examine the roles of women, African Americans, and Native Americans in the Civil War.
        • 6.1.8.D.5.d: Analyze the effectiveness of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution from multiple perspectives.

    Social Studies Standard 6.2—World History/Global Studies

    All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to think analytically and systematically about how past interactions of people, cultures, and the environment affect issues across time and cultures. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make informed decisions as socially and ethically responsible world citizens in the 21st century.

    • Era: The Beginnings of Human Society—Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages

      Hunter/gatherers adapted to their physical environments using resources, the natural world, and technological advancements. The agricultural revolution led to an increase in population, specialization of labor, new forms of social organization, and the beginning of societies. Archaeology provides historical and scientific explanations for how ancient people lived.

      • A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

        • 6.2.8.A.1.a: Compare and contrast the social organization of early hunters/gatherers and those who lived in early agrarian societies.

      • B: Geography, People, and the Environment

        • 6.2.8.B.1.a: Explain the various migratory patterns of hunters/gatherers who moved from Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas, and describe the impact of migration on their lives and on the shaping of societies.
        • 6.2.8.B.1.b: Compare and contrast how nomadic and agrarian societies used land and natural resources.

      • C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

        • 6.2.8.C.1.a: Relate the agricultural revolution (including the impact of food surplus from farming) to population growth and the subsequent development of civilizations.
        • 6.2.8.C.1.b: Determine the impact of technological advancements on hunter/gatherer and agrarian societies.

      • D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

        • 6.2.8.D.1.a: Demonstrate an understanding of pre-agricultural and post-agricultural periods in terms of relative length of time.
        • 6.2.8.D.1.b: Relate the development of language and forms of writing to the expression of ideas, creation of cultural identity, and development of more complex social structures.
        • 6.2.8.D.1.c: Explain how archaeological discoveries are used to develop and enhance understanding of life prior to written records.

    • Era: Early Civilizations and the Emergence of Pastoral Peoples (4000-1000 BCE)—Ancient River Valley Civilizations

      Ancient river valley civilizations (e.g., Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus River [modern Pakistan and northwestern India], and, later, Yellow River Valley in China) developed due to favorable geographic conditions. They created centralized systems of government and advanced societies.

      • A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

        • 6.2.8.A.2.a: Explain why different ancient river valley civilizations developed similar forms of government.
        • 6.2.8.A.2.b: Explain how codifying laws met the needs of ancient river valley societies.
        • 6.2.8.A.2.c: Determine the role of slavery in the economic and social structures of ancient river valley civilizations.

      • B: Geography, People, and the Environment

        • 6.2.8.B.2.a: Determine the extent to which geography influenced settlement, the development of trade networks, technological innovations, and the sustainability of ancient river valley civilizations.
        • 6.2.8.B.2.b: Compare and contrast physical and political maps of ancient river valley civilizations and their modern counterparts (i.e., Mesopotamia and Iraq; Ancient Egypt and Modern Egypt; Indus River Valley and Modern Pakistan/India; Ancient China and Modern China), and determine the geopolitical impact of these civilizations, then and now.

      • C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

        • 6.2.8.C.2.a: Explain how technological advancements led to greater economic specialization, improved weaponry, trade, and the development of a class system in ancient river valley civilizations.

      • D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

        • 6.2.8.D.2.a: Analyze the impact of religion on daily life, government, and culture in various ancient river valley civilizations.
        • 6.2.8.D.2.b: Explain how the development of written language transformed all aspects of life in ancient river valley civilizations.
        • 6.2.8.D.2.c: Analyze the factors that led to the rise and fall of various ancient river valley civilizations and determine whether there was a common pattern of growth and decline.
        • 6.2.8.D.2.d: Justify which of the major achievements of the ancient river valley civilizations represent the most enduring legacies.

    • Era: The Classical Civilizations of the Mediterranean World, India, and China (1000 BCE-600 CE)

      Classical civilizations (i.e., Greece, Rome, India and China) developed and expanded into empires of unprecedented size and diversity by creating centralized governments and promoting commerce, a common culture, and social values. Cultural exchange and diffusion dramatically increased, and enduring world religions emerged, during the era of classical civilizations. Classical civilizations declined as a result of internal weaknesses and external invasions, but they left lasting legacies for future civilizations.

