National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (NCSS)
TIME, CONTINUITY, AND CHANGE
SOCIAL STUDIES PROGRAMS SHOULD INCLUDE EXPERIENCES THAT PROVIDE FOR THE STUDY OF THE PAST AND ITS LEGACY.
KNOWLEDGE - Learners will understand:
The study of the past provides a representation of the history of communities, nations, and the world.
That learning about the past requires the interpretation of sources, and that using varied sources provides the potential for a more balanced interpretive record of the past.
That historical interpretations of the same event may differ on the basis of such factors as conflicting evidence from varied sources, national or cultural perspectives, and the point of view of the researcher.
Key historical periods and patterns of change within and across cultures (e.g., the rise and fall of ancient civilizations, the development of technology, the rise of modern nation-states, and the establishment and breakdown of colonial systems).
The contributions of key persons, groups, and events from the past and their influence on the present.
The influences of social, geographic, economic, and cultural factors an the history of local areas, states, nations, and the world.
National Standards for Civics and Government (NSCG)
What are the foundations of the American political system? What are the distinctive characteristics of American society?
Distinctive characteristics of American society. Students should be able to identify and explain the importance of historical experience and geographic, social, and economic factors that have helped to shape American society. To achieve this standard, students should be able to
Explain important factors that have helped shape American society
Large scale immigration
National Center for History in Schools (NCHS)
Historical Thinking Standards
Chronological Thinking
Identify the temporal structure of a historical narrative or story.
Reconstruct patterns of historical succession and duration; explain historical continuity and change.
Historical Comprehension
Identify the central question(s) the historical narrative addresses.
Historical Analysis and Interpretation
Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues.
Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
Hold interpretations of history as tentative.
Historical Research Capabilities
Formulate historical questions.
Historical Issues-Analysis and Decision-Making
Identify issues and problems in the past.
Identify relevant historical antecedents.
United States History Content Standards
Era 1: Three Worlds Meet (Beginnings to 1620)
Comparative characteristics of societies in the Americas, Western Europe, and Western Africa that increasingly interacted after 1450.
The student understands the differences and similarities among Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans who converged in the western hemisphere after 1492.
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763)
Why the Americas attracted Europeans, why they brought enslaved Africans to their colonies, and how Europeans struggled for control of North America and the Caribbean.
The student understands how diverse immigrants affected the formation of European colonies.
How political, religious, and social institutions emerged in the English colonies.
The student understands the roots of representative government and how political rights were defined.
The student understands social and cultural change in British America.
How the values and institutions of European economic life took root in the colonies, and how slavery reshaped European and African life in the Americas.
The student understands colonial economic life and labor systems in the Americas.
The student understands economic life and the development of labor systems in the English colonies.
Era 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
The causes of the American Revolution, the ideas and interests involved in forging the revolutionary movement, and the reasons for the American victory.
The student understands the causes of the American Revolution.
World History Content Standards
Era 6: The Emergence of the First Global Age, 1450-1770
Economic, political, and cultural interrelations among peoples of Africa, Europe, and the Americas, 1500-1750.
The student understands how states and peoples of European descent became dominant in the Americas between the 16th and 18th centuries.