Cintia Cabib's Interdisciplinary Gardening

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Photography, Plants are Coming Along, 31 May 2007, Tim Patterson, Flickr CC
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Soaring food prices, a hunger for locally grown produce, high obesity rates, and the desire by people to reconnect with nature and with each other have sparked a national renaissance in community gardening. As part of this movement, school gardens are sprouting up everywhere. Teachers are using these green spaces to teach a variety of subjects, including horticulture, nutrition, history, science, math, writing, and art.

The School Garden Movement

The idea of incorporating gardens in schools began in the late 19th century when Henry Lincoln Clapp, a teacher at the George Putnam Grammar School in Boston, MA, established the first school garden. Inspired after visiting school gardens in Europe, Clapp created a wildflower and vegetable garden at Putnam in 1891 with support from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. The establishment of school gardens soon spread throughout the state and eventually became a nationwide movement, with an estimated 75,000 school gardens by 1906.

For garden advocates, integrating school gardens in the public schools served many purposes. It was a way to get city children outside, engage them in physical activity, and instill in them a sense of pride and teamwork as they cultivated and maintained their gardens. Gardening classes provided students with vocational and agricultural training. Teachers taught a variety of subjects through garden activities. Students practiced writing by keeping planting journals and writing compositions about the garden. Math skills were acquired by counting seeds, measuring garden plots, and determining the appropriate soil depth for planting. Students learned botany and entomology by observing plants and insects and their interrelationships. Geography and history came into play when students studied the origins of fruits and vegetables and planting customs among different cultures. The gardens provided inspiration for drawing, painting, and performing music. In 1914, the federal government established the Bureau of Education’s Office of School and Home Gardening, which promoted school gardens and provided “how-to” pamphlets and course guides.

The School Garden Army

Children’s involvement in gardening took on a new urgency when the United States entered World War I in 1917. In order to provide food to European allies facing a food crisis and to U.S. troops fighting overseas, citizens were encouraged to grow food for domestic consumption as part of the war garden campaign. Children were enlisted to join the School Garden Army, which adopted the motto, “A garden for every child, every child in a garden.” Students became important contributors to the garden campaign, growing thousands of dollars worth of produce in their school and home gardens.

Victory Gardens of World War II

When the United States entered World War II, children once again played an active role in growing fruits and vegetables to assist in the war effort. During the war, citizens were encouraged to establish victory gardens in their backyards, vacant lots, and schools to provide food for civilians and troops. Gardening was also promoted to boost morale, encourage physical activity and healthy eating and to help Americans deal with the stresses of war. The U.S. Office of Education encouraged victory gardening at schools and promoted school lunch programs that served locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables. The Boy Scouts of America, 4-H clubs, parks and recreation departments, churches, and many civic organizations were involved in victory gardening programs for children. In 1944, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that victory gardens produced 40 percent of the vegetables that were consumed nationally.

Community Garden Movement of the 1970s

The post-war suburban housing boom of the 1950s and 1960s generated more interest in backyard gardening than in community gardening. This changed in the 1970s when rising food prices, an increase in environmental awareness, and a desire by citizens to revitalize neighborhoods plagued by crime and neglect sparked a new community garden movement. Citizens and non-profit groups, such as Boston Urban Gardeners and New York’s Green Guerillas, turned vacant lots into colorful, productive green spaces. The U.S. Department of Agriculture initiated the Urban Garden Program in 1976 to help residents in major cities grow their own food. Educators and activists who were concerned that children were disconnected from nature and unaware of where their food came from reached out to young people and encouraged them to participate in neighborhood, youth, and school gardens. In a 1974 article in the Washington Post, writer Henry Mitchell noted that in Washington, DC, “there are 1,000 small gardens about town in which children grow such plants as the radish, the onion, and (as the weather stops being barbarous) the tomato.”

Growing Popularity of School Gardens

Since the 1970s, the popularity of school and youth gardens has grown steadily. California took the lead in 1995 by launching the “Garden in Every School” program. As in the school garden movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, teachers are utilizing these outdoor classrooms to teach a wide range of academic subjects through hands-on experiential activities. In addition, educators are using school gardens to encourage a healthier lifestyle, promote environmental stewardship and provide students with the opportunity to develop leadership and team-building skills.

These free resources provide ideas on how to incorporate school gardens into the academic curriculum, including social studies:

Bibliography

Lawson, Laura. City Bountiful: A Century of Community Gardening in America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.

Mitchell, Henry. “A Child’s Garden in The City.” The Washington Post, May 19, 1974.

School Gardens with Constance Carter. Library of Congress webcast.

For more information

Test your knowledge of (modern) historical gardening with our quiz on victory gardens!

In Pursuit of Freedom

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Print, n.d., F. Douglass, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, NYPL
Question

What made Frederick Douglass a radical abolitionist?

Answer

That Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist is beyond debate. Born a slave, he eventually escaped and became one of the most famous activists to work for emancipation. Whether working as a stump speaker or editing one abolitionist newspaper after another, Douglass expressed tremendous hope that the slave power would eventually fall. He once declared, “There is not a man beneath the canopy of heaven, that does not know that slavery is wrong for him.” That Douglass was radical in his anti-slavery speeches and newspaper editorials is somewhat debatable, and would depend on how one defines “radical.”

“Hereditary bondmen! Know ye not / Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow?”

Frederick Douglass was fond of quoting this line from Lord Byron as it summed up his political activism. This call to the enslaved to be their own liberators reflected a revolutionary urgency and fervor most would associate with radical measures. But compared with abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass’s one-time mentor and fiery editor of the Liberator (whose masthead read “No Union with Slaveholders”), Frederick Douglass appears measured and sensible. For example, Douglass once wrote, “My position now is one of reform, not revolution. I would act for the abolition of slavery through the government—not over its ruins.”

In contrast, Garrison burned a copy of the Constitution in public, calling it “the most bloody and heaven-daring arrangement ever made by men for the continuance and protection of a system of the most atrocious villainy [sic] ever exhibited on earth.” Most famously, he pronounced the Constitution “a covenant with death,” “an agreement with hell,” and “refuge of lies.”

"Mr. Garrison and his friends tell us that while in the Union we are responsible for slavery. . .

Even more extreme was John Brown, who tried to recruit Douglass for a raid on the federal armory in Harpers Ferry, VA, a doomed venture that exacerbated sectional tensions leading up to the 1860 presidential election. Brown believed the seizure of the armory would spur local slaves to rise up against their masters and spark a slave rebellion throughout the South. Douglass shunned the effort. As historian David Blight observed, “For Douglass, the question of violence was always more a tactical than a moral problem. He did not relish the prospect, but morally he believed the slaves had the right to rise up and slay their masters.” Compared with the lawlessness of Garrison and Brown and their disrespect for the Constitution, Douglass’s abolitionism looks less radical, if not tame.

. . . I admit our responsibility for slavery while in the Union, but I deny that going out of the Union would free us from that responsibility. . .

Douglass sought to free the slaves within the confines of the Constitution. He thought only by keeping the slave states within the American Union could the federal government then be used to rid the nation of slavery. Douglass came to view the Constitution as a pro-liberty document, thus agreeing with Lincoln “the Great Emancipator” on the principal means of promoting freedom.

Lincoln understood the Founders to expect slavery to wither away in a generation or two by restricting its importation into the new nation (as early as 1808) and preventing its expansion into federal territory (see, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787). As historian James Oakes writes: “Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass agreed that there was no such thing as a constitutional right to own slaves. But for Lincoln the Constitution recognized the existence of slavery as a practical necessity, whereas for Douglass the absence of a right to own slaves obliged the federal government to overthrow slavery everywhere.”

. . .The American people in the Northern States have helped to enslave the black people. Their duty will not have been done till they give them back their plundered rights." — Frederick Douglass

In sum, what made Frederick Douglass an abolitionist was his experience with slavery firsthand: simply stated, he found it a poor fit for his humanity. He became a radical abolitionist, calling for the immediate abolition of slavery, because he came to view the U.S. Constitution as a pro-liberty document that could be interpreted to permit Congress to abolish slavery not only from federal territories but also in the states where it already existed. One might say his aims were radical, while his means, especially after the break from Garrison, were not radical insofar as they remained within the American constitutional context.

