Standards

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text relate to each other and the whole.

Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

Present information such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

6 - 8: Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of views represented in the sources. 9 - 12: Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources.

6 - 8: Explain the relevance of personal interests and perspectives, civic virtues, and democratic principles when people address issues and problems in government and civil society. 9 - 12: Analyze the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.

6 - 8: Compare historical and contemporary means of changing societies, and promoting the common good. 9 - 12: Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.

6 - 8: Examine the origins, purposes, and impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements. 9 - 12: Analyze the impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements on the maintenance of national and international order.

6 - 8: Analyze ideas and principles contained in the founding documents of the United States, and explain how they influence the social and political system. 9 - 12: Evaluate social and political systems in different contexts, times, and places, that promote civic virtues and enact democratic principles.

6 - 8: Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts. 9 - 12: Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.

6 - 8: Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to identify further areas of inquiry and additional sources. 9 - 12: Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources.

6 - 8: Explain multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past. 9 - 12: Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.

6 - 8. Organize applicable evidence into a coherent argument about the past. 9 - 12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past.

6 - 8: Classify series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity. 9 - 12: Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.  

6 - 8: Use questions generated about individuals and groups to analyze why they, and the developments they shaped, are seen as historically significant. 9 - 12: Use questions generated about individuals and groups to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context.

6 - 8: Analyze multiple factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras. 9 - 12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.  

6 - 8. Explain how and why perspectives of people have changed over time. 9 - 12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

6 - 8: Gather relevant information from multiple sources while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection. 9 - 12: Gather relevant information from multiple sources representing a wide range of views while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection

6 - 8. Develop claims and counterclaims while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both. 9 - 12. Refine claims and counterclaims attending to precision, significance, and knowledge conveyed through the claim while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both.

6 - 8: Construct arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging the strengths and limitations of the arguments. 9 - 12: Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.

Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology.

Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources.

Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.

Students create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.

Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems.

Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting desired communication objectives.

Students create original works or responsibly remix digital resources.

Students communicate complex ideas by creating or using a variety of digital objects.

Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.

Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.

Students explore local and global issues and use collaborative technologies to investigate solutions.

A. Distinguish between past, present, and future time. B. Identify the temporal structure of a historical narrative or story. C. Establish temporal order in constructing historical narratives of their own. D. Measure and calculate calendar time. E. Interpret data presented in time lines and create time lines. F. Reconstruct patterns of historical succession and duration; explain historical continuity and change. G. Compare alternative models for periodization.

A. Identify the author or source of the historical document or narrative and assess its credibility. B. Reconstruct the literal meaning of a historical passage. C. Identify the central question(s) the historical narrative addresses. D. Differentiate between historical facts and historical interpretations. E. Read historical narratives imaginatively. F. Appreciate historical perspectives. G. Draw upon data in historical maps. H. Utilize visual, mathematical, and quatitative data.

A. Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas. B. Consider multiple perspectives. C. Analyze cause-and-effect relationships and multiple causation, including the importance of the individual, the influence of ideas. D. Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues. E. Distinguish between unsupported expressions of opinion and informed hypotheses grounded in historical evidence. F. Compare competing historical narratives. G. Challenge arguments of historical inevitability. H. Hold interpretations of history as tentative. I. Evaluate major debates among historians. J. Hypothesize the influence of the past.

A. Formulate historical questions. B. Obtain historical data from a variety of sources. C. Interrogate historical data. D. Identify the gaps in the available records, marshal contextual knowledge and perspectives of the time and place. E. Employ quantitative analysis. F. Support interpretations with historical evidence.

A. Identify issues and problems in the past. B. Marshal evidence of antecedent circumstances. C. Identify relevant historical antecedents. D. Evaluate alternative courses of action. E. Formulate a position or course of action on an issue. F. Evaluate the implementation of a decision.