      • A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

        • 6.2.8.A.3.a: Compare and contrast the methods (i.e., autocratic rule, philosophies, and bureaucratic structures; communication and transportation systems) used by the rulers of Rome, China, and India to control and unify their expanding empires.
        • 6.2.8.A.3.b: Compare and contrast the rights and responsibilities of free men, women, slaves, and foreigners in the political, economic, and social structures of classical civilizations.
        • 6.2.8.A.3.c: Determine the foundational concepts and principles of Athenian democracy and the Roman Republic that later influenced the development of the United States Constitution.
        • 6.2.8.A.3.d: Compare and contrast the roles and responsibilities of citizens in Athens and Sparta to those of United States citizens today, and evaluate how citizens perceived the principles of liberty and equality then and now.
        • 6.2.8.A.3.e: Compare and contrast the American legal system and the legal systems of classical civilizations, and determine the extent to which the early systems influenced the current legal system.

      • B: Geography, People, and the Environment

        • 6.2.8.B.3.a: Determine how geography and the availability of natural resources influenced the development of the political, economic, and cultural systems of each of the classical civilizations and provided motivation for expansion.
        • 6.2.8.B.3.b: Explain how geography and the availability of natural resources led to both the development of Greek city-states and to their demise.

      • C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

        • 6.2.8.C.3.a: Analyze the impact of expanding land and sea trade routes through the Mediterranean Basin, India, and China.
        • 6.2.8.C.3.b: Explain how the development of a uniform system of exchange facilitated trade in classical civilizations.
        • 6.2.8.C.3.c: Explain how classical civilizations used technology and innovation to enhance agricultural/manufacturing output and commerce, to expand military capabilities, to improve life in urban areas, and to allow for greater division of labor.

      • D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

        • 6.2.8.D.3.a: Compare and contrast social hierarchies in classical civilizations as they relate to power, wealth, and equality.
        • 6.2.8.D.3.b: Relate the Chinese dynastic system to the longevity of authoritarian rule in China.
        • 6.2.8.D.3.c: Determine common factors that contributed to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, Gupta India, and Han China.
        • 6.2.8.D.3.d: Compare the golden ages of Greece, Rome, India, and China, and justify major achievements that represent world legacies.
        • 6.2.8.D.3.e: Compare and contrast the tenets of various world religions that developed in or around this time period (i.e., Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and Taoism), their patterns of expansion, and their responses to the current challenges of globalization.
        • 6.2.8.D.3.f: Determine the extent to which religions, mythologies, and other belief systems shaped the values of classical societies.

    • Era: Expanding Exchanges and Encounters (500 CE-1450 CE)

      The emergence of empires (i.e., Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas) resulted from the promotion of interregional trade, cultural exchanges, new technologies, urbanization, and centralized political organization. The rise and spread of new belief systems unified societies, but they also became a major source of tension and conflict. While commercial and agricultural improvements created new wealth and opportunities for the empires, most peopleís daily lives remained unchanged.

      • A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

        • 6.2.8.A.4.a: Analyze the role of religion and other means rulers used to unify and centrally govern expanding territories with diverse populations.
        • 6.2.8.A.4.b: Compare and contrast the Japanese and European systems of feudalism and the effectiveness of each in promoting social, economic, and political order.
        • 6.2.8.A.4.c: Determine the influence of medieval English legal and constitutional practices (i.e., the Magna Carta, parliament, and the development of habeas corpus and an independent judiciary) on modern democratic thought and institutions.

      • B: Geography, People, and the Environment

        • 6.2.8.B.4.a: Explain how geography influenced the development of the political, economic, and cultural centers of each empire and well as the empiresí relationships with other parts of the world.
        • 6.2.8.B.4.b: Assess how maritime and overland trade routes (i.e., the African caravan and Silk Road) impacted urbanization, transportation, communication, and the development of international trade centers.
        • 6.2.8.B.4.c: Determine how Africaís physical geography and natural resources posed challenges and opportunities for trade and development.
        • 6.2.8.B.4.d: Explain why the Arabian Peninsulaís physical features and location made it the epicenter of Afro-Eurasian trade and fostered the spread of Islam into Africa, Europe, and Asia.
        • 6.2.8.B.4.e: Analyze the motivations for civilizations to modify the environment, determine the positive and negative consequences of environmental changes made during this time period, and relate these changes to current environmental challenges.
        • 6.2.8.B.4.f: Explain how the geographies of China and Japan influenced their development and their relationship with one another.
        • 6.2.8.B.4.g: Explain why the strategic location and economic importance of Constantinople and the Mediterranean Sea were a source of conflict between civilizations.
        • 6.2.8.B.4.h: Explain how the locations, land forms, and climates of Mexico, Central America, and South America affected the development of Mayan, Aztec, and Incan societies, cultures, and economies.

