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.