Guiding Principles

 Guiding Principle One

Every student should study history and social science every year from kindergarten to high school.

Guiding Principle Two

An effective history and social science curriculum combines the learning of content and skills in the study of history, geography, economics, and civics and government.

Guiding Principle Three

An effective curriculum in history and social science draws on many disciplines.

Guiding Principle Four

While encouraging respect for differences in home backgrounds, an effective history and social science curriculum nurtures students’ sense of their common ground as present or future American citizens in order to prepare them for responsible participation in our schools and in civic life.

Guiding Principle Five

An effective history and social science curriculum emphasizes the development of the political principles and institutions of Western civilization.

Guiding Principle Six

An effective history and social science curriculum prepares students to understand the world outside of the United States.

Guiding Principle Seven

Content

History and Geography

Students will be able to:

·        Identify different ways of dating historical narratives (17th century, seventeenth century, 1600s, colonial period). (H)

·        Interpret timelines of events studied. (H)

·        Observe and identify details in cartoons, photographs, charts, and graphs relating to a historical narrative. (H, E, C)

·        Use maps and globes to identify absolute locations (latitude and longitude). (G)

·        Identify the location of the North and South Poles, the Equator, the Prime Meridian, Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Hemispheres. (G)

·        Interpret a map using information from its title, compass rose, scale, and legend. (G)

·        Distinguish between political and topographical maps and identify specialized maps that show information such as population, income, or climate change. (G, H, E)

·        Compare maps of the modern world with historical maps of the world before the Age of Exploration, and describe the changes in 16th and 17th century maps of the world. (G, H. E)

Civics and Government

Students will be able to:

·        Define and use correctly words related to government: citizen, suffrage, rights, representation, federal, state, county, and municipal. (C)

·        Give examples of the responsibilities and powers associated with major federal and state officials: the President of the United States, the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, state governors, state senators, and state representatives. (C)

·        Explain the structure of the student’s city or town government. (C)

Economics

Students will be able to:

·        Give examples of the ways people save their money and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each. (E)

·        Define entrepreneur - a person who has started a business seeking a profit, and give examples from colonial history of entrepreneurs (Peter Faneuil and Benjamin Franklin). (E)

·        Define profit and describe how profit is an incentive for entrepreneurs. (E)

·        Give examples of how changes in supply and demand affected prices in colonial history (e.g., fur, lumber, fish, and meat). (E, H)

·        Pre-Columbian Civilizations of the New World and European Exploration, Colonization, and Settlement to 1700

Students will be able to:

·        Describe the earliest explorations of the New World by the Vikings, the period and locations of their explorations, and the evidence for them. (H, G)

·        Identify the three major pre-Columbian civilizations that existed in Central and South America (Maya, Aztec, and Inca) and their locations. Describe their political structures, religious practices, and use of slaves. (H, G, E)

·        Explain why trade routes to Asia had been closed in the 15th century, and trace the voyages of at least four of the explorers listed below. For each explorer, describe what they sought when they began their journeys, what they found, and how their discoveries changed the image of the world, especially the maps used by explorers (the Cabots, Balboa, Ponce de Leon, Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, Champlain, Hudson, Cartier, and Magellan).  (H, G, E)

·        Explain why the Aztec and Inca civilizations declined in the 16th century; the encounters between Cortez and Montezuma; the encounters between Pizarro and the Incas; the goals of the Spanish conquistadors; and the effects of European diseases, particularly smallpox, throughout the Western Hemisphere. (H)

·        Describe the goals and extent of the Dutch settlement in New York; the French settlements in Canada; and the Spanish settlements in Florida, the Southwest, and California. (H)

·        Explain the early relationship of the English settlers to the indigenous peoples, or Indians, in North America, including the differing views on ownership or use of land, and the conflicts between them, such as the Pequot and King Philip’s Wars in New England. (H, G, E)

·        Identify some of the major leaders and groups responsible for the founding of the original colonies in North America (John Smith in Virginia, William Penn in Pennsylvania, Lord Baltimore in Maryland, John Winthrop in Massachusetts, and Roger Williams in Rhode Island).  (H, C)

·        Identify the links between the political principles and practices developed in ancient Greece and such political institutions and practices as written constitutions and town meetings of the Puritans. (H, C)

·        Explain the reasons why the language, political institutions, and political principles of what became the United States of America were largely shaped by English colonists (long experience with self-government, the high rates of literacy among the English colonial leaders, and England’s strong economic, intellectual, and military position in the world). (H,C)

·        Explain why colonists (fewer in number than those from England) from other major European nations that explored the New World had a relatively insignificant role in shaping the new government of the United States of America. (H, C)

The Political, Intellectual, and Economic Growth of the Colonies, 1700-1775

Students will be able to:

·        On a map of North America, identify the original 13 colonies, and describe how regional differences in climate, types of farming, populations, and sources of labor shaped their economies and societies through the 18th century.  (H, G, E)