Bibliography

Blight, David W. Frederick Douglass' Civil War: Keeping Faith in Jubilee. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989.

Douglass, Frederick. The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass. 5 vols. Edited by Philip S. Foner. New York: International Publishers, 1950-1975.

_______. Autobiographies: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, My Bondage and My Freedom, and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. Edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: Library of America, 1994.

Myers, Peter C. Frederick Douglass: Race and the Rebirth of American Liberalism. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2008.

Oakes, James. The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2007.

International Aid: How and When the U.S. Helps

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Photo, FEMA supplies from the Pacific Distribution Center, May 7, 2008, NARA
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When the 13 colonies first rebelled against England, they called on the help of established nations—including France and Spain—to succeed. After the Revolutionary War, the newborn United States gradually began to take part in world affairs itself, making payments and treaties, waging war, and withholding or offering aid. Today, the U.S. maneuvers its way through a constant web of decisions. Who does it choose to help and how? What kind of aid should it offer? Military? Economic? Social? When and why does it withhold aid? How have the choices it makes today grown out of those made in the past?

Late 20th-century Aid

Following the March 11 earthquake that rocked Japan, your students may have questions about the U.S. and international aid. Or maybe they're curious about the uprisings in the Middle East, a part of the world with which the U.S. has a complicated history of trade, war, and aid.

A good place to start learning about U.S. aid history is the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.

A good place to start learning about U.S. aid history is, appropriately enough, the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID. Established in 1961 in an effort to separate non-military and military aid, USAID combined the social and economic aid efforts of a number of smaller initiatives under one "roof." Though the website's history page is dense, it provides a sense of the complexity of aid issues. If you want to dig a little deeper (and read a little more), download the primer on USAID. (The section on "Responding to Crises" may be particularly relevant right now.)

For statements on current events, check out the Senior Staff Speeches and Testimony section. Press releases also feature current information. For a broader view, search by location to learn more about USAID's work in Haiti, Egypt, Thailand, and other nations. Browse issues of USAID's newsletter, FrontLines, starting in 2003, to see what's been given the most press in the past few years.

Tracing Aid Back

Ready to head further back in time? In our Ask a Historian feature, look at aid in the Middle East, both non-military and military, during the 1950s.

As it has grown in power, the U.S. has shifted in its relationship to other parts of the world again and again.

Skip back a few years more and learn about the Marshall Plan, a well-known precursor of USAID designed to help Europe rebuild following World War II. USAID's small online exhibit on the Plan features audio, visual, and text primary sources, while the Library of Congress hosts an exhibit on the Plan. If you need more primary sources, try the document collection Truman & the Marshall Plan at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.

Of course, U.S international aid didn't begin with the 20th century and isn't limited to the federal government. Read up on the history of the American branch of the Red Cross, an organization founded by Clara Barton in the late 19th century. (The bibliography in the "Students" section recommends American author Pearl S. Buck's 1948 children's novel The Big Wave for learning about tsunamis. You might consider introducing this novel to students as a primary source itself, reflective of Buck and the context in which she wrote.)

Consider having students trace the U.S.'s relationship with a particular country or region back in time. For instance, what part is the U.S. playing in events in Libya now? What is our stance on the country and events there? What was it back in the early years of the U.S.? (For an idea, listen to historian Christine Sears describe the First Barbary War, one of the U.S.'s early overseas conflicts.) Between then and now, how has our position changed and evolved? Have we given aid or taken it away? When and how?

As it has grown in power, the U.S. has shifted in its relationship to other parts of the world again and again. Exploring the history of international aid might help you (or your students) follow these shifts through time and gain a better understanding of responses and relationships today.

Teaching Imperialism: Incorporating Learning Activities and State Standards

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chromolithograph, The flag must "stay put", 1902 June 4, John S. Pughe, LOC
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I am a pre-service teacher in seventh grade social studies classroom in Arizona with struggling readers. I have never created a Unit Plan, and I am told by my instructors and mentor that I am unable to incorporate all of the State Standards for Imperialism and leading up to WWI into a unit. How do I as a teacher sort through Performance Objectives and decide what to cut out and what not to? Also, where can I find resources for activities for my students?

Answer

There are many factors to consider when planning instruction. It is great to see that you have your students in mind, as they are central to this process. Knowing your students’ range of skills and interests should help you select and prepare materials and design instruction and assessments.

When developing a unit of study, begin with determining what you want your students to know and be able to do. What are the key concepts, main ideas, and essential content related to 19th century imperialism? What are the skills students should develop? What central questions can help you organize these skills and content? How will you assess student learning? Some of this approach to unit planning, you may recognize as "backwards planning", Grant Wiggins’ useful approach.

Arizona’s state standards can help you get started in making these decisions. The four 7th grade performance objectives provide the following topics for study:

  • the causes of European imperialism;
  • the impact of European imperialism around the world;
  • the rise of Japan as an industrial power;
  • and the expansion of American foreign policy at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The standards also provide some guiding details to begin formulating objectives. These include:

  • a list of three primary causes of European imperialism, and details about:
  1. the impact of imperialism in Africa, India, China;
  2. America’s involvement in the Spanish-American War;
  3. the Boxer Rebellion;
  4. the Panama Canal, and
  5. the annexation of Hawaii.
It is better to choose fewer topics and to study them in depth, than simply cover all the material in a short period of time.

Arizona’s standards document can also help determine the types of skills you might focus on in this unit—for example, analyzing cause and effect, considering the reliability of primary sources, describing multiple perspectives on the same historical event, interpreting historical data, and constructing time-lines, charts, graphs, and narratives using historical data and evidence.

Wow, that is a lot! Your instructors seem to be on target with the idea that you will have to pick and choose your focus and content. It is better to choose fewer topics and to study them in depth, than simply cover all the material in a short period of time. Likewise, it is better to focus on a few skills so students get many opportunities to learn and practice those skills.

How to make these choices?

It is important to develop your own content knowledge in order to develop unit objectives. Expanding your own understanding of imperialism will help you prioritize which standards to focus on. Several on-line sources can help with this process. World History for Us All, for example, includes an excellent overview of Industrialization and Imperialism in its introduction to Big Era 7.

The American Historical Association provides a teaching module on imperialism with essential questions, concepts, events, people and links to primary source materials

Create assessments to help you make these difficult choices. Following a backwards design approach, after you have determined objectives, consider how students will demonstrate what you want them to learn. The skills described in the Arizona standards provide some suggestions here. Further, creating a final assessment for the unit, as well as formative assessments that are aligned with the unit objectives will help you organize instruction and stay focused on student learning. For the final assessment, students could write an essay in response to a central question that demands that they use the unit’s concepts and texts to make an argument. For formative assessments, think mini-quizzes, exit slips, free-writes, and homework assignments.

Working with struggling readers should not preclude using an array of thought provoking documents and activities.

Create a unit calendar once you have selected objectives and assessments. This is an iterative process that will include several drafts. Begin by organizing your learning objectives and assessments by days of instruction. To guide this work, consider how learning objectives relate and build off of each other. You can then fill out the calendar with materials and instructional activities. There are several places you can search on-line for primary documents related to imperialism. The Modern History Sourcebook’s imperialism page is a good place to get started. Consider a variety of approaches when developing lesson plans—for example, lectures, timeline activities, “opening up the textbook,” analyzing primary documents, historical inquiry, perhaps a structured academic controversy—and make sure your lessons clearly relate to the unit’s objectives. The National History Education Clearinghouse’s “Best Practices” tab contains helpful suggestions for each of these strategies.

When developing instructional strategies and materials, it is crucial to keep the interests and skills of your students in mind. Working with struggling readers should not preclude using an array of thought provoking documents and activities. These materials, however, need careful structuring and scaffolds; moreover, you will need to excerpt documents strategically and, in some instances, modify them so that they are accessible to the students in your classroom. For suggestions on adapting primary documents, see this NHEC teaching guide. The Historical Thinking Matters module on the Spanish American War provides a good example of using modified documents and structuring historical inquiry. See also, the Stanford History Education Group’s lessons on American Imperialism.

