SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS - Grades 4-8

 

U.S. HISTORY

          *Pre-history through 1607

A. Standard: The student will understand that large and diverse American Indian Nations were the original inhabitants of North America.

         

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will compare ways of life of Indian Nations from different regions of North America.

 

 

X

 

 

 

B. Standard: The student will demonstrate knowledge of European exploration of the North American continent and the resulting interaction with American Indian Nations.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1.  Students will identify key European explorers and how their voyages led to the establishment of colonies.

 

X

 

 

 

2. Students will know and explain that interactions between American Indian tribes and European explorers had positive and negative impacts.

 

X

X

 

 

 

            *Colonization and Conflict, 1607-1780s

A. Standard: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the colonies and the factors that shaped colonial North America.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will explain and understand the political, religious, social and economic events and conditions that led to the colonization of America.

X

 

 

 

X

2. Students will compare and contrast life within the colonies and their geographical areas, including New England, Mid-Atlantic and Southern colonies and analyze their impact.

X

 

 

 

 

3. Students will identify the differences and tensions between the English colonies and American Indian tribes.

 

X

 

 

X

4. Students will understand the significance of enslaved Africans and their descendants in the economic and social life of the colonies.

X

X

 

 

 

 

            *Political Unrest and the American Revolution 1763-mid-1791

A. Standard: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the causes and course of the American Revolution.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will understand issues and events that led to the American Revolution, and analyze how these events affected the move toward independence from Britain.

 

X

 

 

X

2. Students will understand the principles of the Declaration of Independence, including inalienable rights and self-evident truths.

 

X

 

 

X

3. Students will analyze the roles of key individuals and political leaders in the American Revolution.

 

X

 

 

X

4. Students will know and understand key factors and events contributing to the defeat of the British.

 

X

 

 

X

 

B. Standard: The student will demonstrate knowledge of how the principles of the American Revolution became the foundation of a new nation.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will know and understand basic principles of the new government established by the Constitution of the United States.

 

X

X

 

X

2. Students will know reasons why the United States developed the Constitution, including the debates and compromise that led to the final document.

 

X

 

 

X

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

*Growth and Westward Expansion, 1801-1861

A. Standard: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the western expansion, conflict, and reform in America.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will examine the processes that led to the territorial expansion of the United States including wars and treaties with foreign nations and Indian nations, the Mexican-American War, annexation, Louisiana Purchase and other land purchases and the removal of American Indians to reservations.

 

X

X

 

X

2. Students will identify on a map the states that seceded from the Union, and those that remained in the Union.

X

 

 

 

 

 

*Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850s-1870s

A. Standard: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes of the Civil War.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will identify and analyze the main ideas of the debate over slavery, abolitionism, states’ rights, and explain how they resulted in major political compromises.

 

X

X

 

X

2. Students will identify on a map the states that seceded from the Union, and those that remained in the Union.

X

X

 

 

 

 

B. Standard: The student will demonstrate knowledge of major events and people of the Civil War.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1.  Students will know and understand the roles of significant figures and battles of the Civil War Era and analyze their significance, including Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Harriet Tubman and Battle of Gettysburg.

 

X

X

 

 

2.  Students will analyze the aftermath of the war and its effects on citizens from the North and South including free blacks, women and former slaveholders.

 

X

 

 

X

 

           

 

 

*Reshaping the Nation and the Emergence of Modern America, 1877-1916

A. Standard: The student will analyze the transformation of the American economy and the changing social and political conditions in response to the Industrial Revolution.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will identify and understand the reasons for the increase in immigration, growth of cities, new inventions and political challenges to American government arising from the industrial revolution and analyze their impact.

 

X

X

 

X

2. Students will identify and explain racial segregation and racism, including the rise of “Jim Crow,” The Ku Klux Klan, discrimination against immigrants, and the relocations and analyze the impact of these actions.

 

 

X

 

X

3. Students will analyze how the rise of big business, the growth of industry and the change in life on American farms and small towns with increased mechanization changed life in America.

X

 

X

 

 

4. Students will analyze the impact of the Progressive Movement on child labor and working conditions; the rise of organized labor; women’s suffrage and the temperance movement, and identify the contributions of individuals in these movements.

 

 

X

 

 

 

            *World Wars and the Emergence of Modern America, 1900-1930s

A. Standard: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the political, geographical, cultural, social and economic forces shaping the modern United States.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will know and understand the reasons for the Spanish-American War and its resulting impact.