·        Explain the importance of maritime commerce in the development of the economy of colonial Massachusetts.   Draw on the services of historical societies and museums, as needed, (the fishing and ship building industries, trans-Atlantic trade, and the port cities of New Bedford, Newburyport, Gloucester, Salem, and Boston). (H,E) 

·        Explain the causes of the establishment of slavery in North America. Describe the harsh conditions of the Middle Passage and slave life, and the responses of slaves to their condition.  Describe the life of free African Americans in the colonies. (H, G, E, C)

·        Identify the founders of and the reasons for the establishment of educational institutions in the colonies (grammar schools and colleges such as Harvard and the College of William and Mary). (H)

·        Explain the development of colonial governments and describe how these developments contributed to the Revolution (legislative bodies, town meetings, and charters on individual freedom and rights).  (H, G, E, C)

·        Explain the reasons for the French and Indian War, how it led to an overhaul of British imperial policy, and the colonial response to these policies  (1764 Sugar Act, 1765 Stamp Act, 1767 Townsend Duties, 1773 Tea Act, 1774 Intolerable Acts, the slogan, “no taxation without representation”, the roles of the Stamp Act Congress, the Sons of Liberty, and the 1773 Tea Party).  (H, C, E)

The Revolution and the Formation of a Federal Government under the Constitution, 1775-1789

Students will be able to:

·        Explain the meaning of the key ideas on equality, natural rights, the rule of law, and the purpose of government contained in the Declaration of Independence.  (H, C, E)

·        Describe the major battles of the Revolutionary War and explain the factors leading to American victory and British defeat (Battles of Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Valley Forge, and Yorktown).  (H)

·        Describe the life and achievements of important leaders during the Revolution and the early years of the United States  (King George III, George Washington, Thomas

Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin). (H, C)

·        Identify the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the date it was written, John Adams, its primary author, and the basic rights it gives to citizens of the Commonwealth. (C)

·        Explain the reasons for the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in 1781 and  its subsequent failure. (H, C)

·        Describe Shays’ Rebellion of 1786-1787 and explain why it was one of the crucial events leading to the Constitutional convention. (H, E, C)

·        Identify the various leaders of the Constitutional Convention and describe the major issues they debated (distribution of political power, rights of individuals, rights of states, the Great Compromise, and slavery). (H, E, C)

The Principles and Institutions of American Constitutional Government

Students will be able to:

·        Describe the responsibilities of government at the federal, state, and local levels (e.g., protection of individual rights and the provision of services such as law enforcement and the building and funding of schools). (C)

·        Describe the basic political principles of American democracy, and explain how the Constitution and the Bill of Rights reflect and preserve the following principles: individual rights and responsibilities, equality, the rule of law, limited government and representative democracy. (C)

·        Identify the three branches of the United States government as outlined by the Constitution, describe their functions and relationships, and identify what features of the Constitution were unique at the time (e.g., the presidency and the independent judiciary). (H, C)

·        Identify the rights in the Bill of Rights and explain the reasons for its inclusion in the Constitution in 1791. (H, C)

·        Explain how American citizens were expected to participate in, monitor, and bring about changes in their government over time, and give examples of how they continue to do so today. (H, C)

The Growth of the Republic

Students will be able to:

·        Identify the changes in voting qualifications between 1787 and 1820 (e.g., the abolition of property requirements), and compare those who could vote in local, state, and national elections in the United States with those who could vote in England, France, and Russia. (H, C)

·        Explain the events leading up to, and the significance of, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. (H, C, E, G)

·        Describe the expedition of Lewis and Clark from 1803 to 1806. (H, E, G)

·        Describe the significance and consequences of the abolition of slavery in the northern states after the Revolution and of the 1808 law that banned the importation of slaves into the United States. (H).

·        Describe the causes of the war of 1812 and explain how events during the war contributed to a sense of American nationalism (British restrictions on trade and impressments, and major battles and events of the war, including the role of the USS Constitution, the burning of the Capitol and the White House, and the Battle of New Orleans). (H)

·        Explain the importance of the China trade and the whaling industry to 19th century New England, and give examples of imports from China. (H)

·        Explain the reasons why pioneers moved west from the beginning to the middle of the 19th century, anddescribe their lives on the frontier. (wagon train journeys on the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails and their settlements in the western territories). (H, G, C, E)

Historical Applications

·        Develop curiosity, ask questions and actively pursue learning.

·        Recognize the importance of multiple viewpoints for understanding people, events and issues.

·        Empathize with people of different historical periods, places, and backgrounds.

·        Make connections and look for patterns to construct meaning.

·        Learn that most issues encountered in social studies are complex, need thoughtful analysis, and may lack simple solutions.

·        Form and express opinions by weighing information and evidence but be willing to revise these opinions in light of additional information and perspectives.

·        Inquire into costs and benefits of competing alternatives.

·        Ask rigorous questions, try new things, act on beliefs, resist peer pressure, and take other appropriate risks.

·        Use peaceful and just strategies for resolving strongly conflicting opinions.