Finally, there are several units on imperialism posted on-line. Be wary as the quality of these materials varies wildly. However, you might check out the Age of Imperialism unit posted by the University of South Florida as a reference, for it includes many elements of unit design described here.

Good luck!

Anthony Pellegrino's Into the Weeds: Harnessing the Power of Music to Teach Social Studies

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Photo, Woody Guthrie, Mar. 8, 1943, Al Aumuller, Library of Congress
Photo, Woody Guthrie, Mar. 8, 1943, Al Aumuller, Library of Congress
Photo, Woody Guthrie, Mar. 8, 1943, Al Aumuller, Library of Congress
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Nearly every student shares some connection with music. Whether students favor listening to today’s pop music by Justin Bieber or Rhianna; classic rock by the Beatles or Bruce Springsteen; folk music by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, or Bob Dylan; or jazz music from Charles Mingus or John Coltrane, they glean messages from music and the artists who create it. Moreover, music has been such a part of American popular culture and history that we are rich with music that has commented and reflected on the people and events of that history. As such, using music in a history classroom to foster student interest and content analysis can be part of an effective lesson. But incorporating music in such a way as to encourage meaningful learning requires some structure and forethought. In a previous posting I outlined four general models of incorporating music into a history lesson. I’d like to take this time to explore in a bit more detail how I have made effective use of music in my classroom.

Giving Music Context

My most common method for including music in my lessons was to present the music in a straightforward fashion, allowing students to respond to the lyrics, tone, and message of the song(s) based on the context of our content. For example, throughout a mini-unit about the labor movement of the early 20th century in the U.S., I would typically play selections from the time period, including more than a few songs by Joe Hill, “Bread and Roses” by James Oppenheim, and “Solidarity Forever” by Ralph Chaplin.

Giving students this information before we commence listening allows them to consider the message and tone with fewer distractions.

Although it is rare to find performances from these songwriters, I often find performances of these songs by various artists reinterpreting them. John Denver, for example, recorded and often performed “Bread and Roses. Many education and historical websites provide samples or entire performances of these songs. I have often used the PBS site Strange Fruit as a starting point for my research (incidentally, using the song “Strange Fruit” typically elicits emotional responses when dealing with race relations and the Jim Crow era, and I highly recommend its use for class).

Photo, Young migratory agricultural workers singing at the Saturday night dance at the Agua Fria migratory labor camp, Arizona, May 1940, Russell Lee, Library of Congress

Using this method, I begin class by handing out a guidance worksheet designed to get students to be keener listeners as we hear the song. This worksheet is divided into two distinct parts. In the first section, which I label as pre-listening, I provide students with some basic information about the song, including the genre, the songwriter, and about the interpretation as we are about to hear it. In my experience, giving students this information before we commence listening allows them to consider the message and tone with fewer distractions—including quibbles over whether or not the song was really a blues or jazz song, for example—which can take away from the foundational intention of the listening activity.

Once we are ready to listen to the song, I review the context once more. Just before listening to “Solidarity Forever,” for example, I would reiterate the travails of the labor movement and the methods unions and employers had taken in an effort to strengthen their respective sides. Upon completion of the pre-listening information and context, I project the lyrics onto the screen in the classroom and we then begin listening. While the students are listening, they write down on part two of the worksheet some of the meaningful lyrical passages as well as the tone set by the music and presentation. Additionally, in an effort to gauge effectiveness of the message, they are asked whether the song appears to be more of a call to action or a reflection on the historical event or situation. And finally, I also ask students to ponder for whom this song was written and whether the song effectively addresses those constituents.

Listening Without Context

With an inquiry-based approach, I eschew much of the pre-listening portion of my lesson and ask students to consider, in a more open-ended way, the message of the song(s) with little in the way of context, often at the beginning of a new topic.

When they hear the more controversial lyrics found in some of the verses, there is disbelief.

This method allows students to discover meaning and make sense of a time period within the messages of the song(s). From that basis, we can draw on their conclusions as we progress through lessons related to the topic and beyond. In my experience, students often refer to the messages they first discerned in these songs. They find that their original understanding of the message may have been flawed or that the message in the song conveyed a point of view contrary to what they had learned otherwise. Either way, the analysis they performed and the context they developed from listening allows them to engage with the content with more prior knowledge and experience, thus allowing the possibility for deeper understanding.

Photo, Woody Guthrie, half-length portrait, seated, facing front, playing a guitar that has a sticker attached reading: This Machine Kills Fascists, Mar. 8, 1943, Al Aumuller, Library of Congress

Perhaps my favorite example of this method is with the song “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie. Students know the song, of course, but tend not to know all of the verses. When they hear the more controversial lyrics found in some of the verses, there is disbelief. Most never heard about the references to private property nor considered the implications of a rising tide of communism. As we delve into some of the components and implications of the Great Depression and the Cold War, reference back to those lyrics often moves students to comment, “So now I see why those verses were cut out of the song.”

A Medium with Meaning

With both of these simple methods, the teacher has the ability to employ a medium that likely has significant meaning for students. Music is all around us; providing powerful stories, inspiration, and joy in its messages. Harnessing some of the power of music to influence and convey messages can be a potent tool for teachers. Through some forethought and structure, the possibilities to foster meaningful learning are significant.

For more information

For more suggestions from Pellegrino on teaching with music, read his previous blog entry "Let the Music Play!...in Our Classrooms."

The University of Utah's Joe Hill Project includes primary sources on the life, work, trial, and execution of labor activist and songwriter Joe Hill, as does KUED's Joe Hill. Or read letters from Woody Guthrie at the Library of Congress's American Memory collection Woody Guthrie and the Archive of American Folk Song: 1940-1950.

Try a search for the keyword "music" in our Website Reviews for online collections of sheet music, recordings, and other resources.

Professors Ronald J. Walters and John Spitzer introduce you to using popular song as a source in Using Primary Sources, and scholar Lawrence Levine demonstrates historical analysis of two blues songs.

150 Years Ago Today... Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/25/2011 - 16:31
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Photo, In the midst of battle, Jun. 3, 2007, jonathanjonl, Flickr
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The bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth was celebrated in 2009. This year, 2011, marks a related sesquicentennial. Sesqui? What's that? It means "one and a half," and a sesquicentennial marks something's 150th anniversary. In 1861, 150 years ago as of April 12, Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, SC, and the American Civil War began.

Historical sites, museums, societies, and other organizations have been gearing up to celebrate this anniversary for months, if not years—and as educators you can take advantage of their materials and events.

Looking for digitized primary sources? Downloadable lesson plans? Interested in planning a field trip? Your state (as well as your local community) may have new resources available, or in development, for you.

State Sesquicentennial Commissions

Many states have chosen to make the sesquicentennial an official affair, overseen by a committee or commission recognized by the governor. The websites created by these groups vary widely in quality, but they're a good starting place for exploring the sesquicentennial. Many include timelines, calendars of events, digitized primary sources, educator sections, directories of historic sites, discussion forums, and other resources. The following states have publicized their sesquicentennial preparations online:

The Complications of Commemoration

What states aren't here? Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming do not currently have state Civil War commissions. Illinois may have one forming, and Louisiana may have one that has no web presence.

What was happening in your state in 1861? How much of its history in that year was driven by the Civil War?

Ask your students to think about this list. Why might these states not be celebrating the sesquicentennial? The answer for some of them should be clear—they weren't states at the time! Yet textbooks emphasize disagreement over whether slavery should extend into the territories as one of the causes of the Civil War, and history certainly didn't stop happening in these regions during the war.

Consider giving your students a state. Maybe you want all of them to study your own state's Civil War history. Ask them to look at how your state is commemorating the sesquicentennial. What Civil War sites are located in your state? Are they preserved? What was happening in your state in 1861? How much of its history in that year was driven by the Civil War? Were there major events that seemed unrelated to the war? What events seem to be talked about most often in your textbook and the resources about your state's 1861 history that you can find? What events are given very little space? Does your state have a history of celebrating Civil War memorials? What kind? Have celebrations changed over time?