 

X

 

 

 

2. Students will know and understand the United States’ actions in the Pacific and resulting international reactions.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

3. Students will identify and understand the struggles and contributions of African American leaders of this period, including W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington and compare their ideas.

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

B. Standard: The student will understand World War I, its causes and effects.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will know and understand the reasons for the United States’ neutrality and delayed entry and involvement in World War I.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

2. Students will explain Wilson’s 14 Points and United States’ isolationism.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

 

          *A World at War, 1930s-1945

A. Standard: The student will understand and analyze the economic, social and political transition of the United States before, during and after World War II.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will examine causes and analyze the effects of the Great Depression and the impact of the New Deal.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

2. Students will analyze the major causes and effects of American neutrality and eventual involvement in World War II, including the America First movement, lend-lease and the impact of Pearl Harbor.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

3. Students will recognize major events, battles and significant leaders in World War II and analyze their impact, including Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Winston Churchill, Adolph Hitler, the Battle for Midway, the invasion of Normandy and the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

4. Students will evaluate the impact of World War II on the home front and on American culture, including Japanese internment, Tuskegee Airmen and “Rosie the Riveter.”

 

 

 

2005-06

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Post WWII Era, 1945-1980

A. Standard: The student will analyze the economic, social and political transformation of the United States and the world between the end of World War II and the present.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will understand and explain the rebuilding of Europe and Japan after World War II, including the Marshall Plan and the American occupation of Japan.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

2. Students will understand and analyze the emergence of the United States as a superpower, and its pivotal role in the establishment of the United Nations.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

3. Students will analyze the role of American foreign policy and military action during the Cold War era, including the Truman Doctrine, Korean and Vietnam Wars and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

4. Students will explain the changing patterns of society, expanded educational and economic opportunities for military veterans, women and minorities.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

5. Students will identify major Supreme Court decisions during this era and analyze their impact, including Brown vs. Board of Education.

 

 

 

 

X

 

          *Contemporary America, 1980-present

A. Standard: The student will recognize the opportunities and challenges facing the United States and explore its role in the world since 1989.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will identify and evaluate American contributions to the fall of the Society bloc, from the Truman Doctrine through the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

2. Students will analyze challenges of a post-communist world, especially September 11, 2001 and its aftermath.

 

 

X

X

 

 

         

 

*Contemporary United States 1970- present

A.   Standard: The student will understand the evolution of foreign and domestic policy in the last three decades of the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st Century.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the changing domestic and foreign policies in the Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Clinton, George W. Bush administrations.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of economic, social and cultural developments in contemporary United States.

 

 

 

 

X

3. Students will know and describe the political and economic policies that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

 

 

 

 

X

 

MINNESOTA HISTORY

*Pre-Contact to 1650

A. Standard: The student will demonstrate knowledge of Minnesota’s indigenous peoples.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will describe the evidence of the indigenous cultures in Minnesota, and make reasoned inferences from that evidence.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will explain the major historical aspects of Dakota and Ojibwe culture, social organization and history and compare and contrast them.

 

 

X

 

 

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Early Settlement and Statehood 1810-1860

A. Standard: The student will know and understand the factors that led to rapid settlement of Minnesota in the 19th Century and the changes the new Minnesotans brought with them.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will explain why early settlers came to Minnesota and analyze their impact on political, cultural, and physical landscapes.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will describe the process of Minnesota’s becoming a territory and then a state.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will understand why and how the Minnesota Indian Nations negotiated treaties with the United States, and the impact of these treaties for the Ojibwe, the Dakota, and the settlers.

 

 

X

 

 

 

          *Civil War and the Dakota War 1860-1864

A. Standard: The student will know and understand Minnesota’s role in the Civil War and the impact of the Dakota War of 1862.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will describe the attitudes of Minnesotans toward slavery in the period before the Civil War and analyze the factors shaping these attitudes.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will describe Minnesotan’s role in the Civil War, both on the home front and on the battlefront, including the role of the First Minnesota Regiment.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will compare the different perspectives of settlers and Dakota people on the causes and the effects of the Dakota War of 1862.

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Industrial Era 1865-1914

A. Standard: The student will know and understand Minnesota’s major industries and the economic, social, political and technological changes that accompanied industrialization.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will know and explain the roles of people, politics, natural resources, transportation, and technology in the development of Minnesota’s early industries (lumbering, mining, and agriculture).

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will describe the impact of industrialization on work, home, leisure life, politics, immigration, urbanization and changes in the physical landscape.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will describe the various goals, strategies, and accomplishments of social reform movements in Minnesota and analyze their impact.