Standard 1: The causes of the American Revolution, the ideas and interests involved in forging the revolutionary movement, and the reasons for the American victory Standard 2: The impact of the American Revolution on politics, economy, and society Standard 3: The institutions and practices of government created during the Revolution and how they were revised between 1787 and 1815 to create the foundation of the American political system based on the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Standard 1: United States territorial expansion between 1801 and 1861, and how it affected relations with external powers and Native Americans Standard 2: How the industrial revolution, increasing immigration, the rapid expansion of slavery, and the westward movement changed the lives of Americans and led toward regional tensions Standard 3: The extension, restriction, and reorganization of political democracy after 1800 Standard 4: The sources and character of cultural, religious, and social reform movements in the antebellum period

Standard 1: The causes of the Civil War. Standard 2: The course and character of the Civil War and its effects on the American people Standard 3: How various reconstruction plans succeeded or failed

Standard 1: How the rise of corporations, heavy industry, and mechanized farming transformed the American people Standard 2: Massive immigration after 1870 and how new social patterns, conflicts, and ideas of national unity developed amid growing cultural diversity Standard 3: The rise of the American labor movement and how political issues reflected social and economic changes Standard 4: Federal Indian policy and United States foreign policy after the Civil War

Standard 1: How Progressives and others addressed problems of industrial capitalism, urbanization, and political corruption Standard 2: The changing role of the United States in world affairs through World War I Standard 3: How the United States changed from the end of World War I to the eve of the Great Depression

Standard 1: The causes of the Great Depression and how it affected American society Standard 2: How the New Deal addressed the Great Depression, transformed American federalism, and initiated the welfare state Standard 3: The causes and course of World War II, the character of the war at home and abroad, and its reshaping of the U.S. role in world affairs

Standard 1: The economic boom and social transformation of postwar United States Standard 2: How the Cold War and conflicts in Korea and Vietnam influenced domestic and international politics Standard 3: Domestic policies after World War II Standard 4: The struggle for racial and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties

Standard 1: Recent developments in foreign policy and domestic politics Standard 2: Economic, social, and cultural developments in contemporary United States

Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.

Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

Students whose first language is not English make use of their first language to develop competency in the English language arts and to develop understanding of content across the curriculum.

Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

A. What is civic life? What is politics? What is government? Why are government and politics necessary? What purposes should government serve? B. What are the essential characteristics of limited and unlimited government? C. What are the nature and purposes of constitutions? D. What are alternative ways of organizing constitutional governments?

A. What is the American idea of constitutional government? B. What are the distinctive characteristics of American society? C. What is American political culture? D. What values and principles are basic to American constitutional democracy?

A. How are power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution? D. What is the place of law in the American constitutional system? E. How does the American political system provide for choice and opportunities for participation?

A. How is the world organized politically? B. How do the domestic politics and constitutional principles of the United States affect its relations with the world? C. How has the United States influenced other nations, and how have other nations influenced American politics and society?

A. What is citizenship? B. What are the rights of citizens? C. What are the responsibilities of citizens? D. What civic dispositions or traits of private and public character are important to the preservation and improvement of American constitutional democracy? E. How can citizens take part in civic life?

Learners will understand how human beings create, learn, share and adapt to culture.

Learners examine the institutions, values and beliefs of people in the past, acquire skills in historical inquiry and interpretation, and gain an understanding of how important historical events and developments have shaped the modern world.

Learners examine where people, places and resources are located, why they are there and why it matters.

In order to understand individual development and identity, learners should study the influence of various times, cultures, groups and institutions.

Students know how institutions are formed, maintained and changed, and understand how they influence individuals, groups and other institutions.

Learners will develop an understanding of the principles, processes, structures and institutions of government, and examine how power and authority are or have been obtained in various systems of government.

A variety of systems have been developed to decide the answers to fundamental questions related to what is to be produced, how production is to be organized, and how goods and services are to be distributed.

An understanding or science and technology in their social contexts allows learners to questions and analyze the impact of science and technology on society.

Global interdependence requires an understanding of the increasingly complex connections among individuals, groups, institutions, nations and world communities in order to identify the issues arising from global connections, and support informed and ethical decision-making.

Learning how to apply civic ideals to inform civic action is essential to participation in a democracy and support for the common good.

The student understands how the United States government was formed and the nation’s basic democratic principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

The student understands historic figures who have exemplified values and principles of American democracy.

The student understands events that celebrate and exemplify fundamental values and principles of American democracy. Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, etc.

The student understands changes in communication and their effects.