You might also give each student a different state. Include wildcards, like Hawaii and Alaska, that weren't even territories at the time. Have them research 1861 in their state histories. What was happening in each state (or the areas that would become their states)? How much was related to the Civil War? Were there events that your students think deserve commemoration (even if they weren't related to the war)? Have them put together a theoretical sesquicentennial commemoration for their state, celebrating the year 1861. Remind them that events don't have to be Civil War-related!

More Resources

If you've looked through the sesquicentennial websites above and can't find resources to suit your needs, try searching our Website Reviews. We've visited more than 300 websites with resources on the years 1850–1877, and annotated all of them.

However you want to approach Civil War history, chances are good you'll find a site with relevant resources cataloged here.

Michael Yell on Developing a Climate of Engagement Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/24/2010 - 14:41
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Photo, Whatzits, Michael Yell
Photo, Whatzits, Michael Yell
Photo, Whatzits, Michael Yell
Photo, Whatzits, Michael Yell
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As teachers of history, we know that there are the curricular realities of textbooks, common assessments, district outcomes, and state standards to meet. But as teachers of history, we can regularly experience the motivating effects of having students think historically, wrestle with primary sources, and interact while they explore events, issues, ideas, and people of the past. We can do this while still meeting those curriculum targets that, at times, make it seem as though we must take our students on the deadly content coverage march.

How can we as elementary and secondary teachers set a climate for exploration?

I teach 7th-grade world history at the Hudson Middle School in Hudson, WI, and have taught every social science discipline, world history, American history, and state history in every secondary grade over a career of (so far) 37 years. As a classroom teacher I have found that in order to meet those curricular timelines and standards while engaging students in the study of history it is important to:

  1. develop a climate of engagement, interaction, and activity; and
  2. develop a repertoire of engaging thoughtful teaching strategies that will engage students in the study of history.

How can we as elementary and secondary teachers set a climate for exploration? How can we engage our students in historical thinking while meeting the expectations for curriculum coverage that we must? In this blog, I will write about creating that climate and those teaching strategies that I have found are unsurpassed in having students engaged in the study of history.

Setting a Tone for Engagement

Many years ago, my family was sitting around the dinner table after the first day of school. We were talking about that first day when I asked my youngest, who was just entering in middle school, what he did in his class. His reply was we did the first thing we always do on the first day of school: we talked about rules. The two older children, one then in middle school and one in high school, chimed in that in addition to rules, we got to listen to course descriptions, just like every first day. That was an "ah ha" moment for me. What they, and probably most students, experience on the first day is basically a matter of routine and it is not setting a tone for engagement.

I love history and want to engage my students in its exploration. Setting the climate for this begins day one.

I love history and want to engage my students in its exploration. Setting the climate for this begins day one. Although there are certainly many ways to initiate your students into a climate of engagement and discovery, I would like to share mine which, with continual tweaks, I have been using ever since that dinner table conversation about 10 years ago.

When the students come into my room on the first day of school, they find desks formed into groups of four. They seat themselves, and as soon as the bell rings, I give them a challenge: students are to make a class timeline by standing along the walls of the room in order of their birth. The rules are that they cannot talk and they cannot write.

Of course, they realize very quickly that the only way to do this is to use sign language—so many fingers for the month and then the day once they have found others born in the same month. After a few minutes of positioning and repositioning, from the first in line to the last, students announce their birthdays.

From that point, students are formed into groups of four and we talk briefly about the class. I start by asking them about their attitudes toward history and then give them my three guarantees. Regarding their attitudes I always seem to find that roughly a quarter of my students like history, another quarter dislike history, and the rest are ambivalent. It is then time for my three guarantees:

  1. this year we will explore a lot of history (I emphasize the word explore);
  2. this year you will enjoy learning history; and
  3. this year you will never, never do a worksheet.

We then spend the remainder of the period playing a team-building game called Whatzits.

Fulfilling Expectations

The goal on this first day is not to set up the rules for the class, to give my students a syllabus, or even to begin engaging them in historical thinking (that will come). My goal is that when students leave the class, they will have a sense that this history class is going to be different from what they may be accustomed to. I use the birthday line-up, my guarantees, and a team-building exercise to set the tone for my classes. As fellow teachers of history, you may find other methods, but I strongly recommend you get students up and moving, and engage them in activities that will set those expectations of engagement.

What is the next step that must be made in fulfilling those expectations? Simple; the next step is to hit ’em with your best shot. Immediately.

Discrepent Event Inquiry

To carry through with a tone and climate of engagement, it is necessary to use engaging and thoughtful teaching strategies in your teaching immediately. My best shot, i.e. the strategy that I have found most motivates my students and excites them about the upcoming unit, is a strategy called Discrepant Event Inquiry.

Imagine that students have just come into your American history class. The bell rings, and you tell your students that they are going to solve a mystery. The first thing they must figure out is what has happened in this story:

A young boy named John lived on a farm in a beautiful, mountainous, wooded area in Eastern Tennessee in 1837. His family planted corn and raised animals for meat, milk, and eggs. John had four brothers and three sisters. The family appeared happy and prosperous. In 1839 the family moved to a treeless, dry, flat prairie. During the journey, two of John’s brothers and one of his sisters died. When they arrived at their new home, the family could not grow enough to feed themselves. John’s father became a member of the legislature and his mother helped publish the local newspaper. John missed his brothers and sister, and his beautiful home in the mountains.

When the short tale is complete you say to your students: what you must figure out is why John’s family would leave their beautiful farm for a difficult life in this flat dry prairie.

A timer is set and immediately students begin to question you. But these are all a particular type of questions—questions posed to you must be answerable with only a yes or a no. No open-ended questions allowed—students must figure this story out on their own.

The questions and answers begin:

  • Did the family know where they were going?
  • Yes.
  • Did they want to leave Tennessee?
  • No.
  • Why did they leave?
  • I can’t answer that—remember, only yes or no questions.
  • Did they have to leave?
  • Yes.

Questions build upon questions and answers build upon answers as students probe and analyze the problem and develop hypotheses. After a few minutes, the timer is paused and students briefly discuss what they have learned and what they still must discover. Then the timer starts again, as do the questions, until time runs out (I give students five minutes) or a student has developed the correct hypotheses.

I have learned in using discrepant event inquiries that the motivational qualities of this strategy are just as strong, perhaps stronger, if a class does not figure it out. If the time runs out and they have not solved the mystery, they are ready to move into the inquiry more deeply and learn about it. If they do figure it out, they are happy and ready to move on to further inquiry into the subject.

The Steps of Discrepant Event Inquiry

There are four steps in conducting a Discrepant Event Inquiry:

  1. A puzzling story or statement is told to students as well as a statement of what they must figure out in order to solve it.
  2. Students analyze the puzzle by asking the teacher questions that can be answered with a "yes" or a "no."
  3. The teacher pauses during the inquiry in order to give students the opportunity to engage in small-group discussion to enrich their thinking and help them form hypotheses.
  4. The inquiry is followed with the development of questions that students wish to answer during the unit/lesson.

    5. Developing the puzzling story or statement requires a bit of imagination, but anything that can be stated in a puzzling way or stories that can be told about the subject leaving important pieces of information out are ripe for the inquiry.

    By the way, John and his family were Cherokees forced from their homes in the Trail of Tears. Students are now eager to make further inquiries into this tragic period in American history. Two exemplary strategies that the history teacher can use to further engage them in their inquiry are Response Groups and Mystery, which I will examine in future blog entries.

Bibliography

The discrepant event inquiry on the Trail of Tears is adapted from William C. and Jean K. Bruce, Mindtronics, Home Tree Media, 2009.

For more information

For a complete explanation of strategies for developing Discrepent Event Inquiry stories, and many other strategies, see Yell and Scheurman, A Link to the Past: Engaging Students in the Study of History, National Council for the Social Studies, 2004.