 

 

X

 

 

 

          *World Wars I and II, and the Interwar period, 1914-1945

A. Standard: The student will know and understand the impact on Minnesota of World War I and World War II, as well as the social and economic changes of the 1920s and the 1930s.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will understand the issues that Minnesotans faced during World War I and how they responded to them.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will demonstrate the knowledge the social, political, and economic changes of the 1920s and 1930s and analyze the impact of the Great Depression and the New Deal.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will describe Minnesota’s contributions to World War II and analyze the impact of the war on Minnesota.

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Post-World War II to the Present

A. Standard: The student will know and understand Minnesota’s role in the major social, economic and political changes, both national and international, in the last half of the 20th Century through the present, and analyze the impact of those changes.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will explain how Minnesota has both affected and been affected by the events, people, and changes in the nation and the world.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will identify and describe significant demographic changes in Minnesota and issues related to those changes and analyze the significance of their impact.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will develop and share an understanding of what it means to be a Minnesotan, and what is the contemporary significance of Minnesota for the nation and the world.

 

 

X

 

 

4. Students will identify and describe significant land use changes in Minnesota, issues related to land use, and analyze the impact of those changes and issues.

 

 

X

 

 

 

WORLD HISTORY

          *Beginnings of Human Society

A. Standard: The student will demonstrate knowledge of selected attributes and historical developments of various ancient societies in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will describe the migration of people from Africa to other world regions.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will describe the development of agriculture and its effect on human communities.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will illustrate or retell the main ideas from stories that disclose the origins, history and traditions of various cultures around the world.

 

 

X

 

 

4. Students will describe significant historical achievements of various cultures of the world.

 

 

X

 

 

 

         

*Classical Civilizations and World Religions 1000 BC – 600 AD

A. Standard: The student will describe classical civilizations in Africa, Asia and Mesoamerica.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will describe the emergence of states in Sub-Saharan Africa and explains how iron working diffused in Africa.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will describe how the Chinese Empire was united.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will analyze the relationship between agriculture and the development of complex societies in Mesoamerica.

 

 

 

X

 

4. Students will describe and compare major religious systems and practices.

 

 

 

X

 

 

B. Standard: The student will describe classical civilizations in Europe and the West.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek civilization, including art, politics, and philosophy.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Rome, including art, politics and philosophy.

 

 

X

 

 

 

          *World Civilizations, Expansions of Cultural, Commercial and Political Contacts, 600 AD – 1500 AD

A. Standard: The student will understand the causes and consequences of emerging civilizations and increased contact across the cultural regions of Eurasia and Africa.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1.  Students will analyze the spread of Islamic civilization to western Europe, India and Africa.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will describe the expansion of the Chinese Empire and its effect on political and cultural life.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will describe the formation of states in sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas.

 

 

X

 

 

 

         

*Western Civilizations, Renaissance and Reformation 1000 AD - 1700 AD

A. Standard: The student will demonstrate knowledge of important historical, cultural, and social events in Europe during the Middle ages.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the Renaissance in Europe.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the age of exploration.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the Reformation including important figures of the era.

 

 

X

 

 

4. Students will demonstrate knowledge of scientific, political, economic and social changes starting in the 17th Century, including the Enlightment.

 

 

X

 

 

 

          *World Civilizations, Toward a Global Culture, 1500 - 1770 AD

A. Standard: The student will examine changing forms of cross-cultural contact, conflict and cooperation that resulted from the interconnections between Eurasia, Africa and the Americas.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will explain the characteristics of the trading system that linked peoples of Africa, Asia and Europe around 1450.

 

 

 

 

X

2. Students will describe early European explorations, settlements, and empires.

 

X

 

 

 

3. Students will analyze the strengths and limitations of the Chinese Empire under the Ming Dynasty.

 

 

X

 

 

4. Students will understand patterns of change in Africa in the era of the slave trade and the slave plantation system in the Americas.

 

X

 

 

 

5. Students will identify the causes and consequences of global migrations of Europeans, Africans and Asians.

 

 

 

 

X

 

         

 

 

*Western Civilizations, Age of Revolution and Reaction, 1640-1920 AD

A. Standard: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the rise of colonialism and its effects worldwide.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will examine the effects of imperialism on the colonial societies of the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries.

 

 

 

 

X

 

HISTORICAL SKILLS

 

          *Concepts of Time

A. Standard: The student will acquire skills of chronological thinking.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will develop a chronological sequence of persons, events and concepts in each historical era studied in these grades.