      • C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

        • 6.2.8.C.4.a: Explain the interrelationships among improved agricultural production, population growth, urbanization, and commercialization.
        • 6.2.8.C.4.b: Analyze how trade, technology, the availability of natural resources, and contact with other civilizations affected the development of empires in Eurasia and the Americas.
        • 6.2.8.C.4.c: Explain how the development of new business practices and banking systems impacted global trade and the development of a merchant class.
        • 6.2.8.C.4.d: Analyze the relationship between trade routes and the development of powerful city-states and kingdoms in Africa.
        • 6.2.8.C.4.e: Determine the extent to which interaction between the Islamic world and medieval Europe increased trade, enhanced technology innovation, and impacted scientific thought and the arts.

      • D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

        • 6.2.8.D.4.a: Explain how contact between nomadic peoples and sedentary populations had both positive and negative political, economic, and cultural consequences.
        • 6.2.8.D.4.b: Analyze how religion both unified and divided people.
        • 6.2.8.D.4.c: Analyze the role of religion and economics in shaping each empireís social hierarchy, and evaluate the impact these hierarchical structures had on the lives of various groups of people.
        • 6.2.8.D.4.d: Analyze the causes and outcomes of the Crusades from different perspectives, including the perspectives of European political and religious leaders, the crusaders, Jews, Muslims, and traders.
        • 6.2.8.D.4.e: Assess the demographic, economic, and religious impact of the plague on Europe.
        • 6.2.8.D.4.f: Determine which events led to the rise and eventual decline of European feudalism.
        • 6.2.8.D.4.g: Analyze the immediate and long-term impact on China and Europe of the open exchange between Europe and the Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty.
        • 6.2.8.D.4.h: Determine the extent to which the Byzantine Empire influenced the Islamic world and western Europe.
        • 6.2.8.D.4.i: Explain how and why Islam spread in Africa, the significance of Timbuktu to the development and spread of learning, and the impact Islam continues to have on African society.
        • 6.2.8.D.4.j: Compare the major technological innovations and cultural contributions of the civilizations of this period and justify which represent enduring legacies.

    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 the causes and effects of prejudice on individuals, groups, and society.
      2. Recognize the value of cultural diversity, as well as the potential for misunderstanding.
      3. Critically analyze media to assess different viewpoints and detect bias, opinion, and stereotypes.
      4. Listens open-mindedly to views contrary to their own.
      5. Collaboratively develop and practice strategies for managing and resolving conflict.
      6. Demonstrate understanding of democratic values and processes.
      7. Recognize that the actions or inactions of individuals, groups, and nations can have intended and unintended consequences.
      8. Challenge unfair viewpoints and behavior by taking action.
      9. Make informed and reasoned decisions.
      10. Accept decisions that are made for the common good.

      • A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

        • 6.3.8.A.1: Deliberate on a public issue affecting an upcoming election, consider opposing arguments, and develop a reasoned conclusion.
        • 6.3.8.A.2: Participate in a real or simulated hearing to develop a legislative proposal that addresses a public issue, and share it with an appropriate legislative body (e.g., school board, municipal or county government, state legislature).
        • 6.3.8.A.3: Collaborate with international students to deliberate about and address issues of gender equality, child mortality, or education.

      • B: Geography, People, and the Environment

        • 6.3.8.B.1: Evaluate alternative land use proposals and make recommendations to the appropriate governmental agency regarding the best course of action.

      • C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

        • 6.3.8.C.1: Contact local officials and community members to obtain information about the local school district or municipal budget and assess budget priorities.

      • D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

        • 6.3.8.D.1: Engage in simulated democratic processes (e.g., legislative hearings, judicial proceedings, elections) to understand how conflicting points of view are addressed in a democratic society.

    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.
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