Anthony Pellegrino: Let the Music Play!...in Our Classrooms

Date Published
Image
Photo, old cassettes - 3, July 23, 2010, detritus, Flickr
Photo, old cassettes - 3, July 23, 2010, detritus, Flickr
Article Body

Music has been a source of inspiration, of protest, of wisdom, and of emotion for millennia. In the United States, music became woven into the fabric of our culture well before we became a nation, and it remains so today. Through songs of protest and patriotism from the 18th and 19th centuries to music of today commenting on and influencing social or political issues, music has found its way into nearly every era and event in American history, inspiring it or reflecting on it.

Music: Humanizing Protest and Politics

Beginning in my early teens, I recall being affected by the political and social messages in the music to which I listened. In fact, my music-inspired evolution toward civic-mindedness greatly influenced my decision to teach social studies. As an American history teacher, I found significant success employing music in my lessons. Students in my class might get a sampling of some Joe Hill union songs from the IWW; 1960s protest songs such as "Masters of War" by Bob Dylan; a taste of punk rock music from the Bad Brains, Black Flag, or Minor Threat that raged against governmental policies or notions of class from the Reagan era; or hip-hop songs from Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, NWA, or KRS-one that lamented urban blight of the 1980s and 1990s.

Whether reflecting on or being a part of the context, these songs contained meaning.

These songs became sources integral to our wrangling with the experiences of the past and examination of contemporary social and political issues. We often laughed at the vocalists or the crude recording and instrumentation, but our mission was to analyze the meanings behind the songs in terms of their significance to history and the social studies. We treated these songs for what they are: cultural contributions critically relevant to the past, present, and future of our society.

I am certain that sharing these songs with my students engaged them in the content for a time. I am also certain that they enjoyed the unusual activity of listening to music in class, hearing my commentary of the artists, and discussing, for example, the characteristics of Dylan's voice or the bombast that was 1980s hardcore punk rock. However, my goal was beyond just engagement. Whether reflecting on or being a part of the context, these songs contained meaning. They represented a look inside the lives of the songwriters and the stories they had to tell. These songs allowed us to be more aware of our own world. They held the potential, as do other relevant sources in the social studies, to humanize us.

How Can I Use Music as a Primary Source?

Photo, old cassettes - 3, July 23, 2010, detritus, FlickrI am heartened when I communicate with prospective history educators who believe in the idea of teaching history beyond the textbook. These future teachers share innovative ideas of image and document analysis in an effort to move students toward developing historical habits of mind and keen interest in the world around them. It is my contention that teachers can and should consider the use of music in the same way they consider more archetypal sources—as essential to effective teaching.

It has been my experience that the following strategies work well when engaging students in listening to and analyzing music in the classroom.

  1. Using a modified inquiry method where students are unaware of the relevancy the song(s) has in terms of the lesson heightens student interest and allows for some creative interpretations and deep analysis. In this strategy, students will listen to the music (with lyrics up on the screen in front of class) and are asked to analyze the lyrics in an attempt to discern the salient meaning. Students would likely be using text sources/artifacts as well to provide context and foundational knowledge. This can be done as an individual or group activity with a class debriefing to follow.
  2. Listening to the song and carefully analyzing the lyrics and tone in the direct context of the historical, social, or political event I am teaching is another way of using music effectively in class. Teachers employing this more traditional strategy post lyrics on screen while students listen to and interpret meaning individually and as a group. This method provides opportunity to share songs with narratives contrary to the traditional, which can foster cognitive dissonance, important to any worthwhile history and social studies class.
  3. Borrowing from Drake and Nelson's (2003) History Research Kit, a teacher may use one particular song as a "first-order" source. In this strategy, the teacher shares the song and analyzes and interprets meaning with the students as the principle source for the lesson. The second-order songs might include two or three songs with other interpretations of the event(s) covered in the lesson. These songs are analyzed as a model for students to follow for the third-order songs. For those songs, the teacher asks students to seek their own sources (songs or other artifacts) that either support or refute the meaning from the teacher-provided songs. Allowing students the opportunity to find their own sources serves to empower students to do history, which has great potential to result in deep understanding and meaningful learning.
  4. Intrepid teachers comfortable with software used to create music may promote the idea for students to create their own music related to history, or, more broadly, social studies content. Clay Shirkey (2010) notes that digital natives are accustomed to creating using technology, therefore, actively involving students in such creative endeavors might be truly beneficial to their learning. One of the aforementioned methods might serve as a precursor to this strategy. My success with this method has come when my students were keenly familiar with music analysis and interpretation. Asking students to engage in this activity without prior experience will likely yield disappointing results.
A Final Thought

Please note: If your thoughts are drifting toward sharing "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel or songs from some new website advertising "American History Learned through 50 Rock-n-Roll Songs" where a songwriter has penned songs related to salient events in American history, please be cautioned. What I am referring to here is quite different. My goal is to engage students in listening to or creating music that requires more from students. The music presented ought to be considered as carefully as when choosing just the right letter between Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed, or the parts of George F. Kennan's Long Telegram to share. I don’t mean to disparage Billy Joel; I am, in fact, a fan. I'd just rather listen to The Stranger or The Nylon Curtain . . . you know, the old stuff is always better.

Bibliography

Drake, F.D. and Nelson, L.R. Engagement in Teaching History: Theory and Practices for Middle and Secondary Teachers. New York: Prentice Hall, 2004.

Shirkey, C. Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. New York: Penguin Press, 2010.

For more information

The University of Utah's Joe Hill Project includes primary sources on the life, work, trial, and execution of labor activist and songwriter Joe Hill, as does KUED's Joe Hill.

Try a search for the keyword "music" in our Website Reviews for online collections of sheet music, recordings, and other resources.

Professors Ronald J. Walters and John Spitzer introduce you to using popular song as a source in Using Primary Sources, and scholar Lawrence Levine demonstrates historical analysis of two blues songs.

National Constitution Center (PA)

Description

The National Constitution Center is an independent, non-partisan, and non-profit organization dedicated to increasing public understanding of, and appreciation for, the Constitution, its history, and its contemporary relevance, through an interactive, interpretive facility within Independence National Historic Park and a program of national outreach, so that "We the People" may better secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.

The Center has exhibits, programs for teachers and students, and outreach events.

Mississippi's Ninth Grade Standards

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(Note: By the completion of twelfth grade, Mississippi students are expected to master the following standards.)

Course: Mississippi Studies

Content Strand: Domestic Affairs

  1. Understand how geography, history, and politics have influenced the development of Mississippi.
      • a. Identify the major (Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Natchez) and minor (Biloxi, Tunica) Native American groups found living in Mississippi by the first European explorers in the region and discuss their governmental, economic and ecological systems. (DOK 1)
      • b. Describe the social, economic and political context of Mississippi when it was held by France, England and Spain and describe the process by which the Mississippi territory was admitted to the United States. (DOK 1)
      • c. Analyze the development of slavery in Mississippi including the various factors (economic, geographic, and social) that contributed to its development and explain the opposition to slavery in Mississippi. (DOK 2)
      • d. Trace the events that led to the secession of Mississippi from the Union in 1861 and explain why certain groups opposed the secession. (DOK 1)
      • e. Compare and contrast the four constitutions of Mississippi and explain the reasons for their development. (DOK 2)
      • f. Identify and locate major geographical features of Mississippi and how they contribute to the social and economic development of the state. (DOK 1)
  2. Understand the major responsibilities of state and local government and how they are executed.
      • a. Identify and describe the duties of the three branches of state government in Mississippi. (DOK 1)
      • b. Examine the various forms of local governments (i.e., city managers, municipal supervisors, mayor/city council, etc.) and evaluate how they help meet the needs of local communities. (DOK 2)

    3. Content Strand: Global Affairs

  3. Understand the role that Mississippi has played in international, political, and economic affairs.
      • a. Cite specific evidence of Mississippi‘s involvement (through imports and exports) in the global economy including communication, technology, transportation, education and manufacturing. (DOK 2)
      • b. Cite evidence of the growing international diversity of the Mississippi population by identifying the various immigrant groups in Mississippi during the 20th and 21st centuries and analyze their motivations (or push-pull factors) for migrating to the state. (DOK 2)