 

X

X

 

 

 

          *Historical Resources

B. Standard: The student will begin to use historical resources.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will identify, describe and extract information from various types of historical sources, both primary and secondary.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will assess the credibility and determine appropriate use of different sorts of sources.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will investigate the ways historians learn about the past if there are no written records.

 

 

X

 

 

 

         

 

 

 

 

*Historical Inquiry

A. Standard: The student will apply research skills by investigating a topic in U.S. history.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will define a research topic that can be studied using a variety of historical sources.

 

 

X

 

X

2. Students will identify, locate, and use repositories of research materials including libraries, the Internet, historical societies, historic sites and archives, as appropriate for their project.

 

 

X

 

X

3. Students will develop strategies to find, collect and organize historical research.

 

X

X

 

 

 

B. Standard: The student will analyze historical evidence and draw conclusions.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will understand that primary sources document first-hand accounts of historical events and secondary sources may be influenced by the author’s interpretation of historical events.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will compare perspectives in primary and secondary sources and determine how the different perspectives shaped the authors’ view of historical events.

 

 

 

 

X

3. Students will understand the concepts of historical context and multiple causation.

 

 

 

2005-06

 

4. Students will create a timeline that illustrates the relationship of their topic to other historic events.

 

X

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C. Standard: The student will present and explain the findings of a research project.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will analyze how historians present their work in multiple formats.

 

 

 

 

X

2. Students will select a presentation medium for their project and learn the skills necessary to communicate their ideas.

 

 

 

X

X

3. Students will articulate a clear thesis statement that explains the historical relevance of their research topic.

 

 

 

 

X

4. Students will learn how to cite sources and to document their research in the form of a bibliography.

 

 

 

 

X

5. Students will learn what constitutes plagiarism and how to paraphrase appropriately other people’s work in a new interpretive format.

 

 

X

 

 

 

GEOGRAPHY

          *Concepts of Location

A. Standard: The student will identify and locate major physical and cultural features that played an important role in the history of the United States.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will locate and name all 50 states, territories, mountain ranges, major river valleys, state capitals and cities, as studied.

X

 

 

X

 

2. Students will locate the areas that were the major source regions for immigrants to the United States from 1800 to 1877.

X

 

 

X

 

 

B. Standard: The student will identify and locate major physical and cultural features that played an important role in the history of Minnesota.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will locate major Minnesota ecosystems, topographic features, continental divides, river valleys and cities.

 

 

X

 

 

 

C. Standard: The student will identify and locate major countries, events and cultural features that played an important role in the history of the United States.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will locate on a map or globe the major empires of the late 19th Century and their largest overseas territories.

 

X

 

 

 

2. Students will locate the major source countries for immigration to the Untied States during the years 1877-1916.

X

 

 

X

 

3. Students will describe how the landownership patterns laid out by the French, English, Spanish and the United States Public Land Survey created different landscapes in different parts of the country.

X

X

 

 

 

 

          *Maps and Globes

A. Standard: The student will use maps and globes to demonstrate specific and increasingly complex geographic knowledge.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will use political and thematic maps to locate major physical and cultural regions of the world and ancient civilizations studied.

 

 

X

X

 

2. Students will locate and map areas of major world religions and how they have changed geographically, including Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Islam and indigenous religious traditions.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will distinguish differences among, uses of and limitations of different kinds of thematic maps used to describe the development of the United States.

X

 

 

X

 

4. Students will distinguish differences among uses of, and limitations of, different kinds of thematic maps to describe the development of Minnesota.

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

B. Standard: The student will make and use maps to acquire, process, and report on the spatial organization of people and places on Earth.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will create a variety of maps to scale.

X

 

 

 

 

2. Students will compare and contrast the differences among a variety of maps and explain the appropriate use of projections, symbols, coloring and shading, and select maps appropriate for answering questions they have.

X

X

X

X

 

 

          *Physical Features and Processes

A. Standard: The student will use basic terminology and describing basic physical and cultural features of continents studied.

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will locate and describe major physical features and analyze how they influenced cultures/civilizations studied.

X

 

X

X

 

2. Students will describe and locate major physical features in their local community and analyze their impact on the community.

X

 

X

X

 

 

B. Standard: The student will identify and locate geographic features associated with the development of the United States.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will identify physical features and analyze their impact as either hindering or promoting settlement, establishment of cities and states, and economic development in the United States.

X

 

X

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C. Standard: The student will identify and locate geographic features associated with the development of Minnesota.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will identify and compare and contrast the landforms, natural vegetation, climate and systems of rivers and lakes of Minnesota with those of other parts of the United States.