    4. Content Strand: Civil Rights/Human Rights

  4. Understand and describe the historical circumstances and conditions that necessitated the development of civil rights and human rights protections and/or activism for various minority groups in Mississippi.
      • a. Compare and contrast de facto segregation and de jure segregation in Mississippi from 1890 to the present, including the rise of Jim Crow era events and actors (i.e., Ross Barnett, James Eastland, the integration of University of Mississippi, Sovereignty Commission, etc.), and their impact on Mississippi‘s history and contemporary society. (DOK 2)
      • b. Identify and explain the significance of the major actors, groups and events of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid 20th century in Mississippi (i.e., Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, Dr. T.R.M. Howard, James Meredith, Freedom Rides, Freedom Summer, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, COFO, CORE, etc.). (DOK 2)
      • c. Compare and contrast the development and resulting impact of civil rights movements (e.g., women‘s suffrage, African American liberation, Native American citizenship and suffrage, immigration rights, etc.) in Mississippi. (DOK 2)
      • d. Investigate and describe the state government‘s responses to the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas Supreme Court decision in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. (DOK 2)

    5. Content Strand: Economics

  5. Understand the importance of how geography, history, and politics affect the economic life of Mississippi from the past to the present.
      • a. Identify and analyze the economic development over time of major industries in Mississippi (including but not limited to agricultural production, manufacturing, rise of machines, boll weevil, development of natural resources, international investments, the Great Migration, etc.). (DOK 3)
      • b. Analyze the economic impact of the Civil War on Mississippi. (DOK3)
      • c. Explain the reasons why Mississippi became more industrialized in the mid-20th century.
        (DOK 1)
      • d. Analyze the current trends and historic record of poverty and wealth distribution in Mississippi. (DOK 3)

    6. Content Strand: Culture

  6. Understand the trends, ideologies, and artistic expressions in Mississippi over time and place.
      • a. Examine the cultural impact of Mississippi artists, musicians and writers on the state, nation and world. (DOK 2)
      • b. Analyze the ways Mississippians have adapted to change and continue to address cultural issues unique to the state (e.g., the establishment of historical and commemorative markers for Civil Rights Movement and Confederate icons). (DOK 3)
      • c. Analyze the impact of religious traditions upon the daily lives of Mississippians from the era of European exploration to the present. (DOK 3)

Course: U.S. Government

Content Strand: Domestic Affairs

  1. Understand the fundamental principles and moral values of American democracy as expressed in the U.S. Constitution and other important documents of American democracy.
      • a. Explain how the U.S. Constitution calls for a system of shared powers, specifies the role of organized interests, details checks and balances, and explains the importance of an independent judiciary, enumerated powers, rule of law, federalism, and civilian control of the military. (DOK 2)
      • b. Explain how the Founding Fathers‘ realistic view of human nature led directly to the establishment of a constitutional system that limited the power of the governors and the governed. (DOK 2)
  2. Understand the roles and responsibilities of the three branches of government as established by the U.S. Constitution.
      • a. Analyze Article I of the Constitution as it relates to the legislative branch, including eligibility for office and lengths of terms of representatives and senators; election to office; the roles of the House and Senate in impeachment proceedings; the role of the vice president; the enumerated legislative powers; and the process by which a bill becomes a law. (DOK 2)
      • b. Analyze Article II of the Constitution as it relates to the executive branch, including eligibility for office and length of term, election to and removal from office, the oath of office, and the enumerated executive powers. (DOK 2)
      • c. Analyze Article III of the Constitution as it relates to judicial branch, including the length of terms of judges and the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. (DOK 2)
  3. Understand the meaning, scope, and limits of rights and obligations of democratic citizenship and that the relationships among democratic citizens and government are mutable.
      • a. Explain the individual‘s legal obligations to obey the law, serve as a juror, and pay taxes. (DOK 1)
      • b. Explain the obligations of civic-mindedness, including voting, being informed on civic issues, volunteering and performing public service, and serving in the military or alternative service. (DOK 1)
      • c. Explain how one becomes a citizen of the United States, including the process of naturalization (e.g., literacy, language, and other requirements). (DOK 1)
      • d. Explain how the Constitution can be amended.(DOK1)

    4. Content Strand: Global Affairs

  4. Understand the origins and characteristics of different political systems across time and place, with emphasis on the quest for political democracy, its advances, and its obstacles.
      • a. Explain how the different ideas and structures of feudalism, mercantilism, socialism, fascism, communism, monarchies, parliamentary systems, and constitutional liberal democracies influence economic policies, social welfare policies, and human rights practices. (DOK 3)
      • b. Identify the forms of illegitimate power that some twentieth-century African, Asian, and Latin American dictators used to gain and hold office and the conditions and interests that supported them. (DOK 1)
      • c. Analyze the ideologies that give rise to Communism, methods of maintaining control, and the movements to overthrow Communist governments in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland, including the roles of movement leaders and individuals. (DOK 3)

    5. Content Strand: Civil Rights/Human Rights

  5. Understand the role that governments play in the protection, expansion, and hindrance of civil/human rights of citizens.
      • a. Explain Supreme Court rulings that have resulted in controversies over changing interpretations of civil rights, including those in Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, and United States v. Virginia (VMI). (DOK 2)
      • b. Explain the importance of maintaining a balance between the following concepts: majority rule and individual rights; liberty and equality; state and national authority in a federal system; civil disobedience and the rule of law; freedom of the press and the right to a fair trial; and the relationship of religion and government. (DOK 2)
      • c. Analyze the meaning and importance of each of the rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights and landmark Amendments (e.g., 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 26th) and how each is secured (e.g., freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition, privacy). (DOK 3)

    6. Content Strand: Economics

  6. Understand how some American Governmental actions protect and expand the economic interest of American individual citizens, corporations and society in general.
    • a. Critique whether certain governmental acts, such as the Sherman Anti-trust Act and the North American Free Trade Agreement, promote the "common welfare" of the United States as stated in the preamble to the Constitution. (DOK 3)
    • b. Cite evidence and explain how the American Governmental policies of containment and democratic expansion serve as means of expanding and protecting the economic interests of the United States. (DOK 2)
    • c. Explain how economic rights are secured and their importance to the individual and to society (e.g., the right to acquire, use, transfer, and dispose of property; right to choose one‘s work; right to join or not join labor unions; copyrights and patents). (DOK 2)

Content Strand: Culture

  • Understand the fundamental values and principles of a civil society and how they are influenced by and reflective of the culture of the people in the society and understand the meaning and importance of those values and principles for a free society.
      • a. Analyze how a civil society makes it possible for people, individually or collectively, to influence government in ways other than voting and elections (e.g., Lobbying, Political Action Committees, "Political Art"/political cartoons, protest songs, plays, movies, novels, etc.). (DOK 3)
      • b. Explain how religion and religious diversity has characterized the development of American democracy. (DOK 2)
      • c. Analyze the influence of the media on American political life. (DOK 3)

    Course: Introduction to World Geography

    Content Strand: Domestic Affairs

    1. Understand the role of the United States in the world geo-political system.
        • a. Recognize the effects of U.S. public opinion and U.S. policies on other peoples and countries around the world. (DOK 1)
        • b. Analyze the ways that public policy makers in the United States manage post Cold War tensions between the U.S. as a world superpower and other countries and organizations as emerging powers. (DOK 3)DOK 1)

      2. Content Strand: Global Affairs

    2. Understand the physical environments in the United States and the world along with the processes that shape them and the problems they present to human occupation and use.
        • a. Identify and explain the concepts and processes that effect physical environments around the world and explain the subsequent patterns and distributions of natural resources and physical environmental changes that result from those processes. (DOK 3)
        • b. Recognize problems associated with the complex interactions between human activity and the physical environments around the world (e.g., natural hazards, drought and redistribution of water, agricultural production and food security, movement of air and water pollution). (DOK 2)
    3. Understand how population, migration, culture, economics, urbanization, and political factors produce complex networks and systems of human activity around the world.
        • a. Recognize and explain the concepts and processes (e.g., location, space, economy, development of a "nation-state," etc.) that shape the patterns and distributions of human activity around the world. (DOK 2)
        • b. Identify the characteristics of human settlements around the world, sort them into categories (e.g., urban, suburban, rural, gentrified, slums, etc.), and analyze how each type of settlement develops and is sustained through time. (DOK 3)
        • c. Recognize and explain how the human forces of contact, cooperation, and conflict influence the division and control of earth‘s land and resources. (DOK 2)

      4. Content Strand: Civil Rights/Human Rights

    4. Understand civil rights and human rights in the contemporary world.
        • a. Identify and describe the social and economic circumstances of the world‘s indigenous peoples and assess the causes and effects of those circumstances. (DOK 2)
        • b. Describe how processes of structural racism (e.g., social justice, environmental racism, power relations, the gap between rich and poor, migration streams) operate in diverse places and with various groups of people around the world. (DOK 2)

      5. Content Strand: Economics

    5. Understand economic development, economic globalization and global resource use.
        • a. Use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to explain the geographic reasons of economic interactions among people, places, and environments of the world. (DOK 2)
        • b. Identify world patterns of resource distribution and utilization and evaluate the impacts of global economic interdependence (e.g., regional trade agreements, outsourcing, global division of labor). (DOK 3)
        • c. Categorize human livelihoods (agriculture, manufacturing, services, etc.) and distinguish between wage-earning and subsistence economies. (DOK 2)
        • d. Identify and analyze the ways in which innovations in transportation and communication networks impact the world. (DOK 3)

      6. Content Strand: Culture

    6. Understand the characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth’s cultural mosaics.
        • a. Identify processes of divergence and convergence of cultures. (DOK1)
        • b. Assess the ways in which places and regions contribute to the creation of individual and social identity. (DOK 2)
        • c. Identify major culture regions of the world and explain how the characteristics of each give it a distinctiveness that sets it apart from the others. (DOK 2)

    Course: Introduction to World History from the Age of Enlightenment to the Present

    Content Strand: Domestic Affairs

    1. Understand different political systems in the Modern Western World and their impact on the respective societies that adopted them.
        • a. Compare and contrast governmental forms (Democracy, aristocracy/oligarchy, absolutism, constitutionalism, totalitarianism, monarchy and republic) as practiced by the societies that adopted them over time. (DOK 2)
        • b. Compare and contrast the ideologies and practices of communism, socialism, liberalism, fascism, nationalism, and imperialism. (DOK 2)
        • c. Analyze the different governmental systems of countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas (e.g., Fascism in Italy and Germany, Communism in Russia and China, Democracy in the United States, Monarchy in England, etc.) since the Age of Enlightenment in terms of the main factors that contributed to their rise and fall. (DOK 4)
    2. Understand the impact of political, technological, economic, cultural, religious, and demographic changes within the global community.
        • a. Analyze and explain the origins, spread, and impact of the First and Second Industrial Revolutions. (DOK 3)
        • b. Explain, by drawing on different political and cultural contexts, the evidence of the tensions between religions, within religions, and between secularism and religion. (DOK 2)
        • c. Describe the nature of the transitions from one governmental form to another (e.g., violent, non-violent, ideological, economic). (DOK 2)
        • d. Analyze international demographic trends (population growth, decline, movement) and their relationship with the development of various societies around the world. (DOK 2)

      3. Content Strand: Global Affairs

    3. Understand causes and consequences of contact, cooperation, and conflict (e.g., diplomatic, economic, political, cultural/ethnic, military, biological) between various societies, nations, and groups of people.
        • a. Analyze the role of imperialism and industrialism as factors in the rise of global conflict since the Age of Enlightenment. (DOK 3)
        • b. Critique the successes and failures of initiatives to create international security (e.g., Bourbon Family Compact, Concert of Europe, Holy Alliance, League of Nations, United Nations, SEATO, Non-Aligned States, etc.). (DOK 3)
        • c. Analyze the causes, effects, and unique features of World War I and World War II in terms of the changes in diplomatic relationships among the various countries involved. (DOK 3)
        • d. Describe the causes of the Cold War and its effects on contemporary world affairs. (DOK 2)
    4. Understand that increased interactions among people have resulted from: technological and communication innovation, political and economic change, and demographic and climate change.
        • a. Compare and contrast the Glorious Revolution of England, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution and their enduring effects worldwide on the political expectations for self-government and individual liberty. (DOK 3)
        • b. Identify the various locations of colonial rule of nations such as England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Portugal, and the United States and analyze the colonial relationships of each. (DOK 3)
        • c. Analyze the integration of countries into the global community and the roles of demographic change, climate change, medical advances, and cultural exchange in that integration. (DOK 3)
        • d. Analyze the international developments in the post–World War II world in terms of global economic, military, and political power shifts (e.g., developments of nationalism in Africa and the "Middle East," the effects of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan in Southeast Asia, the collapse of the Soviet Union, etc.). (DOK 4)

      5. Content Strand: Civil Rights/Human Rights

    5. Understand rights in society and changing conception of rights (civil or human).
        • a. Differentiate between civil rights and human rights in their historical contexts (e.g., the Enlightenment, American and French Revolutions, Colonial Independence Movement-- such as the Free India Movement, and movements in Latin America). (DOK 2)
        • b. Describe the role and impact of international civil rights movements and leaders (e.g., Gandhi, Tiananmen Square protests, Tibetan Freedom Fighters, Ras Tafari Movement, etc.) on the colonized countries in places such as Africa, Caribbean/South America, and Southeast Asia, etc., in appeals for independence. (DOK 2)
        • c. Identify and distinguish between the methods of proponents of civil or human rights and the methods of their opponents since the Age of Enlightenment (e.g., Rousseau, Wollstonecraft, Blanqui, anarchists, Gandhi, Ho Chi Minh, Cesar Chavez). (DOK 2)

      6. Content Strand: Economics

    6. Understand the economic causes and patterns of global change in the era of New Imperialism in Africa, Southeast Asia, China, India, Latin America, and the Philippines.
        • a. Assess the role that scarce resources, the quest for "markets," and technological innovation have played in conflicts between states and/or empires since the Age of Enlightenment. (DOK 3)
        • b. Analyze the role of imperialism, geography, and market economies in the development of the economies of "third world" nations in Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Philippines. (DOK 3)
    7. Understand the development of various economic systems through time and place and how those systems have shaped global relations.
        • a. Analyze the integration of countries into the world economy and roles of the informational, technological and communication revolutions (e.g., steamship, the telegraph, television, satellite, and computer) in that integration. (DOK 3)
        • b. Cite evidence of how the world has evolved from a multitude of economic systems to a global interdependent economy. (DOK 2)
        • c. Draw conclusions using examples of how governments, international institutions (e.g., Napoleon‘s Continental System, GATT), and private corporations (e.g., East India Company) have sought to regulate economics since the Age of Enlightenment. (DOK 3)

      8. Content Strand: Culture

    8. Understand the cultural trends, religious ideologies and artistic expressions of various world cultures through time and place.
        • a. Assess the impact of the Scientific Revolutions on society and culture. (DOK 3)
        • b. Cite evidence to illustrate cultural fusion and exchange on an international scale (e.g.,
          influence of non-Western cultures on the West, the influence of the West on non- Western cultures, and other cross-fertilization between cultures) from the 18th century to the present. (DOK 2)
        • c. Examine cultural artifacts to illustrate the relationship between major artistic trends (e.g., Romanticism, Modernism, and Expressionism) in their historical contexts (e.g., political, intellectual, social, economic). (DOK 2)
        • d. Analyze the moral and ethical principles in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, in Judaism, and in Christianity in the development of Western political thought. (DOK 3)