 

 

X

X

 

2. Students will identify physical features that shaped settlement and life-ways of the Dakota and the Ojibwe and analyze their impact.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will identify physical features that either hindered or promoted the development of the fur trade and the rapid settlement in the early 19th Century.

 

 

X

 

 

4. Students will identify physical features that either hindered or promoted the industrialization of the state.

 

 

X

 

 

 

D. Standard: The student will identify physical characteristics of places and use this knowledge to define regions, their relationships among regions, and their patterns of change.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will describe the major physical features of the United States and the regions of the world they study.

X

 

 

X

 

2. Students will describe physical systems and the regional patterns of climate and landforms associated with them.

X

 

 

X

 

3. Students will describe patterns of vegetation and landforms in the United States and around the world.

X

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E. Standard: The student will give examples of physical systems and describe their role in shaping life on Earth.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will describe how the major regions of the world they study are interconnected through physical processes such as wind and/or ocean currents.

 

 

X

X

 

2. Students will describe natural hazards, the physical processes behind them, the areas where they occur, and the costs and benefits of methods people use to mitigate their damage.

X

 

X

X

 

 

          *Interconnections

A. Standard: The student will give examples that demonstrate how people are connected to each other and the environment.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will identify factors that drew people to their local communities.

X

 

X

X

 

2. Students will analyze how the physical environment influences human activities.

X

 

X

X

 

 

B. Standard: The student will identify examples of the changing relationships between patterns of settlement, land use and topographic features in the United States.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will analyze how changes in technology and political attitudes promoted development in various regions of the United States.

X

 

X

X

 

2. Students will analyze how changes in transportation affected settlement of the country.

X

 

X

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

C. Standard: The student will identify examples of the changing relationships between the patterns of settlement and land use in Minnesota.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will give examples of how changes in technology made some locations in Minnesota more suitable for urbanization than others.

 

 

X

X

 

2. Students will analyze how changes in transportation affected settlement of the state.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will explain the importance of site features in the establishment of Minnesota’s largest cities.

 

 

X

X

 

4. Students will explain the changing situations of Minnesota’s largest cities and suburbs and analyze associated effects.

 

 

X

X

 

5. Students will identify the areas of origin for people coming to Minnesota, explain the push and pull factors that brought people to the state, and analyze the impact of these changes.

 

 

X

X

 

6. Students will describe the settlement pattern of Minnesota’s largest immigrant groups.

 

 

X

 

 

7. Students will use regions to analyze modern agriculture in Minnesota.

 

 

X

X

 

 

D. Standard: The student will identify how technology made some parts of Minnesota more valuable at particular times in history.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will explain how Minnesota is connected to the rest of the world through international trade, and analyze the impact of this connection.

 

 

X

 

 

 

E. Standard: The student will describe how humans influence the environment and in turn are influenced by it.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will recognize changes over time in nearby landscapes, resulting from human occupation.

 

 

X

X

 

 

F. Standard: The student will demonstrate how various regional frameworks are used to analyze the variation in culture and humans’ occupation of the Earth’s surface.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will explain the patterns of population density on the surface of the Earth and analyze the causes of population change.

 

 

X

X

 

2. Students will describe the patterns of languages on the surface of the Earth and identify patterns of change.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will describe the patterns of religion on the surface of the Earth and identify geographic patterns of change.

 

 

X

 

 

4. Students will describe the locations of government systems on the surface of the Earth and identify patterns of change.

 

 

X

X

 

5. Students will describe the patterns of economies on the surface of the Earth and explain how change in technology affects patterns of change.

 

 

X

X

 

6. Students will describe patterns of major regions or culture areas on the surface of the Earth and identify patterns of change.

 

 

X

X

 

7. Students will identify current or historic conflicts and explain how those conflicts are/were influenced by geography.

 

 

X

X

 

 

G. Standard: The student will demonstrate how various regional frameworks are used to analyze the variation in physical environment.

 

Benchmarks

Gr. 4

Gr. 5

Gr. 6

Gr. 7

Gr. 8

1. Students will analyze the way peoples’ perception of regions vary and are affected by individual perspective and culture.

 

 

X

 

 

2. Students will provide examples at differing scales of how regions are important to people as symbols for unifying society.

 

 

X

 

 

3. Students will describe how physical processes affect different regions of the world.

 

 

X

X

 

4. Students will interpret regional variation in the relationships among soil, climate, plant and animal life, and landforms.

X

 

X