    Course: U.S. History from Post-Reconstruction to the Present

    Content Strand: Domestic Affairs

    1. Understand the evolution of the American political system, its ideals, and institutions post-reconstruction.
        • a. Cite and analyze evidence that the United States Constitution is a "living" document as reflected in Supreme Court cases, Amendments, and presidential actions. (DOK 3)
        • b. Analyze and evaluate the impact of presidential policies and congressional actions on domestic reform. (DOK 3)
        • c. Explain and analyze the expansion of federal powers. (DOK 3)
        • d. Analyze and evaluate the ongoing tension between individual liberty and national security. (DOK 3)
    2. Understand major social problems and domestic policy issues in post- reconstruction American society.
        • a. Explain how American society has been impacted by the entry of more women, minorities, and immigrant workers into the labor force. (DOK 2)
        • b. Trace the response of American institutions such as government and non-profit organizations to environmental challenges such as natural disasters, conservation and pollution, and property rights (including but not limited to the expansion of the national park system, the development of environmental protection laws, and imminent domain). (DOK 2)
        • c. Compare and contrast various social policies such as welfare reform and public health insurance and explain how such social policies are influenced by the persistence of poverty. (DOK 2)

      3. Content Strand: Global Affairs

    3. Understand how the global position of the United States has evolved as a result of imperialism, economics, technological changes, and involvement in international wars and conflicts.
        • a. Analyze the effects of imperialism on the foreign policy of the United States from Reconstruction to World War I. (DOK 3)
        • b. Compare and contrast the arguments between the imperialists and anti-imperialists in the late 19th century and justify why the imperialists prevailed. (DOK 3)
        • c. Draw conclusions about the causes and effects of American involvement in the world wars. (DOK 3)
        • d. Analyze the origins and development of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, including ideology, technology, economics, and geography. (DOK 3)
        • e. Explain and analyze America‘s role in international organizations, humanitarian relief, and post-war reconstruction efforts throughout the 20th century. (DOK 3)
        • f. Analyze and evaluate the causes and effects of the United States‘ growing involvement in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. (DOK 3)

      4. Content Strand: Civil Rights/Human Rights

    4. Understand how the Civil Rights Movement achieved social and political change in the United States and the impact of the Civil Rights struggle of African Americans on other groups (including but not limited to feminists, Native Americans, Hispanics, immigrant groups, and individuals with disabilities).
        • a. Analyze the issues that gave rise to the Civil Rights Movement from post-reconstruction to the modern movement. (DOK 3)
        • b. Trace the major events of the modern movement and compare and contrast the strategies and tactics for social change used by leading individuals/groups. (DOK 2)
        • c. Analyze the response of federal and state governments to the goals (including but not limited to ending de jure and de facto segregation and economic inequality) of the Civil Rights Movement. (DOK 3)
        • d. Evaluate the impact of the Civil Rights Movement in expanding democracy in the United States. (DOK 3)
        • e. Compare and contrast the goals and objectives of other minority and immigrant groups to those of the Civil Rights Movement led predominantly by African-Americans. (DOK 2)
        • f. Cite and analyze evidence of the political, economic, and social changes in the United States that expanded democracy for other minority and immigrant groups. (DOK 3)

      5. Content Strand: Economics

    5. Understand the continuing economic transformation of the United States involving the maturing of the industrial economy, the expansion of big business, the changing demographics of the labor force, and the rise of national labor unions and industrial conflict.
        • a. Evaluate the factors leading to and the effects of industrialization on the political, physical, and economic landscape of the United States during the late 19th and early 20th century. (DOK 3)
        • b. Explain the conditions of industrialization that led to the rise of organized labor and evaluate labor‘s effectiveness in achieving its goals. (DOK 3)
        • c. Identify and explain migration and immigration patterns that developed from the push- pull effects of economic circumstances. (DOK 2)
    6. Understand the scope of government involvement in the economy including the following: the regulation of industry and labor, the attempts to manipulate the money supply, and the use of tariffs or trade agreements to protect or expand U.S. business interests.
        • a. Cite and explain evidence that led to the transition of the U.S. economy from laissez- faire capitalism to an increasingly regulated economy. (DOK 2)
        • b. Analyze and evaluate historical arguments regarding monetary policy. (DOK 3)
        • c. Critique the government‘s use of tariffs and trade agreements. (DOK 3)
        • d. Evaluate deficit spending as a means of financing government programs. (DOK 3)

      7. Content Strand: Culture

    7. Understand cultural trends, religious ideologies, and artistic expressions that contributed to the historical development of the United States.
        • a. Examine cultural artifacts (including but not limited to visual art, literature, music, theatre, sports) to contextualize historical developments. (DOK 2)
        • b. Analyze and evaluate the impact of religion on various social movements, domestic/foreign policies, and political debates. (DOK 3)
        • c. Evaluate the role mass media has played in shaping perceptions toward certain policies, social groups, other nations, and political ideas. (DOK 3)
        • d. Contrast modernism and traditionalism relating to social change. (DOK 2)
        • e. Cite and explain evidence of the diversity of the United States.(DOK2)

    Course: Economics

    Content Strand: Domestic Affairs

    1. Understand that the nation’s overall economy is characterized by the interaction of spending and production decisions.
        • a. Analyze the causes and effects of choices made by various sectors in the economy (e.g., households, businesses, and governments, etc.) in the production and distribution of resources. (DOK 3)
        • b. Predict how changes in a nation‘s overall level of income, employment, and prices determine changes in the economy‘s level of output or real Gross Domestic Product or GDP. (DOK 3)
        • c. Demonstrate how money makes it easier to trade, borrow, save, invest, and compare the value of goods and services. (DOK 3)
        • d. Interpret how the Federal government spending policy and the Federal Reserve System‘s monetary policy influence the overall level of employment, output, and prices in the U.S. economy. (DOK 3)

      2. Content Strand: Global Affairs

    2. Understand that there is an increasing economic interdependence among nations in the global economy.
        • a. Cite evidence and explain how both production and consumption increase when regions and nations specialize in what they can produce at the lowest cost, and then trade with others. (DOK 3)
        • b. Explain how foreign exchange rates represent the market price of one nation‘s currency in terms of another nation‘s currency. (DOK 2)
        • c. Use measures of economic development to draw conclusions about the lives and futures of people and societies in the various world regions and countries. (DOK 3)

      3. Content Strand: Civil Rights/Human Rights

    3. Understand how different economic systems affect civil and human rights.
        • a. Analyze the current trends and historical record of poverty in the American economy, noting the disproportionate effects of poverty in minority communities and with women. (DOK 3)
        • b. Compare and contrast poverty as it exists in other industrialized nations and in the developing economies around the world. (DOK 2)
        • c. Analyze the role of a market economy in establishing and preserving political and personal liberty (e.g., through the works of Adam Smith). (DOK 3)

      4. Content Strand: Economics

    4. Understand that resources are limited and therefore choices must be made.
        • a. Explain why individuals and societies can not have all the goods and services that they want and as a result, they make choices that involve costs and benefits. (DOK 2)
        • b. Describe how effective decision-making requires comparing the additional costs of alternatives with the additional benefits of alternatives. (DOK 2)
        • c. Describe how people respond to positive and negative incentives in predictable ways. (DOK 2)
        • d. Explain how voluntary exchange occurs only when all participating parties expect to gain. (DOK 2)
    5. Understand that markets exist when buyers and sellers interact and engage in exchange.
        • a. Analyze, using supply and demand curves, the relationship of the concept of incentives to the law of supply, and the relationship of the concept of incentives and substitutes to the law of demand. (DOK 3)
        • b. Investigate and explain how markets determine prices and thereby allocate goods and services and describe how market prices send signals and provide incentives to buyers and sellers. (DOK 2)
        • c. Analyze the role of government (defining property rights, providing public goods and services, regulating in cases of market failure and promoting market competition) in helping to provide for a just distribution of economic resources and opportunities among citizens in a market economy. (DOK 3)

      6. Content Strand: Culture

    6. Understand the personal economic consequences of spending and investment decisions made by individuals, businesses, and governments.
        • a. Demonstrate how American culture promotes entrepreneurship. (DOK3)
        • b. Demonstrate why it is important to take responsibility for personal financial decisions. (DOK 3)
        • c. Analyze the effects of advertising, marketing, and American popular culture on people‘s economic choices (consumerism, charitable giving, entertainment spending, etc.). (DOK 3)
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